The JENNY LIND TOUR visited Cleveland on 7 Nov. 1851. The noted Swedish soprano was making a concert tour of America, which had been arranged and promoted by Phineas T. Barnum. Lind initially arrived in Cleveland on Saturday, 25 Oct., on the steamer Mayflower; she stayed at the WEDDELL HOUSE through Sunday before leaving for a concert engagement in Cincinnati. She returned to the Weddell House 2 weeks later with a troupe of 14 performers for her Cleveland appearance. The performance was held in Kelley's Hall, where a crowd of 1,125 had paid from $2 to $4 for tickets. The audience was warmed up with clarinet and vocal selections by Signori Balletti and Salvi, respectively, before Lind took the stage. Her program included such songs as "John Anderson, My Jo," "Gipsy Song," "Echo Song," and her famous "Bird Song." During her performance of Haydn's aria "On Mighty Pinions" from The Creation, several onlookers who had been peering at the performance from the roof broke through the skylight onto the interior dome. A momentary panic ensued, but the crowd was quickly calmed by another number by the "Swedish Nightingale." During the performance, Lind's pianist, Otto Goldschmidt, was called upon to play a solo, as Lind apparently did not feel well. At the conclusion of the number, Lind herself stepped from behind the curtain to join the accolade. She married Goldschmidt the following year. While in Cleveland, Lind made a trip to the Northern Ohio Lunatic Asylum in NEWBURGH to cheer the inmates.
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