Jenny Lind in Donizetti's opera La Fille du Regiment
Painting
ca.1850 (painted)
ca.1850 (painted)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Jenny Lind as Marie in Act I of Gaetano Donizetti's opera La Fille du Regiment. Oil on canvas. Unattributed.
The painting depicts the Swedish opera singer Jenny Lind (1820-1887) as Marie, the vivandière who sells refreshments to soldiers in La Fille du Regiment. It may represent the moment in Act I when Marie has to bid farewell to the regiment that adopted her.
Jenny Lind took London by storm in 1847 when she appeared at Her Majesty's Opera House on 4 May, singing the role of Alice in Meyerbeer's opera Robert Il Diavolo. She made her first appearance in La Fille du Regiment on 27 May. Queen Victoria attended both first nights and, after seeing her as Marie, wrote in her journal that Jenny Lind 'again had a great triumph, acting and singing exquisitely. She looked very pretty in her vivandière's dress and was so sprightly in that character, having touching moments when she takes leave of the Regiment.'
Jenny Lind trained in Stockholm and Paris and made her début in 1844 in Berlin, performing in Germany and Austria before coming to London. She was such a phenomenon in Britain that her portrait was reproduced on all manner of items, from snuff boxes and matchboxes to soap and candle-snuffers. The contemporary song 'Jenny Lind Mania' celebrated he celebrity. It began: 'Oh! Is there not a pretty fuss, In London all around, About the Swedish Nightingale, The talk of London town, Each square and street as through you pass, Aloud its praises ring, About this pretty singing bird, The famous Jenny Lind.'
The painting depicts the Swedish opera singer Jenny Lind (1820-1887) as Marie, the vivandière who sells refreshments to soldiers in La Fille du Regiment. It may represent the moment in Act I when Marie has to bid farewell to the regiment that adopted her.
Jenny Lind took London by storm in 1847 when she appeared at Her Majesty's Opera House on 4 May, singing the role of Alice in Meyerbeer's opera Robert Il Diavolo. She made her first appearance in La Fille du Regiment on 27 May. Queen Victoria attended both first nights and, after seeing her as Marie, wrote in her journal that Jenny Lind 'again had a great triumph, acting and singing exquisitely. She looked very pretty in her vivandière's dress and was so sprightly in that character, having touching moments when she takes leave of the Regiment.'
Jenny Lind trained in Stockholm and Paris and made her début in 1844 in Berlin, performing in Germany and Austria before coming to London. She was such a phenomenon in Britain that her portrait was reproduced on all manner of items, from snuff boxes and matchboxes to soap and candle-snuffers. The contemporary song 'Jenny Lind Mania' celebrated he celebrity. It began: 'Oh! Is there not a pretty fuss, In London all around, About the Swedish Nightingale, The talk of London town, Each square and street as through you pass, Aloud its praises ring, About this pretty singing bird, The famous Jenny Lind.'
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Jenny Lind in Donizetti's opera La Fille du Regiment (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Oil on canvas |
| Brief description | Jenny Lind (1820-1887) as Marie in Act I of Gaetano Donizetti's opera La Fille du Regiment. Oil on canvas. Unattributed |
| Physical description | Framed, unglazed oil painting of a scene in Act I of the opera La Fille du Regiment, set in the Swiss Tyrol. It shows Jenny Lind as Marie, in a blue jacket and red skirt, the uniform of a vivandière (a woman who sold refreshments to the military). She stands in the foreground in a mountain setting, holding her hat in her right hand. Behind her, to viewer's right, is a mountain chalet, and, to viewer's left, a battalion of soldiers marches towards her. Gold frame. |
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| Gallery label |
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| Credit line | Acquired with the support of the Friends of the V&A |
| Object history | This painting is anonymous but represents the Swedish singer Jenny Lind as Marie in Act I of Gaetano Donizetti's opera La Fille du Regiment that had its first London performance at Her Majesty's Opera House on 27 May 1847. A print showing the same scene was published by George Baxter on 19 July 1856. |
| Subject depicted | |
| Association | |
| Summary | Jenny Lind as Marie in Act I of Gaetano Donizetti's opera La Fille du Regiment. Oil on canvas. Unattributed. The painting depicts the Swedish opera singer Jenny Lind (1820-1887) as Marie, the vivandière who sells refreshments to soldiers in La Fille du Regiment. It may represent the moment in Act I when Marie has to bid farewell to the regiment that adopted her. Jenny Lind took London by storm in 1847 when she appeared at Her Majesty's Opera House on 4 May, singing the role of Alice in Meyerbeer's opera Robert Il Diavolo. She made her first appearance in La Fille du Regiment on 27 May. Queen Victoria attended both first nights and, after seeing her as Marie, wrote in her journal that Jenny Lind 'again had a great triumph, acting and singing exquisitely. She looked very pretty in her vivandière's dress and was so sprightly in that character, having touching moments when she takes leave of the Regiment.' Jenny Lind trained in Stockholm and Paris and made her début in 1844 in Berlin, performing in Germany and Austria before coming to London. She was such a phenomenon in Britain that her portrait was reproduced on all manner of items, from snuff boxes and matchboxes to soap and candle-snuffers. The contemporary song 'Jenny Lind Mania' celebrated he celebrity. It began: 'Oh! Is there not a pretty fuss, In London all around, About the Swedish Nightingale, The talk of London town, Each square and street as through you pass, Aloud its praises ring, About this pretty singing bird, The famous Jenny Lind.' |
| Bibliographic reference | |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | S.1691-2014 |
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| Record created | October 20, 2014 |
| Record URL |
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