THE D'OYLY CARTE OPERA COMPANY

R. Scott Fishe as Mr. Goldbury in Utopia Limited

R. Scott Fishe (1892, 1893-98)

[Born St. Pancras, London 12 Feb 1871, died Brentford, Middlesex 31 Aug 1898]

Robert Scott Fishe performed as a boy at concerts and in church choirs before making his stage debut in a variety show at Hengler's Circus. After a chorus engagement at the Globe Theatre, he was hired by Richard D'Oyly Carte for the chorus of Ivanhoe at the Royal English Opera House in 1891.

Later that year he went to South America with the Edwin Cleary Opera Company, appearing in The Pirates of Penzance, Patience, and The Mikado, among other light operas for audiences in Buenos Aires, Montevideo, Valparaiso, Lima, and elsewhere. The Company was shipwrecked off the coast of Chile and, after reportedly trekking across the Andes to Argentina, returned to England in March 1892.

Upon his return, Fishe was promptly engaged by D'Oyly Carte for the Savoy, where he assumed the role of Thomas Merton in The Vicar of Bray as an emergency replacement for Richard Green on short notice. He left the Savoy at the end of the run to appear in George Dance and Ivan Caryll's Ma Mie Rosette at the Globe and later the Prince of Wales's (November 1892-February 1893), but then went to Switzerland to convalesce.

In May 1893 he returned to D'Oyly Carte and the Savoy to create the part of Jack in Barrie, Doyle, and Ford's Jane Annie, then (in October 1893) Mr. Goldbury in Gilbert & Sullivan's Utopia Limited, and (in July 1894) Gerard de Montigny in Mirette. He resumed his role as Gerard de Montigny when a revised version of Mirette was presented in October, then created the part of Ferdinand de Roxas in Burnand & Sullivan's The Chieftain (December 1894).

After The Chieftain closed, Fishe went on tour with D'Oyly Carte Opera Company "D," commencing in April 1895, appearing as Tommy Merton, Mr. Goldbury, Gerard de Montigny, and Ferdinand de Roxas. After Mirette and The Chieftain were dropped from the repertoire (in June and August respectively). Princess Ida was added in September with Fishe appearing as Florian.

Scott Fishe left Company "D" in October 1895, returning to the Savoy in November for the revival of The Mikado, in which he played the title role. He remained at the Savoy through the first run of The Grand Duke (March-July 1896), creating the Prince of Monte Carlo, and then took The Mikado of Japan in yet another Mikado revival there from July to November 1896, when the part was taken by Richard Temple.

Fishe then left for a D'Oyly Carte tour of South Africa, arriving in December 1896, and appearing there as the Mikado in The Mikado and Giuseppe in The Gondoliers. He may have appeared in other operas--the record is not complete--but he was taken ill and forced to return to England in early 1897. After another period of recuperation, he returned to the Savoy in December 1897, appearing in the smallish part of Colonel Macrobrunner in The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein, through a run that ended in March 1898.

After The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein, Fishe's health took another turn for the worse. Suffering from tuberculosis and believing he had no hope for recovery, he obtained a revolver and shot himself to death. He was 27 years old.

F Index  |  "D'Oyly Carte Who Was Who" Home Page