Leicester Tunks (1880 – 4 July 1935) was an English opera singer remembered as a principal

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 ...

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 1904 to 1916. He served in

World War I 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 ...

and later ran a poultry farm.

Early life

Born in

Walthamstow Walthamstow ( or ) is a large town in East London, east London, England, within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London and the Historic counties of England, ancient county of Essex. Situated northeast of Chari ...

in Essex in 18801911 England Census for Leicester Tunks
Essex, Woodford: Ancestry.com ] the son of Emma Charleson ''née'' Arney and Charles George Tunks,Leicester Tunks
in the Essex, England, Church of England Marriages, 1754–1935: Ancestry.com his father was a member of the

London Stock Exchange London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange in the City of London, England, United Kingdom. , the total market value of all companies trading on LSE was £3.9 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Pau ...

D'Oyly Carte

Tunks joined the

on tour in December 1904 playing Captain Corcoran 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, whic ...

''. From January 1905 to June 1907 in addition to Corcoran he played

roles in the company's

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 ...

repertory, including 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 ...

'', 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 ...

'', 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 ...

'', Florian 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 ...

'', the Lieutenant of the Tower 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 ...

''. From July 1907 Tunks was promoted to the Pirate King in ''Pirates'', the title role in ''The Mikado'' and Giuseppe in ''The Gondoliers''.Stone, David
Leicester Tunks
''Who Was Who in the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, 2 October 2007, accessed 7 September 2020
Memories of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company websitey, accessed 7 September 2020 For D'Oyly Carte's Second London Repertory season 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 ...

from April to October 1908 Tunks played Pish-Tush in ''The Mikado'' and Bill Bobstay in ''H.M.S. Pinafore'', while in August 1908 he briefly appeared as the Mikado during the temporary absence of

Henry Lytton Sir Henry Lytton (born Henry Alfred Jones; 3 January 1865 – 15 August 1936) was an English actor and singer who was the leading exponent of the starring comic patter-baritone roles in Gilbert and Sullivan operas from 1909 to 1934. He also sta ...

. On 15 October 1908 he married Ethel Rose New Child (1880–1937) in London. Their daughter was Phyllis Ethel Tunks (1910–2005). On his return to touring in October 1908 Tunks' roles were Captain Corcoran in ''Pinafore'', the Pirate King in ''Pirates'', Archibald Grosvenor in ''Patience'', Mountararat in ''Iolanthe'', Florian in ''Ida'', the title role in ''The Mikado'', Sergeant Meryll in ''Yeomen'', and Giuseppe in ''Gondoliers''. While touring in Scotland in about 1909 Tunks and the Company were snowed in for 12 hours between Dundee and Aberdeen. With the blizzard raging outside the train no one had thought to bring refreshments as ordinarily the journey was a short one. Coincidentally, it was Tunks' birthday, and he having little faith in the eatables provided by theatrical landladies had obtained a large steak and kidney pie with various other confections plus a few bottles of spirits and beer to share with his friends in the digs. Instead, these were shared among all those present who merrily toasted Tunks for saving them all from starvation. From March 1914 to November 1915 Tunks was temporarily switched to the role of Strephon in ''Iolanthe''. Being tall he was able to wear Mountararat's Garter robes to great effect, while his Pirate King's gesture to Major-General Stanley on the line "We look over it" did just that. His Grosvenor in ''Patience'' did not speak with the traditional Cockney accent in his final scenes but instead used a more animated tone than that he used earlier for the idyllic poet and his Captain Corcoran in ''Pinafore'' actually serenaded the moon instead of the audience. His Mikado's laugh was more bloodcurdling but briefer than that adopted by some later portrayers of the role.

Later years

In December 1916 Tunks left the D'Oyly Carte to join the Army during

, ending the War as a 2nd Lieutenant. After the cessation of hostilities in 1918 Tunks ran a poultry farm in

Shanklin Shanklin () is a seaside resort and civil parishes in England, civil parish on the Isle of Wight, England, located on Sandown Bay. Shanklin is the southernmost of three settlements which occupy the bay, and is close to Lake, Isle of Wight, Lake ...

on the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...

. In his later years Tunks lived in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

in Warwickshire, and here he died in July 1935 aged 54. In his will he left £402 6s 7d to his widow, Ethel Rose New Tunks.England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858–1995 for Leicester Tunks
1935: Ancestry.com

References

External links

Photographic portraits of Leicester Tunks
-

National Portrait Gallery, London The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) is an art gallery in London housing a collection of portraits of historically important and famous British people. It was arguably the first national public gallery dedicated to portraits in the world when it ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tunks, Leicester 1880 births 1935 deaths People from Walthamstow English operatic baritones 20th-century British male opera singers British Army personnel of World War I People associated with Gilbert and Sullivan