Jeffrey Skitch
Encyclopedia
Jeffrey Ralph Skitch is a retired teacher, actor and operatic baritone
best known for his performances and recordings with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company
from 1952 to 1965.
Born in Australia, Skitch moved with his mother to England when he was two years old. Skitch served in the RAF during World War II
and began acting by 1949. After his career with D'Oyly Carte, he turned to teaching, and from 1981 to 1992 he was the Principal of Elmhurst Ballet School.
, the son of Ralph Aubrey Skitch (1896–1959), a land agent, and Magda Katie Helena Herman (1897–1959), who met in London during the First World War. The couple married in Australia in about 1920. In 1929, Skitch and his older brother Robert Ernest (1923–1999) travelled with their mother on a visit to London and did not return to Australia. His parents divorced, and his father remained in Australia, later remarrying. Skitch was educated in England. After National Service with the Royal Air Force
, he trained as an actor and singer at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
and The Old Vic Theatre School.
Skitch first performed professionally in London in 1949, in She Stoops to Conquer
, as an extra at the Arts Theatre
. That autumn, he served at the Arts Theatre as an assistant stage manager and actor for the play The Romantic Young Lady. He appeared in Idomeneo
with the Glyndebourne Festival Opera
in l951.
In 1952 he joined the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company
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
. When Alan Styler
temporarily left D'Oyly Carte, Skitch assumed the larger role of Giuseppe in The Gondoliers and added to his repertory the roles of Archibald Grosvenor in Patience
, Strephon in Iolanthe
and Pish-Tush in The Mikado
. The next season, Skitch added the role of Captain Corcoran in HMS Pinafore
and also briefly appeared as Samuel in The Pirates of Penzance
, during which period he dropped the role of Strephon and switched 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 some or all of these roles through 1965, also sometimes playing the Counsel for the Plaintiff or the Learned Judge in Trial by Jury
. The company toured extensively in Britain and also toured the U.S. during these years.
Skitch recorded several roles with D'Oyly Carte on the Decca label, including Doctor Daly in The Sorcerer
(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.
in New York City. They have two sons, a schoolmaster and a hotel manager.
After leaving the company, Skitch obtained a BSc
in Biological Science from London University and subsequently became a teacher, working at Oakham School
in Rutland
before moving on to Malvern College
as head of the Biology Department. In 1981 he became the Principal of Elmhurst Ballet School. On his retirement in 1992 Skitch moved to Lymington
in Hampshire
where he and his wife now live and sail their yacht Pinafore.
Baritone
Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...
best known for his performances and recordings with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company
D'Oyly Carte Opera Company
The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company was a professional light opera company that staged Gilbert and Sullivan's Savoy operas. The company performed nearly year-round in the UK and sometimes toured in Europe, North America and elsewhere, from the 1870s until it closed in 1982. It was revived in 1988 and...
from 1952 to 1965.
Born in Australia, Skitch moved with his mother to England when he was two years old. Skitch served in the RAF during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and began acting by 1949. After his career with D'Oyly Carte, he turned to teaching, and from 1981 to 1992 he was the Principal of Elmhurst Ballet School.
Early life and career
Skitch was born in Millicent, South AustraliaMillicent, South Australia
Millicent is a town in South Australia, south-east of Adelaide, and north of Mount Gambier. At the 2006 Census, the population was 4,771.The town is home to the Millicent National Trust Museum, and is nearby to the Tantanoola Caves Conservation Park and the Canunda National Park.The Millicent...
, the son of Ralph Aubrey Skitch (1896–1959), a land agent, and Magda Katie Helena Herman (1897–1959), who met in London during the First World War. The couple married in Australia in about 1920. In 1929, Skitch and his older brother Robert Ernest (1923–1999) travelled with their mother on a visit to London and did not return to Australia. His parents divorced, and his father remained in Australia, later remarrying. Skitch was educated in England. After National Service with the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
, he trained as an actor and singer at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art is a drama school located in London, United Kingdom. It is generally regarded as one of the most renowned drama schools in the world, and is one of the oldest drama schools in the United Kingdom, having been founded in 1904.RADA is an affiliate school of the...
and The Old Vic Theatre School.
Skitch first performed professionally in London in 1949, in She Stoops to Conquer
She Stoops to Conquer
She Stoops to Conquer is a comedy by the Irish author Oliver Goldsmith, son of an Anglo-Irish vicar, first performed in London in 1773. The play is a great favourite for study by English literature and theatre classes in Britain and the United States. It is one of the few plays from the 18th...
, as an extra at the Arts Theatre
Arts Theatre
The Arts Theatre is a theatre in Great Newport Street, in Westminster, Central London. It now operates as the West End's smallest commercial receiving house.-History:...
