Monument to Jenny Lind in Great Malvern Cemetery

Summary

Monument by Charles Bell Birch to opera singer Jenny Lind, installed following her death in 1887 and altered following the death of her husband, Otto Goldschmidt, in 1907.

Reasons for Designation

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION
The Monument to Jenny Lind, of 1887 by Charles Bell Birch, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:
* The monument is an elegant and restrained example of late-C19 funerary sculpture.

Historic interest:
* Jenny Lind was an opera singer of international significance, and this monument marks her final resting place;
* Charles Bell Birch is a noted sculptor of the C19.

Group value:
* The monument has good group value with the listed Monument to the Speer Family and the listed cemetery buildings.

History

This memorial, by the sculptor Charles Bell Birch, was erected in November 1887 to mark the final resting place of Johanna Maria Lind, better known as Jenny Lind, the Swedish opera singer who achieved international fame in the C19.

Jenny Lind was born on the 6 October 1820 in Stockholm, Sweden, to Anne-Marie Fellborg and Niclas Lind. Her singing abilities were recognised at a young age, and in 1830 she became the youngest pupil ever accepted at the Royal Opera School in Stockholm. Her operatic debut came in 1838 with her performance as Agathe in Der Freischutz, and she became an overnight sensation. She was a coloratura sporano and the tone of her voice led to her being nicknamed the Swedish Nightingale. Lind was appointed Court Singer by King Carl XIV John of Sweden and became a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music (Kungliga Musikaliska Akademien). By age 20, however, her voice had suffered due to overwork and poor singing technique. She was prescribed two months of complete silence before being able to rebuild her voice with tuition in Paris from Manuel Garcia.

During the 1840s, Lind toured outside of Sweden, performing in Finland (then in Russia), Denmark, Germany and Austria. Following her performances in Copenhagen in 1843, Hans Christian Andersen fell in love with her and she is said to have inspired some of his stories, including The Ugly Duckling and The Emperor's Nightingale. Lind's Berlin debut was in 1844, when she performed the principal role in Ein Feldlager, which was written especially for her by the composer Giacomo Meyerbeer.

Lind carried out her first London season in 1847, performing the role of Alice in Meyerbeer's Roberto il Diavolo for her debut, which was attended by Queen Victoria. The Queen is said to have been so impressed that she threw her bouquet from the royal box to Lind's feet on the stage. A British tour followed, during which Jenny Lind memorabilia was produced for sale, including soap and scents, items featuring her portrait, and a Royal Worcester candle snuffer in the shape of her body with the head of a nightingale. Alongside her growing success, Lind, a devout Christian, also became known for charitable work, raising significant sums of money for charities in Britain and other countries, and often performing free of charge for the benefit of hospitals and charitable funds.

In 1850, Lind undertook an American tour in contract with the showman and impresario Phineas Barnum for which she secured a large fee and which meant she was able to raise considerable sums for various charities. Barnum was able to stir up great enthusiasm and publicity for Lind's concerts, and by the end of the tour she had given 93 concerts in America. In 1852, Lind married the conductor Otto Goldschmidt in Boston, taking the name Jenny Lind-Goldschmidt.

The couple moved permanently to England in 1858, living first in Roehampton and Wimbledon before buying a property at 1 Moreton Gardens in South Kensington. A Blue Plaque at this house, now 189 Old Brompton Road, was unveiled in 1909, the first to commemorate a singer. The Goldschmidts also bought a country home, Wynds Point, in the Malvern Hills. In 1883, Lind was made the first Professor of Singing at the Royal College of Music, and in that same year she gave her last public performance, in aid of the Railway Servants' Benevolent Fund at the Spa Hall in Upper Colwall, near Malvern.

Jenny Lind died at Wynds Point on the 2 November 1887. Following a service at Malvern Priory, she was buried here at Great Malvern Cemetery. Her husband, Otto Goldschmidt, was also buried here following his death in 1907. Lind is also commemorated with numerous statues and other memorials throughout the world, including a plaque in Poets' Corner at Westminster Abbey which reads 'I know that my redeemer liveth'.

Details

Monument by Charles Bell Birch to opera singer Jenny Lind, installed following her death in 1887 and altered following the death of her husband, Otto Goldschmidt, in 1907.

MATERIALS AND PLAN: the monument is carved out of Swedish granite and stands in a pebbled enclosure bounded by iron railings.

DESCRIPTION: the monument takes the form of a wheel cross standing atop a gradually tapering base, with moulded and carved sections at each stage. The main body of the base bears the inscription: IN LOVING MEMORY/ OF/ JENNY MARIA LIND/ WIFE OF/ OTTO GOLDSCHMIDT/ BORN AT STOCKHOLM, OCTOBER 6 1820/ DIED AT WYNDS POINT MALVERN/ NOVEMBER 2 1887/ ALSO OF/ OTTO GOLDSCHMIDT/ BORN IN HAMBURG AUG 21 1819/ DIED IN LONDON FEB 24 1907.

Above the inscription there is a small carved panel protected by a shallow glass dome. The panel shows a lyre, with the word 'EXCELSIOR' below it, symbolising excellence in musical arts.

The railings surrounding the monument have intersecting circular sections, with fleur de lys finials. There is a small plaque laid in to the gravel giving information about Jenny Lind's life.

Sources

Books and journals
Pevsner, N, Brooks, A, The Buildings of England: Worcestershire, (2007), 461

Websites
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography entry for Jenny Lind, accessed 11.05.17 from http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/16671?docPos=3
English Heritage Blue Plaque record for Jenny Lind, accessed 11.05.17 from http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/blue-plaques/lind-jenny-1820-1887-a.k.a.-madame-goldschmidt

End of official list entry

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