Walter H. Fisher

Walter Henry Fisher (1848 – 1 January 1893) was an English singer and actor of the Victorian era best remembered as the creator of the role of the Defendant in Gilbert and Sullivan's 1875 opera Trial by Jury.

[1] Beginning in the 1860s with much promise in comic plays, classics, Victorian burlesque, and as a versatile singer in opera and operetta, Fisher seemed headed for lasting stardom alongside his wife Lottie Venne.

[5] In 1866 in Bristol he performed in Guy Mannering as Henry Bertram, followed by other roles at that theatre, such as Laertes in Hamlet, Malcolm in Macbeth and Sir William Brandon in Richard III.

[5] Fisher first appeared in London in 1872 as Ambroise Valamour in Broken Spells at the Court Theatre, followed by other roles there, including Sergeant Klooque in a revival of W. S. Gilbert's Creatures of Impulse, opposite Venne's Peter.

[5][1] The Observer wrote of his performance, "It was for him a hazardous task to essay a character which is identified with Mario Widmer, one of the most fascinating jeunes premieres at present on the stage: and it is gratifying to say that Mr. Fisher suffered little if at all by comparison".

[7] Fisher's good looks and pleasing voice had led him to a successful early career "at the Philharmonic, Royalty, Olympic and other theatres [where] he became the original exponent of many notable operatic and dramatic works by Messrs. Montague, James and Thorne, he was selected [to create] the part of Jack Wyatt (Two Roses) in the provinces.

[5] Fisher joined Selina Dolaro's company at the Royalty Theatre in January 1875, where he played Piquillo, the tenor lead, in Jacques Offenbach's La Périchole.

[1] During this engagement, however, he "became unreliable" (a euphemism for alcoholism) and, despite his "delightful" performances and good notices from the critics, Carte asked him to leave the company, as "the disease was too deeply rooted for permanent cure".