Barton McGuckin (28 July 1852 – 17 April 1913)[1] was an Irish tenor singer of renown, who made his career principally in Britain with the Carl Rosa Opera Company, but also gained a wide success in oratorio and concert.

[2][3][4] McGuckin was born in Dublin and began studying music as a choirboy in Armagh Cathedral, where he received instruction in singing, organ, violin and pianoforte.

[8] He made his stage debut with the Carl Rosa Opera Company in 1880, and remained with them at Theatre Royal, Drury Lane until 1887, singing in London and the provinces.

[8] In this period he created several important roles, notably Phoebus in A. Goring Thomas's Esmeralda (with Georgina Burns, Clara Perry, William Ludwig, Ben Davies (his operatic debut) and Leslie Crotty, in 1883; next Orso, the hero, in Alexander Mackenzie's Colomba, with Alwina Valleria and Franco Novara, again in 1883; then Waldemar in Goring Thomas's Nadeshda, much acclaimed, with Alwina Valleria, Josephine Yorke and Leslie Crotty in 1885, and also Oscar in Frederick Corder's Nordisa in 1887.

[13] In June 1891 McGuckin sang on Selection Day in the Handel Festival under Sir August Manns at the Crystal Palace, performing "Waft her, angels" from (Jephta) (which he spoiled by holding the high note at the end too long, but otherwise had a very distinguished success with it) and "Love sounds the alarm" (which was "excellent").

[14] In the same month Mrs Moore Lawson was Venus to his Tannhäuser in the first scene of that opera as presented in English at a concert of Hans Richter and was, according to Shaw, capable of holding his own with the majority of continental singers to whom he might be compared.

[18] This had been through several successful runs since its first production a year previously, and Richard D'Oyly Carte now produced it to alternate with André Messager's La Basoche, in which David Bispham made his London debut.