Ingrid Bjoner as Turandot

Ingrid Bjoner sent me the above photo of herself as Turandot after I sent her a letter of praise letter after seeing her in this role at The Met in 1974.

On the back of the photo, Ms. Bjoner wrote:

Turandot is a fascinating role, and I have seen many sopranos undertake it over the years since Mary Curtis-Verna was my first icy princess at The Old Met in 1965.

Birgit Nilsson was, of course, the Turandot of her day. But Ingrid Bjoner made a striking impression with her powerful, silvery sound, and – in truth – her characterization was more complex and interesting than Nilsson’s. I wrote about my impressions of the Bjoner Turandot here.

And here she is, in a German-language performance:

Ingrid Bjoner – TURANDOT ~ In questa reggia (in German) with Ludovic Spiess

~ Oberon