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Glasgow Live
Glasgow Live
National
Lee Dalgetty

The Glasgow district that's bizarrely named after a 19th century Swedish opera star

It's one of Glasgow's most curious oddities - just how exactly did the Jenny Lind area, an unassuming estate south of the Clyde, end up sharing its name with a 19th century Swedish opera star?

Largely built in the 1920s, the area used to be part of the Maxwell family’s Pollok Estate farming land, where Swedish Nightingale Jenny Lind spent a night in one of their farmhouses.

After her stay, the landowners decided the inn would renamed after Jenny.

Unfortunately, the details of her visit are unclear - all that is known for sure is that she spent the night there at some point during her career.

By the turn of the 20th century landowner Sir John Stirling Maxwell agreed with the local authorities that houses would be built “south of Jenny Lind.”

Johanna Maria “Jenny” Lind was one of the most highly regarded singers of the 19th century, rising to fame after her performance in Der Freischutz in 1838.

Jenny began to sing onstage at the age of 10, after being discovered by the Royal Swedish Opera.

Her vocal range was impressive, and the skilled soloist often wrote her own passages.

She was in high demand in roles during the 1840s, mixing with high society across Europe.

Jenny came close to a fairy tale romance when legendary Danish author Hans Christian Andersen became besotted with her, though she did not return his feelings.

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When she debuted in Britain, Queen Victoria attended all sixteen of Jenny’s performances at Her Majesty’s Theatre in London.

During one act, Queen Victoria is said to have been so impressed that she threw a bouquet at the vocalist’s feet.

As many opera singers do, Jenny retired from the art at the young age of 29.

Her final appearance in opera was in 1849, when she starred in Robert le Diable - though she went on to perform around the world.

In 1850 she travelled to America by invitation of showman Phineas Taylor Barnum, and performed almost 100 concerts under his watch.

This tale was retold in the 2017 movie the Greatest Showman starring Hugh Jackman, with Jenny played by Rebecca Ferguson.

In real life, her impression on the United States bordered on mania, with Jenny Lind dolls, chewing tobacco, and sheet music flying off the shelves.

Despite what the film retelling may allude to, Lind and Barnum were never romantically entangled - both parties focusing on business instead of pleasure.

She continued to tour under her own management, earning thousands of dollars which she donated to charities - mainly to educational facilities in Sweden.

Towards the end of her life, Jenny taught at the Royal College of Music in London before passing away in 1887.

Glasgow can’t claim to be the only ones to take inspiration from the Swedish singer - with a Jenny Lind Creek in Australia, Jenny Lind Island in Canada, and many streets in America named after her.

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