{{Short description|English opera singer and actor (1860–1925)}} {{Use British English|date=August 2014}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2026}} <!-- Before adding an infobox to this article, please seek to establish a new consensus on the Talk page to do so. --> [[File:CharlesKenningham.jpg|thumb|Kenningham as Nanki-Poo<br/> in ''The Mikado'']] '''Charles Kenningham''' (18 November 1860 – 24 October 1925) was an English opera singer and actor best remembered for his roles in the 1890s with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company.
After singing as a boy soprano, Kenningham briefly served in the 5th Dragoon Guards. After nearly five years' service as a tenor at Canterbury Cathedral, he performed in Arthur Sullivan's grand opera ''Ivanhoe'' in 1891. He then became principal tenor with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company until 1898. There he created several roles, including the tenor roles in the last two Gilbert and Sullivan operas. He was also a composer who had a number of songs published in the 1890s. From 1898 to 1906, he toured in Australia and New Zealand with the J. C. Williamson opera company.
==Early career== Kenningham was born in Hull, England. He began his musical career as a boy soprano soloist, at the age of eight, at Holy Trinity Church in Hull. Two years later he was principal boy chorister at St Paul's Cathedral in London, where he studied the organ with John Stainer.<ref name=pandora>[https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20090802140000/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/42806/20090803-0000/www.hat-archive.com/biographies5.html "Biographies:Charles Kenningham"]{{cbignore|bot=medic}}, HAT – History of Australian Theatre, 17 August 1898, accessed 5 October 2011</ref><ref name=smh/> After his voice changed, he became the organist and choir master at St Luke's Church, Hull, at the age of fourteen. After an engagement with a short-lived stage company he enlisted in the 5th Dragoon Guards.<ref name=smh/> With that military company, he travelled to Egypt in 1882, taking part in two engagements. He then returned to England, where he was stationed at York and gave organ recitals, earning enough from them to purchase his military discharge.<ref name=pandora/>
Kenningham's London stage debut was at the Adelphi Theatre in 1882 as Duvalor in a single matinée performance of Haydn Millars's operetta ''Mariette's Wedding''.<ref>Gänzl, p. 216</ref> He was appointed principal tenor at Canterbury Cathedral, where he sang for almost five years.<ref name=pandora/> He went on to create the role of Maurice de Bracy in Sir Arthur Sullivan's grand opera, ''Ivanhoe'', at the Royal English Opera House from January to July 1891.<ref name=Stone/>
==D'Oyly Carte Company== In August 1891 Kenningham joined a D'Oyly Carte Opera Company touring company as Indru in ''The Nautch Girl''. He replaced Courtice Pounds as Indru at the Savoy Theatre in October 1891 before returning to the Royal English Opera House to play Jeban D'Eveille in ''La Basoche'' by André Messager, and reprising his role as de Bracy in ''Ivanhoe'' for six performances during November and December 1891. Kenningham rejoined D'Oyly Carte on tour in March 1892 in the role of the Reverend Harry Sandford in ''The Vicar of Bray''. Returning to the Savoy Theatre in September 1892, he created the parts of Oswald in ''Haddon Hall'', Tom in ''Jane Annie'', and Captain Fitzbattleaxe in Gilbert and Sullivan's penultimate opera, ''Utopia, Limited''.<ref name=Stone>Stone, David. [https://www.gsarchive.net/whowaswho/K/KenninghamCharles.htm Charles Kenningham] at the ''Who Was who in The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company'', accessed 5 October 2011</ref>
[[File:NancyMc as Princess Zara.jpg|thumb|left|Nancy McIntosh and Kenningham in ''Utopia, Limited'']] When Courtice Pounds returned to the Savoy Theatre in July 1894 to take the tenor lead in ''Mirette'', Kenningham rejoined the D'Oyly Carte touring company as Fitzbattleaxe until October 1894, leaving to create the part of Erling in W. S. Gilbert and Osmond Carr's ''His Excellency'' at the Lyric Theatre from October 1894 to April 1895. Kenningham returned to D'Oyly Carte in July 1895 to tour as Cyril in ''Princess Ida'', Fitzbattleaxe in ''Utopia Limited'', and Count Vasquez in ''The Chieftain''.<ref name=Stone/>
