Actors - Henry Lytton

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	Actors - Henry Lytton

Sir Henry Lytton (born London, 3 January 1865, died London 15 August 1936) was the leading exponent of the patter roles in Gilbert and Sullivan operas in the early part of the twentieth century.

He was born Henry Alfred Jones, and was educated at St. Mark's School, Chelsea, where he took part in amateur theatricals. He ran away from school to go on the stage, making his debut aged seventeen. A fellow performer was Louise Webber, whom he married two years later. He followed her into the D’Oyly Carte Opera Company, in the chorus and small parts.

In 1887, he was understudy to George Grossmith as Robin Oakapple in the original run of Ruddigore and substituted while Grossmith was stricken by appendicitis. In his subsequent career with the company (with occasional forays into other theatrical work) he played an unparalleled range of roles, including Counsel for the Plaintiff in Trial by Jury, the Learned Judge in Trial by Jury, Dr. Daly in The Sorcerer, John Wellington Wells in The Sorcerer, Captain Corcoran in H.M.S. Pinafore, Dick Deadeye in H.M.S. Pinafore, Sir Joseph Porter in H.M.S. Pinafore, Major General Stanley in The Pirates of Penzance, the Pirate King in The Pirates of Penzance, Bunthorne in Patience, Grosvenor in Patience, Strephon in Iolanthe, the Lord Chancellor in Iolanthe, King Gama in Princess Ida, Ko-Ko in The Mikado, the Mikado in The Mikado, Jack Point in The Yeomen of the Guard, Wilfred Shadbolt in The Yeomen of the Guard, Giuseppe in The Gondoliers, the Duke of Plaza Toro in The Gondoliers, King Paramount in Utopia Limited, and Ludwig in The Grand Duke, as well as roles in non-G&S pieces mounted by the company, including The Beauty Stone, The Chieftain, The Emerald Isle, The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein, Haddon Hall, Merrie England, Mirette, Pretty Polly, A Princess of Kensington, The Rose of Persia and The Vicar of Bray.

Lytton was knighted in 1930, the only performer to receive the accolade for service to Gilbert and Sullivan.

His final appearance with the D'Oyly Carte Company was at the Gaiety Theatre, Dublin, in June 1934, as Jack Point in The Yeomen of the Guard.

He made many recordings between 1901 and 1905, including songs from The Sorcerer, Iolanthe, Merrie England, and A Princess of Kensington. By the time HMV began recording the complete scores of the operas Lytton’s voice was not thought suitable for recording. Of the HMV recordings issued in the inter-war years, 1918 he was included in only five: Princess Ida in 1924 (acoustic) and 1932 (electrical), The Mikado in 1926, The Gondoliers in 1927 and H.M.S. Pinafore in 1930.

Lytton, Henry Lytton, Henry Lytton, Henry Category: Operetta performers Lytton, Henry

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