Jeffrey Ralph Skitch (16 September 1927 – 7 March 2013) was an actor, operatic

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 teacher best known for his performances and recordings with 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 ...

from 1952 to 1965. Born in Australia, Skitch moved with his mother to England when he was two years old. He served in the RAF during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and began acting by 1949. After his career with D'Oyly Carte, he turned to teaching, and from 1981 to 1995 he was the Principal of

Elmhurst Ballet School Elmhurst Ballet School is an independent school for professional classical ballet in the United Kingdom. It takes students aged 11–19 years who intend to pursue a career in professional classical ballet. Elmhurst provides a full academic day i ...

Early life and career

Skitch was born in Millicent, South Australia, the son of Ralph Aubrey Skitch (1896–1959), a land agent, and Magda Katie Helena Herman Skitch (1897–1959), who met in London during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. The couple married in Australia in about 1920. In 1929, Skitch and his older brother Robert Ernest Skitch (1923–1999) travelled with their mother on a visit to London and did not return to Australia."Jeffrey Skitch Toured with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company", ''Lymington Times'', 22 March 2013, p. 12 His parents divorced, and his father remained in Australia, later remarrying. Skitch was educated in England. After National Service with the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

during World War II and for two years thereafter, he trained as an actor and singer at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and The Old Vic Theatre School.Skitch, Jeffrey
Biography of Jeffrey Skitch
Shep's Place Family Tree, 11 March 2013Stone, David

on ''Who's Who in the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company'', 27 August 2001, accessed 31 March 2010 Skitch first performed professionally in London in 1949, in ''

She Stoops to Conquer ''She Stoops to Conquer'' is a comedy by Oliver Goldsmith, first performed in London in 1773. The play is a favourite for study by English literature and theatre classes in the English-speaking world. It is one of the few plays from the 18th ...

'', as an extra at the

Arts Theatre The Arts Theatre is a theatre in Great Newport Street, in Westminster, Central London. History It opened on 20 April 1927 as a members-only club for the performance of unlicensed plays, thus avoiding theatre censorship by the Lord Chamberl ...

. That autumn, he served at the Arts Theatre as an assistant stage manager and actor in the play ''The Romantic Young Lady''. He appeared in '' Idomeneo'' with the Glyndebourne Festival Opera in 1951. He joined the

for the 1952–53 season. His first roles with the company were Luiz in '' The Gondoliers'' and the small role of Second Yeoman 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 ...

''. When Alan Styler temporarily left D'Oyly Carte later that year, Skitch began to share the larger role of Giuseppe in ''The Gondoliers'' and added to his repertory the roles of Archibald Grosvenor in '' Patience'', Strephon 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 ...

'' and 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 ...

''. The next season, Skitch added the role of Captain Corcoran in '' HMS Pinafore'', the role for which he is perhaps best remembered (his Grosvenor – his favourite role – and his Pish Tush were also particularly admired), and also briefly appeared as Samuel in '' The Pirates of Penzance''.Joseph, Tony. "Obituaries: Jeffrey Skitch", ''The Gilbert and Sullivan News'', Vol. V, No.2, Summer 2013, p. 16 During this period, he dropped the role of Strephon and switched back to Luiz in ''The Gondoliers''. In 1954, he took over the role of Florian in '' Princess Ida'' and, in addition to his other roles, occasionally played Strephon. Except for a break from the company in the second half of 1957, Skitch played most of these roles until 1965, also sometimes playing the Counsel for the Plaintiff or the Learned Judge 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 company toured extensively in Britain and also toured the US during these years. Skitch recorded several roles with D'Oyly Carte on the Decca label, including Doctor Daly in ''

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 ...

'' (1953), Florian in ''Princess Ida'' (1955, 1965), Captain Corcoran in ''H.M.S. Pinafore'' (1960) and Luiz in ''The Gondoliers'' (1961). He also participated in several radio broadcasts with the company during his tenure. In 1975, during the company's centennial season, Skitch was invited to participate in the final performance of ''Trial by Jury'', in which the regular D'Oyly Carte chorus was augmented by fourteen former stars of the company.

Family, teaching career and later years

While touring with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company in Los Angeles, Skitch met an American singer, Stella Maria Hawley, and the two married in the Actors' Church in New York City. Skitch returned to London with his bride, and the couple had two sons, Robert and Phillip, respectively a schoolmaster and a hotel manager. During his years with D'Oyly Carte, Skitch studied law. After leaving the company, he obtained a

BSc A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

in Biological Science from

London University The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree- ...

and subsequently became a teacher, working at

Oakham School (Like runners, they pass on the torch of life) , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent day and boarding , religion = Church of England , president ...

Rutland Rutland () is a ceremonial county and unitary authority in the East Midlands, England. The county is bounded to the west and north by Leicestershire, to the northeast by Lincolnshire and the southeast by Northamptonshire. Its greatest len ...

before moving on to

Malvern College Malvern College is an Independent school (United Kingdom), independent coeducational day and boarding school in Malvern, Worcestershire, Malvern, Worcestershire, England. It is a public school (United Kingdom), public school in the British sen ...

as head of the Biology Department. In 1981 he became the Principal of

, with his wife as vice-principal.Rice, Jennife
"History of Elmhurst Ballet School"
Elmhurst Ballet School, Camberley website, accessed 31 March 2010 His ex-D'Oyly Carte colleagues found this amusing, as they considered that dancing had not been his strong suit. They bought a weekend home in Lymington in Hampshire, where they enjoyed sailing their yacht ''Pinafore''. On his retirement in 1995, Skitch and his wife moved to Lymington, where he served as a director of a property management company called "South Grove Maintenance (Lymington) Limited". Skitch died in

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

at age 85."Jeffrey Skitch 1927–2013"
''The Telegraph'', 11 March 2013

References

External links

*
Jeffrey Skitch
on Broadwayworld.com
Skitch at AllmusicPhoto of Skitch as the Learned Judge, 1964
{{DEFAULTSORT:Skitch, Jeffrey 1927 births 2013 deaths Alumni of RADA Alumni of the University of London Australian operatic baritones Australian emigrants to the United Kingdom Royal Air Force personnel of World War II Heads of schools in England 20th-century British male opera singers People from Millicent, South Australia