Henry Lytton
Sir Henry Lytton (3 January 1865 – 15 August 1936) was the leading exponent of the comic baritone roles in Gilbert and Sullivan operas in the early part of the twentieth century.
Life and career
He was born Henry Alfred Jones in London, and was educated at St. Mark's School, Chelsea, where he took part in amateur theatricals. He ran away from school to go on the stage, making his debut aged seventeen. A fellow performer was Louisa Webber (1864–1847), known on stage as Louie Henri, whom he married two years later. He followed her into the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company (she obtained an audition for him claiming that he was her brother), in the chorus and small parts, and immediately understudying the role of King Gama in Princess Ida on tour. Early in his career, Lytton appeared on stage as "H. A. Henri." He was also sometimes credited as "Harry Lytton."
In 1887, Eric Lewis, who had been understudying George Grossmith in the comic "patter" roles, resigned from the company in frustration that Grossmith had rarely taken ill in three years. Lytton was appointed understudy, and a week later Grossmith did fall ill with appendicitis, giving Lytton the chance to appear as Robin Oakapple in the original run of Ruddigore.
In Lytton's subsequent career with the company (with occasional forays into other theatrical work), he played an unparalleled range of roles, including Counsel and the Learned Judge in Trial by Jury, Dr. Daly and John Wellington Wells in The Sorcerer, Captain Corcoran, Dick Deadeye, and Sir Joseph Porter in H.M.S. Pinafore, the Pirate King and Major-General Stanley in The Pirates of Penzance, Bunthorne and Grosvenor in Patience, Strephon and the Lord Chancellor in Iolanthe, King Gama in Princess Ida, Ko-Ko and The Mikado in The Mikado, Jack Point and Wilfred Shadbolt in The Yeomen of the Guard, Giuseppe and the Duke of Plaza-Toro in The Gondoliers, King Paramount in Utopia Limited, and Ludwig in The Grand Duke, as well as roles in non-G&S pieces mounted by the company, including The Beauty Stone, The Chieftain, The Emerald Isle, The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein, Haddon Hall, Merrie England, Mirette, Pretty Polly, A Princess of Kensington, The Rose of Persia, and The Vicar of Bray.
Lytton was knighted in 1930, the only person to receive the accolade for achievements as a Gilbert and Sullivan performer. His final appearance with the D'Oyly Carte Company was at the Gaiety Theatre, Dublin, in June 1934, as Jack Point in The Yeomen of the Guard. He died in London in 1936, survived by Lady Lytton (nee Louie Henri), who died in 1947.
Recordings
He made many recordings between 1901 and 1905, including songs from The Sorcerer, Iolanthe, Merrie England, and A Princess of Kensington. By the time HMV began using D'Oyly Carte principals in its recordings of the Savoy Operas, however, Lytton’s voice was not thought suitable for the gramophone. Of the HMV recordings issued in the inter-war years, he was included in only five: Princess Ida in 1924 (acoustic) and 1932 (electrical), The Mikado in 1926, The Gondoliers in 1927 and H.M.S. Pinafore in 1930. On most of the other recordings of the period, George Baker replaced him.
Reference
- Ayre, Leslie (1972). The Gilbert & Sullivan Companion. London: W.H. Allen & Co Ltd. Introduction by Martyn Green.
- Lytton, Henry (1922). Secrets of a Savoyard. London: Jarrolds.
- Lytton, Henry (1933). A Wandering Minstrel. London: ??.