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Ljungberg was one of
a number of distinguished pupils of
Gillis Bratt, perhaps Sweden’s best
teacher of his generation who also numbered
Joseph Hislop, Ivar Andrésen
and Kerstin Flagstad amongst his successes.
After further training in Milan and
Berlin she made her debut at twenty-three,
back in Stockholm, as Gertrune. Though
powerfully identified as a Wagnerian
(Elisabeth, Eva, Kundry, Elsa in Lohengrin)
she did sterling work throughout the
repertory. She sang in the 1920 Swedish
premiere of d’Albert’s Die Toten Augen
and in the less than successful first
performance of Eugene Goossens’ Judith
(by which time Ljungberg had cemented
her reputation at Covent Garden). It’s
true that she came to Italian opera
late but as a counterpoint to her Wagnerian
roles she was also heard in the less
likely musicals of Benatzky in Berlin.
Her Met debut came in 1932 – she was
heard in Wagner and Strauss – and she
stayed long enough to sing in the premiere
of Hanson’s Merry Mount two years later
(other cast members included Tibbett,
Swarthout and Edward Johnson with Serafin
conducting). Soon afterwards though,
her career went into strong decline
and apart from brief reappearances she
spent the rest of her life teaching.
She died near Stockholm in 1955.
This selection very
accurately represents her repertoire,
from her early triumphs in Wagner to
the later involvement with Puccini and
Mascagni, whilst acknowledging (albeit
briefly) Strauss and Benatzky; Franck
and the invariably hyphenated Bach-Gounod
broaden the repertoire to include recital
standards and they give us the opportunity
to assess her in the round. In her Wagner
she is characterful, with voice production
sure and equalized; no obtrusive breathing
difficulties exist. The only concern
might be a characteristically fast vibrato,
which is present on all the recordings,
even the 1924 Tosca with Browning Mummery,
and as it was recorded only eight years
after her debut, should probably be
taken as an indissoluble feature of
her singing. Many of these examples
are judiciously cut (the Pace, pace
and Salome in particular – the last
named is a superb example of her art)
and are often sung in German – the Puccini
and Mascagni. Her intensity and expression
irradiate the extracts from La Forza
del Destino and this 1929 Salome is
a better recording than the earlier
1924 disc with Albert Coates conducting.
It’s exceptionally exciting and dramatic
and gives some idea of her undoubted
stage magnetism.
Some might find her
Tosca a shade low in wattage and partner
Joseph Schmidt not quite ideal here;
but this is still a fine disc and as
distinctive in its way as her Butterfly,
where her clarity and charm are equally
impressive. She shows her versatility
- vocally and stylistically - in the
Benatzky and the Turk/Ahlert. Ljungberg’s
was an impressive talent that tended
to be overlooked in favour of other
established star international sopranos.
That she was held in esteem can be seen
from her partners on disc – the Wagner
recordings led by Coates in which she
was partnered by Britain’s greatest
heldentenor Walter Widdop and similarly
those discs conducted for her by Leo
Blech in Berlin. Those have appeared
recently; Pearl has a compilation disc,
which replicates some of this material,
but Preiser’s selection is sourced from
good quality originals and I recommend
it to those yet to be acquainted with
this impressive musician.
Jonathan Woolf