A charming story is
told of Jenny Lind,[1]
the great Swedish singer, which shows her noble nature. Walking with a friend, she saw an old woman
tottering into the door of an alms-house.
Her pity was at once excited, and she entered the door ostensibly to
rest for a moment, but really to give something to the poor woman. To her surprise, the old woman began at once
to talk of Jenny Lind saying:
“I
have lived a long time in the world, and desire nothing before I die but to
hear Jenny Lind.”
“Would
that make you happy?” inquired Jenny.
“Ay,
that it would, but such folks as I can’t go to the playhouse, and so I shall
never hear her.”
“Don’t
be so sure of that,” said Jenny. “Sit
down, my friend, and listen.”
She
then sang, with genuine glee, one of here best songs. The old woman was wild with delight and
wonder when she added:
[1] Johanna “Jenny” Maria Lind was born in Stockholm, Sweden
in about 1810, daughter of Anne Marie Felborg and Niklas Lind, who married
after Jenny’s birth. Jenny was noted for her singing voice from a very young
age. When she was about nine years old, her singing was overheard by the maid
of Mademoiselle Lundberg, the principal dancer at the Royal Swedish Opera. The
maid returned the next day with the ballet dancer, who arranged an audition and
who helped her get accepted at the Royal Theater School. She began to sing on
stage when she was ten, and by the age of 17 she was a favorite in the Royal
Swedish Opera. At age 20 she was a member of the Swedish Royal Academy and
court singer to the King of Sweden and Norway. She was received throughout
Europe with tremendous acclaim.
While in the
United States, in 1852, Lind married pianist Otto Goldschmidt. The couple
returned to Europe together; they eventually had three children. Although she
ceased her professional singing career with her return to Europe, Lind
continued to perform in a number of oratorios, concerts, and choruses, with a
particular interest in Bach. She lived first in Dresden, Germany, and then in
England for the remainder of her life, where she became a philanthropist, and
for some years, a professor of singing at the Royal College of Music. Her last
public performance was at Düsseldorf in 1870, where she sang in Ruth, an oratorio composed by her
husband. Lind died in 1887 in Malvern, Worcestershire from cancer. (source: Wikipedia)
Lind had many male suitors for her romantic or musical affections before marrying
Otto Goldschmidt in 1852. Among her earlier known suitors beside Goldschmidt
were Hans Christian Andersen (who wrote The
Nightingale in her honor), Felix Mendelssohn, and Frederic Chopin. Lind
continued to meet with success. She became wealthy, and also became known for
her philanthropy of cultural and humanitarian causes, which continued for many
years. In 1850-52, she toured the United States, Cuba and Canada, earning a
considerable fortune due to her association with the U.S. showman P.T. Barnum.
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