Soprano Jenny Lind arrives in Copenhagen in September 1843. She is on her way to a world career and becomes known by the nickname “the Swedish Nightingale”. The 23-year-old singer has already been a professional for 13 years. Along the way, she has had several serious voice problems, but now she has studied for two years with the famous vocal coach Manuel Garcia in Paris.
Jenny Lind sings the part of Alice in two performances of Meyerbeer's Robert of Normandy- a role that Bournonville has already heard her sing in Stockholm - at the Royal Theatre. She sings in Swedish - the rest of the cast in Danish, of course. The audience goes wild with Jenny Lind fever. The reviewer from The Copenhagen Post floats home after the performance and writes about “the consummate dramatic singer; a clear, rich, melodious and voluminous voice, a lovely and easy method of singing, which she never overloads with inappropriate and unsexy colouraturas, a highly soulful and delightful lecture and an extraordinary dramatic talent...”. The management's wet dreams of a sold-out house come true; many go in vain, including to Jenny Lind's concert three days later, which is just as big a success.
For one of the members of the Royal Danish Orchestra, Jenny Lind's visit turns into a personal disaster. Oboist Conrad Ludvig Keck is tempted beyond his means when he stumbles upon Lind's precious jewellery in her dressing room at Sorgenfri Castle. The king is celebrating his 67th birthday with a private concert, and Jenny Lind, several singers from the theatre and the Royal Chapel entertain. Keck steals the precious bracelets, but regrets it and returns them by mail via August Bournonville before he is arrested - he was seen stealing them and recognised at the post office. His fate is now in the hands of the king. Probably because Jenny Lind intercedes on his behalf, he escapes the penalty of imprisonment, but is exiled and must leave his wife and children in Copenhagen on the day the judgement is handed down. Keck goes to Germany - and Jenny Lind gets her bracelets back.
This story is taken from Henrik Engelbrecht's book “Opera in the Golden Age of Copenhagen”, published last year.
Opera in Golden Age Copenhagen is a cultural-historical journey back to a city that is a lot more unpolished than you usually see in paintings from the period. Opera is no exception.
The actors of the Royal Theatre sing Mozart without any special training, with very few rehearsals and, for some, in a perpetual state of burnout. If they skip rehearsals, they risk going to jail. The King throws the theatre's leading opera singer out of the country when he takes the role of Don Juan a little too literally to one of the princesses at Amalienborg.
The police are also busy in the audience and when Copenhageners buy theatre tickets; there is a physical struggle to get hold of the coveted tickets, and there are often fights after the performances when opponents and supporters of Rossini's operas do not have enough time to clap, shout bravo, boo and whistle in the front door keys they have brought along.
Henrik Engelbrecht takes us to the opera in Copenhagen 200 years ago - join us in the freezing cold and smelly theatre, where the audience eats the food they bring with them during the performances and drinks plenty of brandy... when they're not concentrating on throwing the rats out of their boxes.
Read more about Henrik Engelbrecht's book “Opera in Golden Age Copenhagen” at www.henrikengelbrecht.dk