Frederick Henry Hobbs (29 July 1874 – 11 April 1942) was a New Zealand-born singer, actor and theatre manager. After performing as a concert singer in New Zealand and Australia, and in opera and musicals in Britain, he joined the

D'Oyly Carte Opera Company The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company is a professional British light opera company that, from the 1870s until 1982, staged Gilbert and Sullivan's Savoy operas nearly year-round in the UK and sometimes toured in Europe, North America and elsewhere. Th ...

in 1914. There he played leading

baritone A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the r ...

and

bass-baritone A bass-baritone is a high-lying bass or low-lying "classical" baritone voice type which shares certain qualities with the true baritone voice. The term arose in the late 19th century to describe the particular type of voice required to sing thr ...

roles in the

Gilbert and Sullivan Gilbert and Sullivan was a Victorian era, Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the dramatist W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) and the composer Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900), who jointly created fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which ...

operas for six years. After touring in Australasia with the J. C. Williamson company, he returned to England and became the stage manager for D'Oyly Carte in 1923 and its business manager from 1927 until his death.

Early years

Hobbs was born in

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

, New Zealand, to a large family with a background in music."Obituary: Mr. F. H. Hobbs"
'' The Evening Post'', Vol. CXXXIII, Issue 128, 2 June 1942, p. 3, accessed 15 April 2013 His parents were

Fred Hobbs Frederick (Fred) Hobbs (17 December 1841 – 13 May 1920) was Mayor of Christchurch, New Zealand 1874–1877 for two terms; he was the first mayor who served more than one term. He is credited with having made significant improvements to the dr ...

, who was

Mayor of Christchurch The Mayor of Christchurch is the head of the municipal government of Christchurch, New Zealand, and presides over the Christchurch City Council. The mayor is directly elected using a First Past the Post electoral system. The current mayor, Phil ...

1874–1877, and Elizabeth (Bessie) Hobbs, ''née'' Murray. He had eight brothers and three sisters. He trained as a singer and, early in his career, he received concert engagements throughout Australia and New Zealand. After moving to England in his twenties, he studied at the

Guildhall School of Music The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a conservatoire and drama school located in the City of London, United Kingdom. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jazz ...

and joined the

Carl Rosa Opera Company The Carl Rosa Opera Company was founded in 1873 by Carl Rosa, a German-born musical impresario, and his wife, British operatic soprano Euphrosyne Parepa-Rosa to present opera in English in London and the British provinces. The company premiere ...

, with whom he first appeared at the Grand Theatre in

Islington Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the ar ...

.''The Times'', 13 April 1942, p. 6 He later toured in Great Britain and South Africa in

Edwardian musical comedies Edwardian musical comedy was a form of British musical theatre that extended beyond the reign of King Edward VII in both directions, beginning in the early 1890s, when the Gilbert and Sullivan operas' dominance had ended, until the rise of the A ...

.Stone, David
"Frederick Hobbs"
''Who Was Who in the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company'', 25 October 2002, accessed 11 April 2013

D'Oyly Carte principal

Hobbs joined the

in 1914, taking over many of the roles played by the departing

Sydney Granville Sydney Granville (born Walter Dewhurst; 1880 – 27 December 1959) was an English singer and actor, best known for his performances in the Savoy Operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company. After early theatrical work in musical comedy, straight ...

, including Colonel Calverley in ''

Patience (or forbearance) is the ability to endure difficult circumstances. Patience may involve perseverance in the face of delay; tolerance of provocation without responding in disrespect/anger; or forbearance when under strain, especially when faced ...

'', Lord Mountararat in ''

Iolanthe ''Iolanthe; or, The Peer and the Peri'' () is a comic opera with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, first performed in 1882. It is one of the Savoy operas and is the seventh of fourteen operatic collaborations by Gilbert ...

'', Arac in ''

Princess Ida ''Princess Ida; or, Castle Adamant'' is a comic opera with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It was their eighth operatic collaboration of fourteen. ''Princess Ida'' opened at the Savoy Theatre on 5 January 1884, for a ru ...

'', Pish-Tush in ''

The Mikado ''The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, their ninth of fourteen Gilbert and Sullivan, operatic collaborations. It opened on 14 March 1885, in London, whe ...

