Robert Scott Fishe (12 February 1871 – 31 August 1898) was an English

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

tic

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 actor best remembered for creating roles in the 1890s with the D’Oyly Carte Opera Company. As a boy, Fishe was a chorister with the

Chapel Royal The Chapel Royal is an establishment in the Royal Household serving the spiritual needs of the sovereign and the British Royal Family. Historically it was a body of priests and singers that travelled with the monarch. The term is now also applie ...

. After beginning his professional stage career, he was hired in 1891 by

Richard D'Oyly Carte Richard D'Oyly Carte (; 3 May 1844 – 3 April 1901) was an English talent agent, theatrical impresario, composer, and hotelier during the latter half of the Victorian era. He built two of London's theatres and a hotel empire, while also establi ...

for the chorus of

Arthur Sullivan Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan (13 May 1842 – 22 November 1900) was an English composer. He is best known for 14 comic opera, operatic Gilbert and Sullivan, collaborations with the dramatist W. S. Gilbert, including ''H.M.S. Pinaf ...

's grand opera ''

Ivanhoe ''Ivanhoe: A Romance'' () by Walter Scott is a historical novel published in three volumes, in 1819, as one of the Waverley novels. Set in England in the Middle Ages, this novel marked a shift away from Scott’s prior practice of setting st ...

''. He soon toured in South America with other D'Oyly Carte artistes, performing in

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 ...

s and surviving a shipwreck off the coast of Chile. In 1892, Fishe played leading roles with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company and in other West End companies, but from spring 1893, he performed exclusively with D'Oyly Carte. Although he had begun to suffer from tuberculosis, he created several roles, most notably in

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 ...

's last two operas: Mr. Goldbury in '' Utopia, Limited'' (1893) and the Prince of Monte Carlo in ''

The Grand Duke ''The Grand Duke; or, The Statutory Duel'', is the final Savoy Opera written by librettist W. S. Gilbert and composer Arthur Sullivan, their fourteenth and last opera together. It premiered at the Savoy Theatre on 7 March 1896, and ran for 12 ...

'' (1896). He played the title role in several revivals of ''

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 ...

''. In 1896, he travelled to South Africa for a D'Oyly Carte tour. There, he fell ill again, but he was able to return to the stage briefly at the end of 1897, after which run his health deteriorated. After several attempts to recuperate, Fishe gave up all hope of recovery, and he committed suicide at the age of 27.

Early career

"Bob" Fishe was born in Stanhope Street in St Pancras, London, to Jane (''née'' Scott) and Robert Fishe, an

ironmonger Ironmongery originally referred, first, to the manufacture of iron goods and, second, to the place of sale of such items for domestic rather than industrial use. In both contexts, the term has expanded to include items made of steel, aluminium ...

. Although his mother went by the name "Fishe", she did not marry his father until 1874. On their banns entry, Robert Fishe is listed as a widower, and his bride as a spinster; they were living at the same address. He began to perform as a boy in church choirs and at concerts and was selected as a chorister with the

Joseph, Tony. "A gun in his bedroom", ''Gilbert & Sullivan News'', Vol.V, No.1, Spring 2013 pp. 8–9 He made his professional stage debut singing nautical songs in a variety show at Hengler's Circus in London. He sang in the chorus at the

Globe Theatre The Globe Theatre was a theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare. It was built in 1599 by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men, on land owned by Thomas Brend and inherited by his son, Nicholas Brend, and gra ...

Luscombe Searelle William Luscombe Searelle (1853 – 18 December 1907) was a musical composer and impresario. He was born in Devon, England, and brought up in New Zealand, where he attended Christ's College, Christchurch. Searelle began working as a pianist ...

's ''The Black Rover'' and was then hired in 1891 by

for the chorus of Arthur Sullivan’s grand opera ''

'' at the

Royal English Opera House The Palace Theatre is a West End theatre in the City of Westminster in London. Its red-brick facade dominates the west side of Cambridge Circus behind a small plaza near the intersection of Shaftesbury Avenue and Charing Cross Road. The Palace ...

.Stone, David
"R. Scott Fishe"
Who Was Who in the D’Oyly Carte Opera Company, 14 November 2012, retrieved 4 June 2013 Later in 1891, still only twenty years old, Fishe and other D'Oyly Carte regulars, including

Leonora Braham Leonora Braham (born Leonora Abraham; 3 February 1853 – 23 November 1931) was an English opera singer and actress primarily known as the creator of principal soprano roles in the Gilbert and Sullivan comic operas. Beginning in 1870, Braham st ...

, went to

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

with the Edwin Cleary Opera Company. There they performed in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

Montevideo Montevideo () is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

, Valparaiso,

Lima Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of t ...

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

, and other cities. Fishe had roles in '' The Pirates of Penzance'' (the Pirate King), '' Patience'' (Major Murgatroyd), ''

'' (title role), ''

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 ...

'' (Sir Marmaduke), ''

Dorothy Dorothy may refer to: *Dorothy (given name), a list of people with that name. Arts and entertainment Characters *Dorothy Gale, protagonist of ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' by L. Frank Baum * Ace (''Doctor Who'') or Dorothy, a character playe ...

'' (Harry Sherwood), ''Pepita'' (Bombardos) and ''

Erminie ''Erminie'' is a comic opera in two acts composed by Edward Jakobowski with a libretto by Claxson Bellamy and Harry Paulton, based loosely on Charles Selby's 1834 English translation of the French melodrama, ''Robert Macaire''. The piece first ...

