Charles H. Workman

Charles Herbert Workman (5 May 1872[1] – 1 May 1923) was a singer and actor best known as a successor to George Grossmith in the comic baritone roles in Gilbert and Sullivan operas.

He was cast in the comic leads for the two London repertory seasons of Gilbert and Sullivan at the Savoy Theatre in 1906−07 and 1908−09, earning mostly enthusiastic reviews.

[2] A newcomer to the stage, Workman joined the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company in 1894 as Calynx in a provincial tour of Utopia, Limited, making his debut at the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon.

Beginning in 1897, Workman was promoted to principal comedian in D'Oyly Carte touring companies, appearing as the Lord Chancellor in Iolanthe, Ko-Ko in The Mikado, and Jack Point in Yeomen.

Pinafore, Major-General Stanley in The Pirates of Penzance, Reginald Bunthorne in Patience, the Lord Chancellor, King Gama in Princess Ida, Ko-Ko, Jack Point, the Duke of Plaza-Toro in The Gondoliers, and Scaphio in Utopia.

[6] Of his Jack Point, the paper said: "His patter is delivered with a clearness that neither of the older performers could surpass; he dances as lightly as either, and has as spontaneous a sense of fun.

"[9] In Yeomen, when Workman was playing Jack Point, in one scene he stood between the ladies portraying Elsie Maynard and Phoebe Meryll.

[11] However, Workman and his financial backers quarrelled with Gilbert over the casting of the librettist's protégée, Nancy McIntosh, as Selene, the Fairy Queen.

[14] Workman continued his acting career in London, earning good notices, in The Chocolate Soldier (1910–11, running for 500 performances), Nightbirds (1911) and The Girl in the Taxi (1912–13).

[19] In 1922–23, he led a tour of India and east Asia with his wife, Bessel Adams, a former D'Oyly Carte singer, playing in Gilbert and Sullivan, again with J. C. Williamson's company.

[20] From the Savoy operas, Workman recorded 19 numbers for the Odeon label: Trial by Jury – "When I, good friends, was called to the bar" (1910); The Sorcerer – "My name is John Wellington Wells" (1910); H.M.S.

Pinafore – "When I was a lad I served a term" (1910); The Pirates of Penzance – "I am the very model of a modern major general" (1910) and "Sighing softly to the river" (1911–12); Patience – "If you're anxious for to shine" (1910); Iolanthe – "Love, unrequited, robs me of my rest" (1910), "When I went to the bar as a very young man" (1911–12) and "The Law is the true embodiment" (1911–12); Princess Ida – "If you give me your attention" and "Whene'er I spoke sarcastic joke" (1910); The Yeomen of the Guard – "A private buffoon" (1910) "I've jibe and joke" (1910) and "I have a song to sing, o" (with Elsie Spain, soprano)" (1911–12); The Gondoliers – "In enterprise of martial kind" and "I stole the prince" (1910); Utopia Limited – "First you're born, " (1911–12); The Rose of Persia – "There was a small street arab" (1911–12).