. That autumn, he served at the Arts Theatre as an assistant stage manager and actor for the play The Romantic Young Lady. He appeared in Idomeneo
Idomeneo
Idomeneo, re di Creta ossia Ilia e Idamante is an Italian language opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The libretto was adapted by Giambattista Varesco from a French text by Antoine Danchet, which had been set to music by André Campra as Idoménée in 1712...
with the Glyndebourne Festival Opera
Glyndebourne Festival Opera
Glyndebourne Festival Opera is an English opera festival held at Glyndebourne, an English country house near Lewes, in East Sussex, England.-History:...
in l951.
In 1952 he joined the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company
D'Oyly Carte Opera Company
The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company was a professional light opera company that staged Gilbert and Sullivan's Savoy operas. The company performed nearly year-round in the UK and sometimes toured in Europe, North America and elsewhere, from the 1870s until it closed in 1982. It was revived in 1988 and...
for the 1952-53 season. His first roles with the company were Luiz in The Gondoliers
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 , closing on 30 June 1891...
and the small role of Second Yeoman in The Yeomen of the Guard
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...
. When Alan Styler
Alan Styler
Alan Styler was an English opera singer, best known for his performances in baritone roles of the Savoy Operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company. He married former D'Oyly Carte chorister Vera Ryan.-Life and career:...
temporarily left D'Oyly Carte, Skitch assumed the larger role of Giuseppe in The Gondoliers and added to his repertory the roles of Archibald Grosvenor in Patience
Patience (opera)
Patience; or, Bunthorne's Bride, is a comic opera in two acts with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. First performed at the Opera Comique, London, on 23 April 1881, it moved to the 1,292-seat Savoy Theatre on 10 October 1881, where it was the first theatrical production in the...
, Strephon in Iolanthe
Iolanthe
Iolanthe; or, The Peer and the Peri is a comic opera with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It is one of the Savoy operas and is the seventh collaboration of the fourteen between Gilbert and Sullivan....
and Pish-Tush in The Mikado
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 operatic collaborations...
. The next season, Skitch added the role of Captain Corcoran in HMS Pinafore
HMS 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, England, on 25 May 1878 and ran for 571 performances, which was the second-longest run of any musical...
and also briefly appeared as Samuel in The Pirates of Penzance
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. The opera's official premiere was at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York City on 31 December 1879, where the show was well received by both audiences...
, during which period he dropped the role of Strephon and switched to Luiz in The Gondoliers. In 1954, he took over the role of Florian in Princess Ida
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 January 5, 1884, for a run of 246 performances...
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 some or all of these roles through 1965, also sometimes playing the Counsel for the Plaintiff or the Learned Judge in Trial by Jury
Trial by Jury
Trial by Jury is a comic opera in one act, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It was first produced on 25 March 1875, at London's Royalty Theatre, where it initially ran for 131 performances and was considered a hit, receiving critical praise and outrunning its...
. The company toured extensively in Britain and also toured the U.S. during these years.
Skitch recorded several roles with D'Oyly Carte on the Decca label, including Doctor Daly in The Sorcerer
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 Love, that Gilbert wrote for The Graphic magazine in 1876...
(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' ChurchSaint Malachy's Roman Catholic Church
Saint Malachy's Roman Catholic Church is in Manhattan on West 49th Street, between Broadway and Eighth Avenue. Parishioners have included Bob Hope and Gregory Peck.-History:...
in New York City. They have two sons, a schoolmaster and a hotel manager.
After leaving the company, Skitch obtained a BSc
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
in Biological Science from London University and subsequently became a teacher, working at Oakham School
Oakham School
Oakham School is a British co-educational independent school in the historic market town of Oakham in Rutland, accepting around 1,000 pupils, aged from 10 to 18, both male and female, as boarders and day pupils . The Good Schools Guide called the school "a privileged but unpretentious and...
in Rutland
Rutland
Rutland is a landlocked county in central England, bounded on the west and north by Leicestershire, northeast by Lincolnshire and southeast by Peterborough and Northamptonshire....
before moving on to Malvern College
Malvern College
Malvern College is a coeducational independent school located on a 250 acre campus near the town centre of Malvern, Worcestershire in England. Founded on 25 January 1865, until 1992, the College was a secondary school for boys aged 13 to 18...
as head of the Biology Department. In 1981 he became the Principal of Elmhurst Ballet School. On his retirement in 1992 Skitch moved to Lymington
Lymington
Lymington is a port on the west bank of the Lymington River on the Solent, in the New Forest district of Hampshire, England. It is to the east of the South East Dorset conurbation, and faces Yarmouth on the Isle of Wight which is connected to it by a car ferry, operated by Wightlink. The town...
in Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
where he and his wife now live and sail their yacht Pinafore.
External links
- Jeffrey Skitch on the IBDB Broadway Database
- Jeffrey Skitch on Broadwayworld.com
- Jeffrey Skitch on the Memories of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company website
- Photo of Skitch as the Learned Judge, 1964
- Postcard images, including three of Skitch
- Postcard images, including two of Skitch