The Sun.
London, England, 1847-05-06 00:00:00

JENNY LIND'S DEBUT ON

We have had frequent extent,,,, of &Lie C/,,iiCi1a1,,,,
pertaining to " first nights,' but we may safely say, and our
opinion will be backed by several hundreds of her .Ilajesty's
subjects, that we never witnessed such a scene of enthusiasm
as that displayed last night on the occasion of 141ademoiselle
Jenny Lind's delnit as Alice in an Italian version of Robert
le Diable. The uproar which followed her entrance is some•
thing to be remembered, not described. The whole crowded
hats
mass displayed a power of lungs truly astounding, and
and handkerchiefs waved from ail parts. It was not like the
encouragement given to a debutante, but the Avdcorne g iven
to an established favourite—a declaration of
ans
a little
existing
sympathy. For a momeat Mademoiselle Lind ass
overcome by her immense reception, but it was for a moment
only, and as a singer and an actress she had perfect posses-
sion of all her powers throughout the evening. If the ex-
more
pectations were g: eat, we must say that they were
than realised. People came prepared to admire, but
theY
admired beyond the extent of their preparation. nos
were
something entirely new and fresh. The auditors did n
know what to make of it. They ha,l heard singers
and over again, but here, that wondrous thing, a new
sensation was actually created. The conversations in the
box-lobbies were all indicative of the highest gratification
and the highest wonder, were all variations in the one thente
of . Did you ever hear such a thing in your life?" Those
rhapsadizin are
of our readers who were not in the houses may fancy we
over
g, but all that were there, nd had an oppor-
tunity of joining in general conversation, know that what we!
are stating is a pure unexaggerated fact. The sustain a
notes, swelling with full richness, and fading down to the
softest piano, without losing one iota of their qualitS
being delicious when loud, delicious when whisper,. ,
dwelled in the public ear, and reposed in the Public
heart. The shake mezzo voce with which she conclude
the pretty air " Quand je quittai ma Normandie This
perfectly wonderful for its rapidity and equality. !
air was rapturously encored with the most in
heaving heaving of hats and handkerchiefs. Even the wolleY her
which she uttered the first two or three notes • _
Romanza " Va dit-elle" so completely took the audie
n
c
e
by surprise that they interrupted her progress, and \bile
her to stop by their impetuous applaus .0,
Mademoiselle Lind raised her audience to enthusiast-
by the exquisite nature of her organ, and by her
tPreess
fect execution, the impression she made on them
was no less profound. There is no conventionalitaysaa;:oauct..h,eze,
no seizing the strong points of a character and letting P.ll lf,,
rest drop. She acts thoroughly, and whether she is singly;
or is confined to by-play, her histrionic exertions
same. Hence a perfect naturalness, and an
of gesture. All seems dictated by the monlent, a d yetanger, or
is graceful. There is no stereotyped form for love, ari
what not ; but all has the impress of immediate inspir
__d_
As striking points we may mention the clinging to the er,r7'se
when attacked by Bertram, and the expression of raPl:euele
just before the final descent of the curtain, when she
•
infininte.avraerieatyll
that she has saved Robert from perdition. We jutst
isjeatve our
these points almost at random, and would no
Leaders imagine that they jut out like pyrarnids,fia.om
tudy, of
Her whole conception of Alice is a fine histrionic s he
cur.
which every feature is equally good. On the fall Of t bons °f
taro the burst of applause showed that the expeettl. tiact
the audience had been more than realised. Three dlead it
a desert.
times was Mademoiselle Lind called upon the stage, Mich
was a certain hearty " one cheer more" sort of feeling, w
we have never seen so strongly manifested.
(From the Morning Herald.)
No sooner was Jenny seen than a hurricane elan°
sounded through the house, lasting for so long of
.‘!' d that
a perio oat
the fair object of it was well nigh overcome with
and enduring heartiness. It was a considerable tialeto Pre-
she recovered her self- possession and was enabled
retell.
ceed with her part. Without having the ghost of
whichaP few
sion to beauty, there is a charm encircling her to d her
could he indifferent. Her fair hair, her blue eYes' and
figure, are facts to be jotted down ; but the 'ilia
gence and child-like goodnature which overrule ee*
define the
else are less tangible, and it would be hard to _
sensibility, the bnevolence, and the innumerable littlie Geis),
reflective of feminine worth and guilelessness -o:ll.cluiable,
over her visage, producing an effect ineffably special, 1 , first
and engaging. When Miss Bremer, in the novel which de,
P.
