LIND, Jenny (1820-1887)

Identity Statement

Reference code(s)	: GB 1249 MS 4254
Held at	: Royal College of Music   Click here to find out how to view this collection at http://www.rcm.ac.uk/library/contactus/archivesandrecords/ ›
Full title	: LIND, Jenny (1820-1887)
Date(s)	: 1847-1959
Level of description	: Collection (fonds)
Extent	: 1 volume
Name of creator(s)	: Lind | Johanna Maria | 1820-1887 | afterwards Lind-Goldschmidt | Swedish Soprano called Jenny Lind

Context

Administrative/Biographical history:

Jenny Lind was born in Stockholm, 6 Oct 1820. The Swedish soprano (nicknamed 'the Swedish nightingale') enrolled at the Royal Opera School, Stockholm in 1830. She made her debut in 1838 as Agathe in Der Freischutz. After numerous performances in Sweden, she made her German debut in Berlin in 1844, and her Viennese debut in April 1846. After further touring in Germany and Austria, she made London debut at Her Majesty's in May 1847, as Alice in Robert le diable, followed by success appearances in La sonnambula, La fille du regiment and I masnadieri. She sang in Sweden during the winter, and made her last Stockholm appearance in April 1848. She then sang for a second season at Her Majesty's followed by an extensive tour of Great Britain. She continued to sing in concerts and oratorios, both in Germany and in England, where she lived from 1858 until her death. In 1883, the year of her last public performance, she became Professor of Singing at the Royal College of Music. She died at Wynds Point, Herefordshire on 2 Nov 1887.

Content

Scope and content/abstract:

Musical scrapbook of Jenny Lind, 1847, containing manuscript transcriptions of six songs in German, with signatures and dedications of Luigi Lablache, Sigismond Thalberg, Arthur Saint-Léon and Fanny Cerito, London, Aug 1847; three account sheets relating to Lind's financial affairs, 1870-1871, including accounts, 1847-1848; statement of condolence from Royal College of Music on the death of Otto Goldschmidt, 16 Mar 1907; letter from Gill Bevan, Jenny Lind's grand-daughter, to Sir Ernest Bullock on provenance of the volume, 13 Jul 1959.

Access & Use

Language/scripts of material:
Songs are in German; accounts are in Swedish; remaining letters are in English; the 1847 dedications are in French and Italian.

System of arrangement:

Conditions governing access:

Usual conditions of the Library of the Royal College of Music apply. See the RCM website or contact the RCM Library for details.

Conditions governing reproduction:

Photocopying is permitted at the discretion of the Archivist for research purposes only.

Finding aids:

An entry is given in volume 2 of the Manuscripts catalogue in the library of the Royal College of Music.

Archival Information

Archival history:

The volume passed to Jenny Lind-Goldschmidt's eldest son Walter Otto Goldschmidt, and then to his daughter Gill Bevan.

Immediate source of acquisition:

Given by Mrs Gill Bevan, Jenny Lind's grand-daughter to the RCM, Jul 1959.

Allied Materials

Related material:

British Library holds correspondence, 1844-1882; Centre for Kentish Studies holds correspondence (Ref: U1371).

National Register of Archives: Click here to view NRA record

Publication note:

Description Notes

Archivist's note:
Compiled by Robert Baxter as part of the RSLP AIM25 Project. Source: article by Elizabeth Forbes, Grove Dictionary of Music.

Rules or conventions:
Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.

Date(s) of descriptions:
Sep 2001