'', among other works. The Company was shipwrecked off the coast of

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

in the middle of the tour, losing most of their possessions, but there were no deaths. Some of the company, including Fishe, made their way on horseback across the

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

. They returned to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in March 1892. Fishe was then engaged by 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 ...

, immediately performing the role of Thomas Merton in ''

The Vicar of Bray The Vicar of Bray is a satirical description of an individual fundamentally changing his principles to remain in ecclesiastical office as external requirements change around him. The religious upheavals in England from 1533 to 1559 (and then from ...

'' at the Savoy Theatre. At the end of the run, he left the Savoy to star in ''

Ma mie Rosette ''Ma mie Rosette'' ("My Dear Rosette") is an opéra comique in four acts with music by Paul Lacôme and words by Jules Prével and Armand Liorat. It is set in 16th-century Navarre, ruled by the young and famously amorous Henry IV of France, Henri ...

'' at the

and then at the Prince of Wales Theatre from November 1892 to February 1893. Fishe began to suffer from

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

, perhaps as early as on the South America tour, and the disease was to advance over the ensuing years. After ''Ma mie Rosette'', he travelled to

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

to convalesce.

Savoy Theatre

In the spring of 1893, Fishe returned to the Savoy Theatre to create roles in several more Savoy Operas. These began with the role of Jack in the short-lived ''

Jane Annie ''Jane Annie, or The Good Conduct Prize'' is a comic opera written in 1893 by J. M. Barrie and Arthur Conan Doyle, with music by Ernest Ford, a conductor and occasional composer. When the Gilbert and Sullivan partnership disbanded after the pro ...

'', which opened in May 1893. In his 1908 memoir,

Rutland Barrington Rutland Barrington (15 January 1853 – 31 May 1922) was an English singer, actor, comedian and Edwardian musical comedy star. Best remembered for originating the lyric baritone roles in the Gilbert and Sullivan operas from 1877 to 1896, his ...

tells the following story about Fishe: Chieftain poster 1894

In October 1893, Fishe created the part of Mr. Goldbury in

's '' Utopia, Limited'', and in July 1894 he created the role of Gerard de Montigny in '' Mirette'', resuming this role when the revised version opened in October. In December 1894 he created the role of Ferdinand de Roxas in Burnand and Sullivan's ''

The Chieftain ''The Chieftain'' is a two-act comic opera by Arthur Sullivan and F. C. Burnand based on their 1867 opera, ''The Contrabandista''. It consists of substantially the same first act as the 1867 work with a completely new second act. It premiered at ...

''. In April 1895 Fishe joined a D'Oyly Carte touring company, appearing in his old roles of Tommy Merton, Mr. Goldbury, Gerard de Montigny, and Ferdinand de Roxas. When '' Princess Ida'' was added to the repertoire, Fishe appeared as Florian. Fishe returned to the Savoy Theatre in November to play the title role in the revival of ''The Mikado''. He continued to play at the Savoy, creating the role of the Prince of Monte Carlo in Gilbert and Sullivan's last opera, ''

'', in 1896 and then played the title role in another revival of ''The Mikado''.

Later life

In December 1896, Fishe travelled to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

together with

Emmie Owen Emily Owen (November 28, 1871 – October 18, 1905) was an English opera singer and actress, best known for her performances in soprano roles of the Savoy Operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company. Beginning as a child actress, she performe ...

and George Thorne in a D'Oyly Carte tour. There he appeared as the Mikado of Japan in ''The Mikado'' and Giuseppe in '' The Gondoliers''. However, he fell ill again during the tour and returned to England in early 1897. After another convalescence, in December 1897 he returned to the Savoy Theatre, playing Colonel Macrobrunner in ''

The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'', after which run his health deteriorated. Fishe never fully recovered from tuberculosis, and

paid for first-class passage for him to go to

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

to recuperate. Believing he had no hope of recovery, however, Fishe returned to England and was sent to

Margate Margate is a seaside resort, seaside town on the north coast of Kent in south-east England. The town is estimated to be 1.5 miles long, north-east of Canterbury and includes Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay, UK, Palm Bay and Westbrook, Kent, ...

in the hope that the bracing sea air at that resort would help him. When that also failed, he went to London where, having obtained a revolver, he committed suicide on 31 August 1898, aged 27 years.Notice of Fishe's suicide
''The New York Times'', 1 September 1898, p. 7, retrieved 9 November 2009

Notes

References

*
Fishe anecdote about ''Jane Annie'' performance
*Lamb, Andrew. "Comic Opera Goes Latin-American, 1890-92: Part 2" in ''The Gaiety'', Winter 2006, pp. 29–47.

External links

Information and drawings of Fishe in Fitzgerald, Percy Hetherington, ''The Savoy Opera and the Savoyards'', pp. 226 and 240"> Information and drawings of Fishe in Fitzgerald, Percy Hetherington, ''The Savoy Opera and the Savoyards'', pp. 226 and 240
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fishe, Robert Scott 1871 births 1898 deaths 19th-century British male opera singers Suicides by firearm in England People from St Pancras, London Singers from London Male actors from London English operatic baritones 19th-century English male actors English male stage actors 1890s suicides