Opera Singer Jenny Lind

The "Swedish Nightingale"

Famously known as Jenny Lind, Johanna Maria Lind, born 6th of October 1820 and died 2nd of November 1887. She was a Swedish opera singer, often referred as the "Swedish Nightingale."

Lind was one of the most highly regarded singers of the 19th century. She performed in opera roles in Sweden and across Europe, and undertook an extraordinarily popular beginning in 1850. She was a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music from 1840.

Lind became famous after her operatic debut performance on March 7, 1838, at the Stockholm Opera, Sweden, of Der Freischütz by composer Carl Maria von Weber. She suffered vocal damage within a few years, but the singing teacher Manuel García saved her voice.


Unfortunately, I can't find any recording of Jenny Lind. Here's a video of soprano Frieda Hempel who dedicated herself to concert and became famous for her "Jenny Lind" concerts singing in the costume of the famous singer.




In the 1840s, Jenny Lind was in great demand in opera roles throughout Sweden and northern Europe, becoming the protégée of Felix Mendelssohn. The composer wrote the soprano part in his famous oratorio Elijah for Jenny Lind, but she was not available to sing the first performance of Elijah in Birmingham premiere. Lind was devastated by Mendelssohn's premature death in 1847. She did not feel able to sing the part for a year afterwards. After two acclaimed seasons in London, she announced her retirement from opera at the age of 29.

In 1850, Lind went to America at the invitation of the showman P.T. Barnum. She gave 93 large-scale concerts for him and then continued a self-managed tour. She earned more than $350,000 from these concerts, donating the proceeds to charities, principally the endowment of free schools in Sweden.

She returned to Europe in 1852 with her new husband, Otto Goldschmidt. The couple had three children. She gave occasional concerts over the next two decades, settling in England in 1855. From 1882, for some years, she was a professor of singing at the Royal College of Music in London.

Suggested Video for Listening:

Great Performers : Jenny Lind. Youtube, uploaded by Classical Nerd. Accessed October 6, 2017.



Video Credit:

German Soprano Frieda Hempel ~ Zwiegesang "A Song Jenny Lind Sang" (1935)


Resources:

Profile of Jenny Lind and links to information about her, from the Barnum's American History Museum site. Accessed October 6, 2013.


Profile of Lind at Scandinavian.wisc.edu. Accessed October 6, 2013

Image Credit:
Jenny Lind, en.wikipedia.org. Public Domain.   

 

 

(c) October 2013. Tel. Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved.