Chapter 9: Jenny Lind's American Debut, 1850

Chapter Summary: 

     This chapter dramatically depicts Swedish singing sensation Jenny Lind's rise to fame in America, orchestrated by the respected showman and businessman P.T. Barnum. It begins with Barnum's vision: bring the angelic, saintly singer with the beautiful soprano to America, which was desperately in need of a distraction from a time of political tension and "sectional hostility," and take New York by storm, making himself "famously rich," and hopefully procuring him some respectability. It describes Lind's selflessness, her independence, and her "purity of nature," in her journey to a new place (the "musical wilderness" of America), in the hands of a pragmatic businessman who could make or break her. Her arrival to America was greatly celebrated, and her debut show amazingly publicized and anticipated. "The enthusiasm for Lind surpassed anything that New York City had ever seen before," as her charming and innocent image dominated the streets, before anyone had even heard her sing. Her embodiment of the nightingale, the songbird, appealed to the romanticism of the era, the "intense interest in the faraway, the exotic." As the auctions for tickets to her debut show sold for unheard of amounts, Barnum increased Lind's profits (which she eventually graciously and humbly gave to charities around New York). The narrator's passion for drama and emotion in the description of the performance is inspiring - she brings the audience to tears, then to their feet in a rousing standing ovation, making perhaps the greatest impact any singer has ever made on the public in history. 

Chapter Reflection:

      I absolutely loved the narrator's description of Lind and her performance - it gave me chills to read. Some quotes that stood out to me were when he described the experience as "one of the most thrilling moments in the history of American music. The entire audience feels bound together in heightened expectation." The reviews of the awestruck viewers made me understand more fully the deep impact that she and her image had upon the nation of America. She was a savior of sorts to the city - and Barnum orchestrated the entire thing, staying down to earth himself (seemingly) and keeping his client humble as well (although that was her nature). His idea and his execution were imperative in this beautiful, inspiring event in history.