On September 1, 1850, Swedish opera singer Jenny Lind — “The Swedish Nightingale” — arrived in New York City from Liverpool, creating a sensation. Showman P.T. Barnum negotiated to bring Lind to the states. His idea paid off, as the tour ended up netting him nearly half of a million dollars.
Barnum offered Lind a high price for the 150-date tour of the U.S. and Canada, an offer he increased after her first shows immediately made the tour a success. Lind agreed to the tour partly because the deal also required certain payments to charities. Her charm won over audiences, and it also helped bring opera to a wider U.S. audience.
This scene from 1934’s The Mighty Barnum captures Barnum negotiating for Jenny Lind as he hears her sing. The film stars Wallace Beery as P.T. Barnum and Virginia Bruce as Jenny Lind.
In the scene above, Virginia Bruce as Jenny Lind sings the Irish song “Believe Me, if All Those Endearing Young Charms.” Unfortunately, the real Jenny Lind lived in the very early years of recording and no known recordings of her voice survive. But there are several things named after her, including streets in Arkansas, Massachusetts, and New Jersey.
Lind did live on after her triumphant American tour. She spent most of the rest of her life in England with her husband and three children. She stopped doing opera, but she performed concerts until 1883. Starting in 1882, she became a professor of singing at the Royal College of Music. She died in 1887, and as she had done in her lifetime, she left much of her money to charity.
Photo: via public domain.
What is your favorite P.T. Barnum character? Leave your two cents in the comments.
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