Stockholm Alley Named after Jussi Björling
On 10 March 1998, one of the two alleys in the central Stockholm park Kungsträdgården was officially named ”Jussi Björlings Allé” (Jussi Björling Alley), following a decision on 16 February by the City Council. This alley has an end near the Royal Opera House and the Jussi Björling bust by Pieter de Monchy which was placed in the adjacent square Jacobs Torg in 1994.
After the signposts had been set up, Jussi’s widow Anna-Lisa, his children Lars, Ann-Charlotte and Kickie, his grandson Raymond and members of the Scandinavian Jussi Björling Society gathered at the nearby restaurant Victoria. Among those present was the tenor Ragnar Ulfung, who had on the preceding day celebrated his 40th anniversary as an opera artist. Lars and Raymond joined in singing ”För dig allén”, the Swedish version of ”For You Alone”, one of the popular songs in Jussi Björling’s repertoire. There was a special reason that this song was chosen: the Swedish words ”För dig allén” happen to have a double meaning, not only ”For You Alone” but also ”For You the Alley”!
No street or place in Stockholm, where Jussi Björling lived from 1928 when he began his education as an opera singer to his death in 1960, has earlier been named after him. However, there are other examples in Sweden, among them Jussi Björlings Väg (JB Road) and Jussi Björlings Torg (JB Square) in Borlänge and Jussi Björlings Plats (JB Square) in Gothenburg.
Jussi Björling on a Swedish stamp
In 1999, Jussi Björling was for the first time represented on a Swedish stamp (already in 1975, he appeared in the Nicaraguan series "Grandes Cantantes de Opera).
The new stamp, issued on 11 March, is in rectangular format and shows on the left the Swedish jazz singer Alice Babs (b. 1924). One of her films was "Resan till dej" (The Journey to You) 1953, where Jussi also took part. On the right, Jussi Björling is shown during his recital on 28 July 1960 at the Gröna Lund amusement park in Stockholm, his last appearance there.
This stamp is generally sold in a booklet with nine others, but at the museum separate stamps are available at the price of 5 SEK. The ten stamps with different motives constitute a series called "Vårt nittonhundratal 2" (Our 20th Century 2). The price for the booklet is 50 SEK.
Jussi Björling Tenor Competition
The Jussi Björling Tenor Competition was held for the first time in Borlänge in 1994. 125 tenors from 38 countries entered their names for the competition. At the finals in the Kupolen Arena on 23 October, the Chinese Deng Xiao-Jun won before the Welshman Gwyn Hughes Jones.
The event was an artistic success and it was originally thought to be repeated in 1997 or 1998. These plans have been revised but the City of Borlänge still hopes to arrange another Jussi Björling Tenor Competition in the future.