TY - CHAP

T1 - Rachel the Jewess in Copenhagen

AU - Hesselager, Jens

N1 - Peer reviewed

PY - 2012/12/30

Y1 - 2012/12/30

N2 - This chapter examines the performances of Pauline Rung (née Lichtenstein)in the role of Rachel in Halévy’s opera La juive in Denmark in 1838and 1842. It seeks to understand these performances in relation to theircontemporary context in several respects. First of all, the performancesare considered in relation to the local critical discourse on operatic performancesat the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen in general – a context which, in1842, involved the phenomenon of a competing and quite successful Italianopera company at the nearby Court Theatre. This situation generateda general trend of positioning “southern” and “Nordic” qualities vis-à-visone another. The contemporary appreciation of certain “southern” qualitiesin Rung’s performances is interpreted in relation to this critical discourse,as well as in relation to the “Jewishness” of the character of Rachel.Consequently, the contextualisation of Rung’s performances here involves investigating the implications of “Jewishness” in Copenhagen at this timeand of the ways in which the sound of Rung’s vocal performances may haveserved to define Rachel as an example of the literary stereotype of the“beautiful Jewess”. Finally, the contextualisation includes an investigationof Rung’s biography, both with respect to her professional career as a singerand the possibility that her father might have been of Jewish birth. Since theperformances in 1838 over-exerted the voice of the young Pauline Lichtenstein(as she was then called), her voice, as it gradually recovered, seemsto have been characterised by a rather lower compass. The performancematerial used by the Royal Theatre in the nineteenth century, preserved inthe archives of the Royal Library in Copenhagen, suggest that several passagesin La juive, particularly those containing passionate outbursts, werealtered at some point, probably in 1842, in order to accommodate a voicehaving problems performing pitches higher than f2 or g2 (approximately).This tendency towards a lower-sounding voice can also be observed in aconcert given by Rung early in 1842, in which the voice was associatedwith a more bizarre brand of exoticism (a song in which she sings the characterof a witch). The author concludes that the vocal rendition of PaulineLichtenstein as the “beautiful Jewess” in 1842 was probably the sound of arelatively low voice, as compared to the type of soprano for which the partwas originally written, and a sound associated with certain “southern” and“exotic” qualities, although these seem to have been balanced against otherqualities perceived as more “Nordic”. The tendency to associate PaulineRung’s performances with “Nordic” qualities apparently increased in thelatter part of her career.

AB - This chapter examines the performances of Pauline Rung (née Lichtenstein)in the role of Rachel in Halévy’s opera La juive in Denmark in 1838and 1842. It seeks to understand these performances in relation to theircontemporary context in several respects. First of all, the performancesare considered in relation to the local critical discourse on operatic performancesat the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen in general – a context which, in1842, involved the phenomenon of a competing and quite successful Italianopera company at the nearby Court Theatre. This situation generateda general trend of positioning “southern” and “Nordic” qualities vis-à-visone another. The contemporary appreciation of certain “southern” qualitiesin Rung’s performances is interpreted in relation to this critical discourse,as well as in relation to the “Jewishness” of the character of Rachel.Consequently, the contextualisation of Rung’s performances here involves investigating the implications of “Jewishness” in Copenhagen at this timeand of the ways in which the sound of Rung’s vocal performances may haveserved to define Rachel as an example of the literary stereotype of the“beautiful Jewess”. Finally, the contextualisation includes an investigationof Rung’s biography, both with respect to her professional career as a singerand the possibility that her father might have been of Jewish birth. Since theperformances in 1838 over-exerted the voice of the young Pauline Lichtenstein(as she was then called), her voice, as it gradually recovered, seemsto have been characterised by a rather lower compass. The performancematerial used by the Royal Theatre in the nineteenth century, preserved inthe archives of the Royal Library in Copenhagen, suggest that several passagesin La juive, particularly those containing passionate outbursts, werealtered at some point, probably in 1842, in order to accommodate a voicehaving problems performing pitches higher than f2 or g2 (approximately).This tendency towards a lower-sounding voice can also be observed in aconcert given by Rung early in 1842, in which the voice was associatedwith a more bizarre brand of exoticism (a song in which she sings the characterof a witch). The author concludes that the vocal rendition of PaulineLichtenstein as the “beautiful Jewess” in 1842 was probably the sound of arelatively low voice, as compared to the type of soprano for which the partwas originally written, and a sound associated with certain “southern” and“exotic” qualities, although these seem to have been balanced against otherqualities perceived as more “Nordic”. The tendency to associate PaulineRung’s performances with “Nordic” qualities apparently increased in thelatter part of her career.

KW - Faculty of Humanities

KW - Opera

KW - jewish music

KW - Pauline Lichtenstein

KW - Halevy (Jaques-Fromental)

KW - La juive

KW - Andersen (Hans Christian)

KW - 1840-1849

KW - Rung (Pauline)

KW - Cultural transfer

KW - Voice

KW - Goldschmidt (Meïr Aron)

KW - En jøde (1845)

KW - Wagner (Richard)

KW - belle juive

KW - beautiful jewess

M3 - Book chapter

SN - 978-952-5959-45-1

T3 - Docmus Research Publications

SP - 221

EP - 249

BT - Opera on the Move in the Nordic Countries during the Long 19th Century

A2 - Sivuoja, Anne

A2 - Ander, Owe

A2 - Broman-Kananen, Ulla-Britta

A2 - Hesselager, Jens

PB - Docmus Research Publications

CY - Helsinki

ER -