'',

Richard Cholmondeley Sir Richard Cholmondeley (or Cholmeley) (c. 1460–1521) was an English farmer and soldier, who served as Lieutenant of the Tower of London from 1513 to 1520 during the reign of Henry VIII. He is remembered because of his tomb at the Tower of L ...

in ''

The Yeomen of the Guard ''The Yeomen of the Guard; or, The Merryman and His Maid'', is a Savoy Opera, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It premiered at the Savoy Theatre on 3 October 1888 and ran for 423 performances. This was the eleventh ...

'' and Luiz in

The Gondoliers ''The Gondoliers; or, The King of Barataria'' is a Savoy Opera, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It premiered at the Savoy Theatre on 7 December 1889 and ran for a very successful 554 performances (at that time the ...

. He soon added to his repertory the parts of Counsel to the Plaintiff in ''

Trial by Jury A jury trial, or trial by jury, is a legal proceeding in which a jury makes a decision or findings of fact. It is distinguished from a bench trial in which a judge or panel of judges makes all decisions. Jury trials are used in a significant ...

'', the Boatswain in ''

H.M.S. Pinafore ''H.M.S. Pinafore; or, The Lass That Loved a Sailor'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and a libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It opened at the Opera Comique in London, on 25 May 1878 and ran for 571 performances, which ...

'', and Samuel in ''

The Pirates of Penzance ''The Pirates of Penzance; or, The Slave of Duty'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, W. S. Gilbert. Its official premiere was at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York City on 31 ...

''. In 1916, he was given the role of Sir Marmaduke Pointdextre in the company's new production of ''

The Sorcerer ''The Sorcerer'' is a two-act comic opera, with a libretto by W. S. Gilbert and music by Arthur Sullivan. It was the British duo's third operatic collaboration. The plot of ''The Sorcerer'' is based on a Christmas story, ''An Elixir of Lo ...

'', giving up Luiz. Later that year, he swapped some of his smaller roles for larger ones: the Boatswain for Dick Deadeye in ''Pinafore'', Samuel for the Pirate King in ''Pirates'' and Cholmondeley for Sergeant Meryll in ''Yeomen''. He also continued to play Colonel Calverley, Mountararat, Arac and Pish-Tush, while adding Giuseppe in ''The Gondoliers'' and relinquishing the Counsel. His last new role, in 1918, was the title role in ''The Mikado''. When D'Oyly Carte returned to the West End in London for its 1919-20 season, after 10 years on tour, Hobbs played Sir Marmaduke, Dick Deadeye, the Pirate King, the Colonel, Mountararat, Arac, The Mikado, Sergeant Meryll and Giuseppe. ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' called his Pirate King "terrific".

Later years

Hobbs left the D'Oyly Carte company soon after it hired

Darrell Fancourt Darrell Louis Fancourt Leverson (8 March 1886 – 29 August 1953), known as Darrell Fancourt, was an English bass-baritone and actor, known for his performances and recordings of the Savoy operas. After a brief concert career, Fancourt joine ...

in 1920. Hobbs then travelled to Australia, where he toured with the J. C. Williamson company in the Gilbert and Sullivan operas until 1921. In 1922, he was back in England, where he participated in a D'Oyly Carte recording of ''Pinafore'', singing the part of Dick Deadeye in "Carefully on tiptoe stealing". That was the only recording he is known to have made. Beginning in 1923, Hobbs moved backstage as stage manager of the D'Oyly Carte. In 1927, he became the company's business manager and served in that role until his death. Hobbs was married to Doris Cameron, a

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...

who joined the D'Oyly Carte during his tenure there as a performer, and was a daughter of the actress

Violet Cameron Violet Lydia Thompson (7 December 1862 – 25 October 1919), known professionally as Violet Cameron, was an English actress and singer who gained fame in Robert Planquette's operettas ''Les cloches de Corneville'' and ''Rip Van Winkle'', and Fr ...

.Everett, Minnie
"My Dancing Days:
'' Table Talk'', Victoria, Australia, issue 3342, p. 9, 26 May 1932, accessed 19 March 2022 Despite ill health, Hobbs travelled with the Company in 1942. He fell ill and died in a nursing home in

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...

while on that tour, at the age of 67.

Notes

References

* * *

External links

Postcard photo of Hobbs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hobbs, Frederick 1874 births 1942 deaths English operatic baritones English bass-baritones New Zealand baritones New Zealand bass-baritones 20th-century New Zealand male opera singers 19th-century New Zealand male singers