Note : Jenny Lind features on the Euro Driving Tour and this Eurowalk 1 Route
The area known as Jenny Lind in the South of Glasgow seems a strange place and way to commemorate the famous 19th-century Swedish opera singer Jenny Lind (1820-1887), known as the Swedish Nightingale (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jenny_Lind). It would seem that at some point she had put up in an inn (or farmhouse) in the area which changed its name in honour of the occasion. See https://www.glasgowtimes.co.uk/news/17330363.jenny-lind-glasgow-area-named-greatest-showman-star/.
The area is part of the Stirling Maxwell estate, so one cannot help wondering if there is some link between this great artist and the wealthy family, as there was for Chopin.
Jenny Lind’s presence on the Glasgow cultural scene, however, is better documented. The following advertisement is found in the Glasgow Herald on 29 September 1848 (alongside reports of Chopin’s visits, and concern regarding political developments in France).
THEATRE ROYAL - JENNY LIND
THE REMAINING TICKETS for the TWO GRAND OPERAS, LA FIGLIA DEL REGGIMENTO, AND LA SONNAMBLA.
(To be Performed on MONDAY and WEDNESDAY Next the 2nd and 4th October.)
May be had on application at the Box Office of the Theatre,
To-day and following days, from 11 till 4 o'clock.
Mr. Edmund Glover respectfully informs the public,
that Mademoiselle Lind's other engagements will
prevent the possibility of a Third Performance.
Regarding the Operas:
Jenny Lind toured Scotland in 1848, singing in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Perth along with some other places; she is also recorded as singing in the City Halls (see Eurowalk 1 map) in Glasgow in September 1847. In 1850, she famously travelled to America where she toured and was promoted by P.T. Barnum of the circus fame and her character is alluded to in The Greatest Showman.
The Jenny Lind area is near Rouken Glen Park which is nice for walking, playparks, coffee shop etc.
The newspaper reports of October 1848 reveal that she sang in the Theatre Royal in Dunlop Street which was connected with Mr Edmund Glover, who is mentioned above, and he was certainly based there in 1852. She also gave a concert on 6 October again in the City Halls. The Glasgow Herald of 9 October gave an extensive rave review [https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=GGgVawPscysC&dat=18481009&printsec=frontpage&hl=en]; of one piece it said:
“When we say it was perfect, we need add no single word more.”
But there was much complaint about the cost of tickets and the exploitation of great talent, in her three Glasgow appearances:
“... the enormous charges made for the various evenings were quite enough to scare away all but the enthusiastic and wealthier portion of the musical dilletanti of Glasgow.”
Seats at the operas apparently cost 25 shillings; newspaper advertisements reveal that the best seats for the concert cost 1 guinea (about £110 now), and the complaint was that the theatre owners (“mere traffickers in public amusements”) were cashing in strongly on Jenny Lind’s talent.
However Jenny Lind’s reputation was extensive through Europe, notably in
Denmark, Austria and Germany, a fact re-inforced by the story (much copied in
other papers) which apparently originated in the Glasgow Citizen later in October 1848. It is related that two
German girls travelled through by train from Edinburgh to see La Figlia del Reggimento, and somehow contrived
to converse with Jenny Lind backstage; subsequently they were granted an
audience (“.. a favour denied to many of higher note...”) at the Star Hotel.
Does one sense the singer’s entourage
releasing good stories?
To see an image of the Theatre Royal that was in Dunlop Street Glasgow:
Sept 29, 1848 Glasgow Herald: The Glasgow Herald - Google News Archive Search
Edmund Glover and the Theatre Royal https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_Glover
Comments
Post a Comment