Hur lät Jenny Lind, Christina Nilsson och Signe Hebbe? : En studie av sångskolor och röstideal under 1800-talet

Abstract Elisabeth Hellstrom: Hur lat Jenny Lind, Christina Nilsson och Signe Hebbe? En studie av sangskolor och rostideal under 1800-talet. Uppsala universitet: Institutionen for musikvetenskap, uppsats for 60 p, 2007. The aim of this essay is to, with starting point in the Garcia- and Lamperti-schools, describe the voice ideals of the 19th century, and how it may have sounded. To exemplify the last-mentioned I have studied the voices of the three singers Jenny Lind, Christina Nilsson and Signe Hebbe (there are no recordings of any of them). The essay contains two major parts. In the first I describe the technique of the Garcia- and Lamperti-schools and their views on registers, vibrato and messa di voce, ending with a summarizing analysis of the 19th century vocal ideals. In the second part I go through the careers of Jenny Lind, Christina Nilsson and Signe Hebbe; their vocal training, teachers and important roles, and analyze their voices. The analyses are based on the vocal technique they used, and opinions from contemporary critics. The conclusions I have made are that 19th century singers sang with a straight tone, without vibrato, because of the stroke of the glottis, and dark vowels down in the throat.