Jenny Lind - Swedish Women, Timeline and Facts

Jenny Lind was born as Johanna Maria "Jenny" Lind on 6 October 1820 in Klara, in central Stockholm as the illegitimate daughter of Anne-Marie Fellborg, a schoolteacher, and Niclas Jonas Lind, a bookkeeper.

Her mother had divorced her first husband for adultery and refused to remarry until his death due to religious reasons. She did, however, marry Lind’s father when Lind was 14.

When Lind was nine, her singing was overheard by a maid of Mademoiselle Lundberg, the chief dancer at the Royal Swedish Opera. The maid, who was astounded by Lind's voice, returned the following day with Lundberg who later helped Lind gain admission at the Royal Dramatic Theatre.

Jenny Lind started singing on the stage at the age of ten. When she was 12, she had a vocal crisis and had to stop singing for a brief period of time. She, however, recovered later on.

In 1838, she got her breakthrough role as Agathe in ‘Der Freischütz’ at the Royal Swedish Opera. At the age of 20, she served as a court singer to King of Sweden and Norway. During this time, she also became a part of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music.

From 1841 to 1843, Lind studied under the guidance of Manuel García who saved her singing career by helping her recover from the damage to her voice.

In December 1844, she sang the title role in the opera ‘Norma’ in Berlin. This led to more engagements with opera houses throughout Austria and Germany. The following year, she sang without fee for a charity event in aid of the Orchestra Widows' Fund.

On 4 May 1847, the singer gave her first performance in London when she appeared in an Italian edition of Meyerbeer's ‘Robert le Diable.’ The same year, she appeared at Her Majesty's Theatre in Verdi's opera I masnadieri.

In November 1847, Lind was devastated by the premature death of her beloved friend Mendelssohn. She later went on to sing the soprano part in ‘Elijah,’ which he had written for her, at London's Exeter Hall.

In early 1849, she decided to retire from opera. The Swedish Nightingale gave her last opera performance on 10 May 1849 in ‘Robert le diable.’ Soon after this, she was approached by the famous American showman P. T. Barnum who offered her proposal to tour throughout the United States.

In early 1849, she decided to retire from opera. The Swedish Nightingale gave her last opera performance on 10 May 1849 in ‘Robert le diable.’ Soon after this, she was approached by the famous American showman P. T. Barnum who offered her proposal to tour throughout the United States.

In early 1851, Lind became uncomfortable with Barnum's relentless ways of marketing the tour. Although the duo parted amicably, she continued the tour for about a year under her own management.

She then returned to Europe and continued to perform in the concert halls. In 1856, she performed at a concert conducted by William Sterndale Bennett. In the year 1866, Lind gave a concert with Arthur Sullivan at the St James's Hall. Her performances decreased after this and the singer retired from singing in 1883.

From 1879 to 1887, she collaborated with Frederick Niecks on his biography of Frédéric Chopin. In 1882, Lind was appointed the professor of singing at the newly launched Royal College of Music.

The track ‘The Camp of Silesia’ from Meyerbeer's ‘Ein Feldlager in Schlesien’ became one of the numbers most associated with Jenny Lind. She was called on to sing the song whenever she performed in concerts.

The track ‘The Camp of Silesia’ from Meyerbeer's ‘Ein Feldlager in Schlesien’ became one of the numbers most associated with Jenny Lind. She was called on to sing the song whenever she performed in concerts.

The biographer Francis Rogers believed that although Jenny Lind was much admired by Mendelssohn, Meyerbeer, Berlioz, the Schumanns, and many others, she was undoubtedly inferior to her predecessors like Pasta and Malibran and also to her contemporaries like Grisi and Sontag.

The critic H. F. Chorley, who admired the singer, described her voice as comprising "two octaves in the compass – from D to D” that had a higher possible note available on rare occasions.

The American press believed Lind's presentation represented Germanic "cold, untouching tone and style", rather than the ardent expression essential for Italian opera.

In 1843, Jenny Lind met Hans Christian Andersen and the latter fell in love with her. Although the two became friends, Lind did not reciprocate his feelings.

After this, the singer became friends with Mendelssohn who used to write passionate love letters to her. Before the duo could start a relationship, Mendelssohn died a premature death in November 1847.

On February 5, 1852, Lind married pianist and conductor Goldschmidt in Boston. She went on to take the name "Jenny Lind-Goldschmidt" both personally and professionally.

The couple initially lived in Dresden, Germany, and then moved to England where they lived for the rest of their lives. Together, they had three children: Otto, Jenny and Ernest.

Lind died on 2 November 1887 at Wynd's Point at the age of 67. She was buried at the Great Malvern Cemetery.

She has been commemorated in music and even on banknotes. The 1996 as well as the 2006 issues of Swedish 50-krona banknote had her portrait in the front. Many objects and places have been named after the great singer, including the Jenny Lind locomotive and Jenny Lind Island in Canada.

In Britain, Jenny Lind Children's Hospital of the Norfolk is named in Lind’s honor. In the USA, streets in New Bedford, Massachusetts; Taunton, Massachusetts; North Easton, Massachusetts; McKeesport, Pennsylvania; Stanhope, New Jersey and North Highlands, California have been named after her.

A bronze statue of a seated Lind sits at the Djurgården Island in Stockholm.

There are no available recordings of Jenny Lind's works though she is believed to have made a phonograph recording for Thomas Edison.