violent
made Jenny Lind's name known to the English
scribed her as " captivating," it is clear she was not v• °Tr
who pi
and the estimate of Andersen, the Danish poet, ,w_ woo
nounces her " pure-hearted, pious, and kind—a tiob'r justify,
and a faithful friend"—the sympathies at anc', 11, the
though no one can tell wherefore. NotwithstanoL,re had
amount of large and unfair expectation in which time ptillaue'et did
indulged—a perilous expectation to face—disaq r voice, A
not follow ; on the contrary vast was time delight.
distinct, and
pub,it__, ;
true soprano, is rich, full, and mellifluous— clear, vecuess
voluptuously bell- like—while there is a charming ea point
of texture throughout. It extends to D roger capacitis
stoonetxaegc,uet execute
ear-,yo 1 annott
note
passages seems
accurately
she reaches without loss of power or tone. I°-
"ilare to that of
1 Arti'''.
unlike Sontag, her merits do not sto
latest with the nicety a • strati:tent ; u.s,
° b e s 1" - -
and finish of an in
' fore hese me-
otical exe
chanical arts are entirely subordinate to the P.
~,i as im-
pression, and the bearer is not so Much surprlareu there
tensely gratified. That she is an excellent mastic
I, exquisite
are proofs in her taste, her modes of phrasing, "ti sir was
sostenuto, and her rare judiciousness. The first
enee,
pnudersee,parate y ._.f...
therefore a triumph in the consideration of the
a delicate
who were moved to admiration as much by the
and un-
earnestness of the delivery as by the pure 8.- eer.
affected style of singing, and its consurnral„...and
tainty. Her execution of the pretty pastoral, ' ‘isk'vrio„
je quittai Normandieinexpressibly naive and
ning, disclosing the specific qualities we have noteseta"still
mere perfectly, and meeting with an encore to each a
rate verse. In the unaccompanied trio, gi So yetl/C Soar
bs j
ses," the ustness of her intonatheion, and her artisticat
tact, were of the highest value; hut r grand effort was ill
the last scene with Robert and Bertram—the typical colli-
sion between the principles ofgood and evil which
brought her performances to an gend with extraordinary
triumph and ecicit. Altogether the first bearing of Jenny
Lind has been satisfactory in the extreme, and we do r,ot
now wonder at the criticism of Mendelssohn, who affirms
with generous emphasis, that he bee nowhere " with
met
such a genuine and true artist—nowhere found naturfa
capacity, study, and deep sensibility, so perfectly unit ea;
and that, although here or there one of these qualities met
have appeared much more prominent, he believes the conihe
nation of all these to such a degree has never yet 04;
cursed." In common, therefore, with others, we can
be
congratulate her upon achieving such a complete succea:
here, in the teeth of expectation the most enormous and
the
most exigent. The enthusiasm of the audience knew ea
bounds. They called her three times before the curtain' ,leit,
showered flowers upon her in abundance, while handkerchl,
were waved in all parts of the house with unmitigable Z¢
gn c;
And Jenny received all these honours with the
Modest
that so well becomes her.
(From the Chronc
Of the Swedish Nightingale there cle
an.)
be but one oPinit
She is a most delightful artiste. She is careful and
..eeet'.
scientious. Wended not find any novelty in
grace, or grou indicative of an inventive faculty ;,,ilill
what she did was charming. Her talent has been car!' riie
trained, and, with a voice not remarkably facilitysynnpathetic!n ja
chest tones, she has, by industry, acquired great ,011
, the management of her upper regist r. Her shakes are we
her cad but
prepared, articulated, and terminateed. The few notes a".
_.4
the line up to B natural are brilliant, and by far he
passion of lyrical
part of her vocal organ. In acting she identifies : !ea_ ePta
with her part and is remarkably intelligent, but in the
1;0"14
asidered SS
!nethod of Italian vocalization she must only be con
en__er
portraiture musical impulse, and
inferior to her Itailian rivals. We are convinced that she Ivrii,
can be dignified or heroic enough to sustain Normaa, In'
Amine!
