Jenny Lind

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Lore & Background

Jenny Lind was born in Klara, central Stockholm, the illegitimate daughter of Niclas Jonas Lind, a bookkeeper, and Anne-Marie Fellborg, a schoolteacher. Her mother ran a day school; when Lind was about nine, her singing was overheard by a maid, leading to an audition and admission to the Royal Dramatic Training Academy. She began singing onstage at age ten, suffered a vocal crisis at twelve, and recovered. Her first great role was Agathe in Weber's Der Freischütz at the Royal Swedish Opera in 1838. By age twenty, she was a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music and court singer to the King of Sweden and Norway. Overuse damaged her voice, but teacher Manuel García saved it after she studied with him in Paris from 1841 to 1843, insisting on three months of vocal rest before teaching her bel canto technique. After García's training, Lind returned to the Royal Swedish Opera. She toured Denmark in 1843, where Hans Christian Andersen fell in love with her; she did not reciprocate, but they remained friends. Through Meyerbeer's influence, she sang the title role in Bellini's Norma in Berlin in December 1844, leading to engagements across Germany and Austria. She became closely associated with Felix Mendelssohn. In London, she debuted on 4 May 1847 in Robert le diable, attended by Queen Victoria. In 1849, at age 29, she announced her permanent retirement from opera; her last opera performance was on 10 May 1849 in Robert le diable. The reasons for her early retirement remain a matter of mystery. In 1850, Lind went to the United States at the invitation of showman P. T. Barnum, giving 93 large-scale concerts for him and then touring under her own management. She earned over $350,000 (equivalent to $13,545,000 in 2025), donating the proceeds to charities, principally free schools in Sweden. With her new husband, Otto Goldschmidt, she returned to Europe in 1852, settling in England in 1855. She had three children and gave occasional concerts over the next three decades. From 1882, she was a professor of singing at the Royal College of Music in London for some years.

Reader's Guide

Jenny Lind's significance lies in her extraordinary vocal reputation and her impact on 19th-century music and philanthropy. Dubbed the 'Swedish Nightingale', she was one of the most highly regarded singers of her era, performing across Europe and in a highly popular US tour. Her career was marked by a vocal crisis overcome through study with Manuel García, and by close associations with composers such as Felix Mendelssohn and Giacomo Meyerbeer. Lind's early retirement from opera at age 29 remains unexplained. Her US concerts under P. T. Barnum and later self-management earned a fortune, which she donated largely to charitable causes, especially free schools in Sweden. She later taught singing at the Royal College of Music in London. Her legacy includes her influence on Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tales and ongoing scholarly interest in her relationships and career decisions.

Did You Know?

• Lind's singing was overheard by a maid when she was about nine, leading to her admission to the Royal Dramatic Training Academy.
• She inspired three of Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tales: 'Beneath the Pillar', 'The Angel', and 'The Nightingale'.
• Lind earned over $350,000 (equivalent to $13,545,000 in 2025) from her US concerts, donating the proceeds to charities, principally free schools in Sweden.
• She gave her last opera performance on 10 May 1849 in Robert le diable, attended by Queen Victoria.
• From 1882, she was a professor of singing at the Royal College of Music in London for some years.