Opera on the Move in the Nordic Countries during the Long 19th ...

92 Ingela Tägil
Published references
Aftonbladet, 8 March 1838.
Birch-Pfeiffer, Charlotte 1845: ”Jenny Linds biografi” in: Aftonbladet, 6 February
1845.
Dagligt Allehanda, 9 March 1838.
Dannström, Isidor 1896: Några blad ur Isidor Dannströms minnes-anteckningar,
Stockholm.
Franzén, Nils-Olof 1982: Jenny Lind – En biografi, Stockholm: Bonnier.
García, Manuel 1894: Hints on singing, Translated from the French by Beata
García, London.
Heimdall, 24 April 1832.
Heimdall, 1 December 1832.
Holland, Henry Scott and Rockstro, William Smyth 1891: Jenny Lind-
Goldschmidt – hennes tidigare lif och bana som dramatisk konstnär och
sångerska 1820–1851, Stockholm.
H. T. 1845 in: Allgemeine Musikalische Zeitung, no 7, February 1845.
The Illustrated London News, 11 October 1845.
Lindblom, Teodor 1887 in: Dagens nyheter, 7–9 November 1887.
Silfverstolpe, Malla Montgomery 1920: Memoarer IV. Utg: Malla Grandinson
Stockholms Figaro, 14 June 1846.
Sång-Lära af Musik-Conservatorium i Paris, innehållande Grunder för sången
och öfningar för Rösten. Öfversatt efter den i Leipzig hos Breitkopf och
Härtel på franska och tyska tryckta upplaga, 1814: Stockholm
Tidning för Teater och musik, 20 February 1836.
Summary
The Swedish singer Jenny Lind (1820–1887) had a defective middle range
in her voice, probably the result of two episodes of vocal strain in her early
youth. The first episode occurred when she was about 15. Later, when she
was given more demanding vocal roles, she strained her voice again and
nearly lost it entirely. I discuss the causes of the first episode, and specifically
why her singing technique was deficient. The main issue seems to
have been the ideas of her voice teacher Isak Berg, including a high placement
of the chest voice; his belief that Jenny Lind was a mezzo soprano, although
others described her as a high soprano; and the concept of “consequence
notes”, meaning that singers should not work with their high notes.
Berg argued that these would appear by themselves as a consequence of
working with notes at lower pitches. Another factor in Lind’s case is the
voice-break: she probably began executing the demands of an adult singer
too early. Added to these reasons was a difficult home situation. The combination
may have been enough to cause Jenny Lind’s vocal strain.