Jenny Lind, “The Swedish Nightingale,” Debuts in Opera
Jenny Lind, known as "The Swedish Nightingale," made her operatic debut on March 7, 1838, in Stockholm as Agathe in Carl Maria von Weber's opera *Der Freischütz*. Born Johanna Maria Lind on October 6, 1820, her extraordinary vocal talent was evident from a young age, allowing her to secure a prominent role at the age of 17. Following her debut, Lind enjoyed a successful career, captivating audiences across Germany, Austria, and Great Britain throughout the 1840s. Her performances garnered widespread acclaim, including admiration from Queen Victoria, who praised her unique voice as exquisite and powerful. In 1849, she shifted away from opera to pursue different musical endeavors and embarked on her first American tour in 1850, managed by the renowned showman P. T. Barnum. This tour marked the pinnacle of her career, with 93 performances in the United States. In 1852, Lind married conductor Otto Goldschmidt and became a British citizen in 1859. She passed away on November 2, 1887, in Malvern, England.
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Jenny Lind, “The Swedish Nightingale,” Debuts in Opera
Jenny Lind, “The Swedish Nightingale,” Debuts in Opera
On March 7, 1838, the teenage Swedish soprano Jenny Lind made her operatic debut in Stockholm, Sweden, as the maiden Agathe in composer Carl Maria von Weber's opera Der Freischütz. She was an instant success and was nicknamed “the Swedish Nightingale” for the beauty of her singing.
Lind was born Johanna Maria Lind on October 6, 1820, in Stockholm. Her natural singing ability was recognized early, which is why she was able to secure a leading role at the Stockholm Opera at the tender age of 17. After her debut, Lind went on to tour Germany, Austria, and Great Britain during the 1840s. She received rave reviews everywhere she went, including one from Queen Victoria, who confided to her diary, “The great event of the evening . . . was Jenny Lind's appearance and her complete triumph. She has a most exquisite, powerful, and really quite peculiar voice, so round, soft, and flexible.”
Lind stopped singing opera in 1849 in favor of less arduous forms of music and commenced her first American tour the next year. Managed by the famous showman P. T. Barnum, Lind premiered on September 11, 1850, in New York City. This was the first of her 93 appearances in the United States during 1850 and 1851; she was a national sensation. The American tour was the height of Lind's career. Afterward, in 1852, she married Otto Goldschmidt, the conductor of the Bach Choir in London, England, becoming a British subject in 1859. She died on November 2, 1887, at Malvern, England.