John Graham Robertson (14 February 1859 – 24 October 1940) was a

tenor A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The lo ...

who made London and New York appearances in Shakespeare with

Henry Irving Sir Henry Irving (6 February 1838 – 13 October 1905), christened John Henry Brodribb, sometimes known as J. H. Irving, was an English stage actor in the Victorian era, known as an actor-manager because he took complete responsibility ( ...

's company in the early 1880s. He served as principal tenor of 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 several

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 at the

Savoy Theatre The Savoy Theatre is a West End theatre in the Strand in the City of Westminster, London, England. The theatre was designed by C. J. Phipps for Richard D'Oyly Carte and opened on 10 October 1881 on a site previously occupied by the Savoy Pala ...

during 1887 and 1888. Robertson produced and directed the opera ''Mignonette'' in 1889 before creating the role of Alfredo in the

comic opera Comic opera, sometimes known as light opera, is a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature, usually with a happy ending and often including spoken dialogue. Forms of comic opera first developed in late 17th-century Italy. By the 1730s, a ne ...

The Mountebanks ''The Mountebanks'' is a comic opera in two acts with music by Alfred Cellier and Ivan Caryll and a libretto by W. S. Gilbert. The story concerns a magic potion that causes the person to whom it is administered to become what he or she has pre ...

'' in 1892. He concentrated on concert singing from the 1890s into the 20th century.

Early life and career

Robertson was born in

Valparaíso Valparaíso (; ) is a major city, seaport, naval base, and educational centre in the commune of Valparaíso, Chile. "Greater Valparaíso" is the second largest metropolitan area in the country. Valparaíso is located about northwest of Santiago ...

in Chile in 1859,1939 England and Wales Register for John G Robertson
Kent, Ancestry.com the son of Fanny Adrienne ''nee'' Harrington (1826–1919) and William Parish Robertson (1823–1864), a merchant. A great-nephew of the merchant and author

John Parish Robertson John Parish Robertson (1792–1843) was a Scottish merchant and author. Life Robertson was born at Kelso or Edinburgh. His father, at one time assistant-secretary of the Bank of Scotland, was engaged in business at Glasgow; his mother, Juliet P ...

, he studied at the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke of ...

.Stone, David
J. G. Robertson
Who Was Who in the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, 25 December 2013, accessed 5 September 2020 Robertson made his London début as Balthasar in

's production of ''

Much Ado About Nothing ''Much Ado About Nothing'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare thought to have been written in 1598 and 1599.See textual notes to ''Much Ado About Nothing'' in ''The Norton Shakespeare'' ( W. W. Norton & Company, 1997 ) p. 1387 The play ...

'' at the Lyceum Theatre (1882) during which he sang "Sigh No More, Ladies". He played the same role for Irving in New York in 1884. On 16 November 1886 at

Paddington Paddington is an area within the City of Westminster, in Central London. First a medieval parish then a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Three important landmarks of the district are Paddi ...

in London he married Helena Wilson Woodward (1865–1947), who like him had been born in Valparaíso. and with her had four children: Olive Robertson (1888–1945); Elsie May Robertson (born 1889); Nancy Robertson (born 1896), and John Alexander Robertson (1904–1979). By 1901 at the latest the family had moved from London and were living at Ickham in Kent.

D'Oyly Carte and later years

Robertson joined the

in November 1887 in the principal tenor roles in a number of

revivals, playing Ralph Rackstraw in '' H.M.S. Pinafore ''(November 1887 – March 1888); Frederic 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 ...

'' (March – June 1888), and Nanki-Poo 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 ...

'' (June – September 1888). Of Robertson in the latter role the critic of ''

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 ...

'' wrote, "Mr. J. G. Robertson sang the music of Nanki-Poo ... with neatness and in an agreeable voice, although as an actor he still has much to learn. He does not as yet, to paraphrase a French expression, 'feel the stage'." Robertson Alfredo Mountebanks

In 1889 Robertson joined the composer Henry S. Parker in a partnership to produce Parker and Oswald Brand's romantic opera ''Mignonette'' at the

Royalty Theatre The Royalty Theatre was a small London theatre situated at 73 Dean Street, Soho. Established by the actress Frances Maria Kelly in 1840, it opened as Miss Kelly's Theatre and Dramatic School and finally closed to the public in 1938.

, and then on a tour of the provinces, with Robertson starring as Vandyke and directing the production. Other appearances in London included creating the role of Alfredo in the

'' with words by

W. S. Gilbert Sir William Schwenck Gilbert (18 November 1836 – 29 May 1911) was an English dramatist, librettist, poet and illustrator best known for his collaboration with composer Arthur Sullivan, which produced fourteen comic operas. The most f ...

and music by

Alfred Cellier Alfred Cellier (1 December 184428 December 1891) was an English composer, orchestrator and conductor. In addition to conducting and music directing the original productions of several of the most famous Gilbert and Sullivan works and writing th ...

and

Ivan Caryll Félix Marie Henri Tilkin (12 May 1861 – 29 November 1921), better known by his pen name Ivan Caryll, was a Belgian-born composer of operettas and Edwardian musical comedies in the English language, who made his career in London and later ...

at the Lyric Theatre (1892); the critic of ''

The Illustrated London News ''The Illustrated London News'' appeared first on Saturday 14 May 1842, as the world's first illustrated weekly news magazine. Founded by Herbert Ingram, it appeared weekly until 1971, then less frequently thereafter, and ceased publication in ...

'' described him as "a good-looking and interesting Alfredo". Robertson then began a series of appearances on the concert stage from the 1890s into the 20th century; in 1899 he made a Berliner recording of "Sigh No More, Ladies". He made one last appearance on the London stage as Balthasar in a single matineé performance of ''Much Ado About Nothing'' at the

Garrick Theatre The Garrick Theatre is a West End theatre, located in Charing Cross Road, in the City of Westminster, named after the stage actor David Garrick. It opened in 1889 with ''The Profligate'', a play by Arthur Wing Pinero, and another Pinero play ...

in October 1909. In 1939 Robertson and his wife Helena were living in Ickham in Kent, where he was listed on the register as a "Retired Professional Singer". He died there in 1940.England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916-2007 for John G Robertson
1940, Q4-Oct-Nov-Dec, Ancestry.com

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Robertson, J. G. 1859 births 1940 deaths Singers from Valparaíso Alumni of the Royal Academy of Music English operatic tenors 19th-century British male opera singers 20th-century British male opera singers People associated with Gilbert and Sullivan British expatriates in Chile British expatriates in the United States