Mide, &c., or passionately impressive to be a Donn
: a Desdemona. In timbre of voice, beauty of methoticg.;
in pathetic delivery of cantabile, she does not appro
ennt•aws
boni, nor in mastery of all the graces,
richly cast in the mould of nature, and perfected Or h;
Tacc"'°
traditionary art instruction of a great master, s jact
nardi, to his gifted daughter, Persiani. Still, Jenny ..._„s
is a talent of the highest order. We cannot pointtl,!,''te
and refinetn. _ ;
its speciality, but there is a freshness and an exq .I'.,
naturalness about her with which one is dlplease and,
lighted. Pasta was sublime, and by a single note ee.tv
an audience. Grisi, like in the finale to Norma, re
an
In°
the faithless Polito thrills an audience. Malibran.e.s,bona
dared her public with' her exuberance in musical fancti ,s_Vt,
ravished the audience by the intensity of her draro
neation. Sontag surpassed all these singers in facile.',a
execution, and equalled all of them in purity of int:: oil
taste, and truthful reading of characters suited to h .v`,l:bis
Alboni imparts to the simplest melodic forms an irrree.r.tuliti
charm, that at once attests the possession of a superio
afar'
and beauty of voice. Persiani leaves all her predeces.setfe.tloa
contemporaries in the shade in distinctness of artiro
.10.46,
and phrasing of the most fascinating, novel, tasteful .9
1-tb,
Jenny Lind has not one of these special excellencierat4
above eminent singers, and as a dramatic vocalist pot alto',
below them; but with Lind one is delighted ifTL, bo f:
nished, charmed if not ecstasied. Her Alice is engagau3 bet
not overwhelming. Hear her in the upper octay.e bet
not
notes are pure, limpid, and resonant ; below, husk'"? ''s it iS
and ineffective. Her shake is perfect, in the pianisszu.i.. sire
delicious, her chomatic scale is admirably articulatea_ for,
do not effect to render an account of encores, calking7,eas
ward, showers of bouquets, Esc., for we have seens.;3lo of
tilFteicia and
honours conferred on artistes whose claims by
Lind are contemptible. What she obtained she rneri ,
that is the highest compliment we can pay her.
(From the Post. ) create
Never did any theatrical event within our memorY, of a
such a sensation, both without and within the wah.a. vstot
theatre, as the Milt last night of Mdlle. Jenny Linct
..''',o
the most important fact is, that never was expectatige''__,4
gloriously realised, Surrounded by the highest aristo rrbie
of the land sat the whole of the Royal Family, including'.
tWO Queens. The reception of Jenny Lind was most entha-
siastic, and as the performance proceeded this enthusissal,
grew into a perfect furore. Each time she sang, the Whole
tiouse—pit• stalls, boxes, and gallery—applauded simultane'
ously, amidst waving oehats and kerchiefs, and such irre
pressible laudatory exclamations as baffle all description.
Whatever had been anticipated of the vocalist who has 011tecif
the journals, and supplied the topic of conversation for
months past, she surpasses all expectation,
Whatever had been hoped of the splendour Sl'
the cast, that likewise was more than fulfills"'
Mdlle. Jenny hind, as Alice, in that tender and sublitaB
cavatina known as " Va, dit-elle," exceeded, indeed, all that
has been said of her ; well might an electric burst of apPla,nte:
follow its conclusion. We have never heard a voice eojaa'he
hers in sweetness and flexibility ; her ornaments, unlike t._
stereotyped style of the old artistes, are so fresh and so chaet_°..
that they seem to be the spontaneous impression and insly
tion of the moment. Then her faculty of
imp raffia ia
swelling and diminishing her voice is quite unequalle ._
all modern singers. We would say that in this rersptect
her voice resembled an instrument, were it not fo
s.ahe
extreme sensibility and wonderful power of expres i
_r!
displayed in all she accomplished with so much taru_.°
artistic finish. She is indeed a consummate artise,.F
,T.
bining all the harmony of the German school with all Kee
purity and taste of the most finished Italians tyle. . Ile
shake is the most wonderful we ever heard. h note,
well as each word, is as distinct as a coup de mrfod.
We must add a few words as regards Mdlle. Jenny J•!.!_..„1
Her acting is equal to her singing to the lest word
lieu,
she gives importance and intensity of expression. _re,,
Bertram asks her if she has detected his " whereabou_...d
the answer " Nulla! mina!" has depth of feeling apt
of truth surpassing anythine: we ever witnessed.
..emtur,
when she clasps the cross, 'defies her awful pas!' se A
and exclaims, " Heaven is with me!" the effect la olio
most soul-stirring nature. The encores spun of.let_.:idr,
performance to so late an hour that we must a
_!_tra.
with our fatigued attention, to do justice to so ej.':.'ilr;
ordinary 84 Asxciting a performance as that of lastT.Aers
in a word, The termination was, that the chief Pe_l,l,lte see
were thrice recalled with the most vehement Plauu... bed
ever heard, and when we left the house the spectator,
~re,
been for more than twenty minutes demanding t,.1.1! +tea
sence of the proprietor of the theatre to thank him fol. '
enjoyment. Albert were
The Queen and his Royal Ilielmese Prince es, to
present. They were dtcompanied by her Royal 11413113,0 of
Duchess of Kent and his Serene Highness the
_.,. of
Leiningen. The Royal suite included the Count:6loo
Desert, Lady Augusta Bruce Hon. Miss Kerr, 11013. A IA
Caveadizb, Lord Waterpark,lion. Colonel Phippot 01,0

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