O soave fanciulla

The great Swedish tenor Jussi Björling (1911-1960) and his regular stage partner Swedish lyric-coloratura soprano Hjördis Schymberg (1908-2008) in the scene between Rodolfo and Mimi in Act 1 of Puccini's La Bohème, coming from a live performance on 21 March 1940 at the Royal Opera, Stockholm, conducted by Nils Grevillius. The scene begins with the first encounter between Rodolfo and Mimi ("Non sono in vena!") followed by Rodolfo and Mimi's arias ("Che gelida manina" and "Si, Mi chiamano Mimi") and ending with the love duet "O soave fanciulla".

The performance was sung in Swedish. This may sound strange, but it's still worth hearing since Björling sounded more relaxed and spontaneous when singing in his own vernacular during those earlier years of his career.

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