Kenningham returned to the Savoy Theatre as Nanki-Poo in ''The Mikado'' in November 1895, a revival that lasted until March 1896, when he created the part of Ernest Dummkopf in the last Gilbert and Sullivan opera, ''The Grand Duke''.<ref>Rollins and Witts, p. 15</ref> He remained at the Savoy until May 1898, and appeared successively as Nanki-Poo from July 1896 to February 1897, Prince Max in ''His Majesty'' from February to April 1897, and Colonel Fairfax in ''The Yeomen of the Guard'' from May to November 1897. He played Fritz in D'Oyly Carte's revival of ''The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein'', from December 1897 to March 1898, and Marco in ''The Gondoliers'' from March to May 1898.<ref name=Stone/><ref>Rollins and Witts, pp. 16–17</ref>
==Songwriting and later years== In the 1890s Kenningham composed the music of several songs, including the ballad "Without thy love" (to lyrics written by a fellow D'Oyly Carte performer, Wallace Brownlow),<ref>[http://nla.gov.au/nla.mus-an13913244 "Without Thy Love"], National Library of Australia, accessed 12 July 2013</ref> "Scarborough Sal" and "I Dream of the Days".<ref>[http://explore.bl.uk/primo_library/libweb/action/search.do?dscnt=0&vl(174399379UI0)=any&frbg=&scp.scps=scope%3A%28BLCONTENT%29&tab=local_tab&dstmp=1373635469603&srt=rank&ct=search&mode=Basic&dum=true&tb=t&indx=1&vl(freeText0)=Charles+Kenningham&vid=BLVU1&fn=search "Charles Kenningham"], British Library, accessed 12 July 2013</ref> He wrote both the words and the music for "Can it be Love" and "Love of my Life 'tis You".<ref>[http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/18638296?q=Charles+Kenningham+AND+Wallace+Brownlow&c=music&versionId=21880442 "Can it be Love?"] and [http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/11119603?q=Charles+Kenningham+AND+Wallace+Brownlow&c=music&versionId=13020266 "Love of my Life 'tis You"], National Library of Australia, accessed 12 July 2013</ref> His song "Since thou hast come", to lyrics by H Cornell, was sung by Ivor McKay at the inaugural concert of The Proms in August 1895.<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/proms/archive/search/1890s/1895 "Seasons – 1895 season"], Proms archive, BBC, accessed 12 July 2013</ref>
From 1898 to 1906, Kenningham toured in Australia and New Zealand for J. C. Williamson, who had bought the rights to produce the Gilbert and Sullivan operas there from Richard D'Oyly Carte. Kenningham performed in the leading tenor roles in ''The Yeomen of the Guard'', ''H.M.S. Pinafore,'' ''The Pirates of Penzance'', ''The Sorcerer'', ''Patience'', ''Iolanthe'', ''Princess Ida'', ''The Mikado'', ''The Gondoliers'' and ''Utopia, Limited''. He also played Lancelot in ''La poupée'' in 1899 and Donegal in ''Florodora'' in 1900.<ref name=smh/><ref>{{cite book|title=Leslie Stuart|author=Andrew Lamb|year=2002|publisher=Routledge|isbn=0-415-93747-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=arsbsDewXqIC&q=%22wallace+brownlow%22&pg=PA114}}</ref>
Kenningham died in Australia at the age of 64.<ref name=smh>[https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article16250867 "Tenor's death"], ''The Sydney Morning Herald'', 26 October 1925, p. 12</ref>
==Notes== {{reflist}}
==References== * {{cite book | last= Gänzl | first= Kurt | year= 1986| title= The British Musical Theatre | location= New York | publisher= Oxford University Press | isbn= 019520509X }} * {{cite book|last1=Rollins|first1=Cyril|year=1962|first2=R. John |last2=Witts|title=The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company in Gilbert and Sullivan Operas: A Record of Productions, 1875–1961| location=London|publisher=Michael Joseph|oclc=504581419}}
==External links== *[http://www.savoyoperas.org.uk/duke/gd1.html Reviews of Kenningham in ''The Grand Duke''] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20070824182710/http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~melbear/century7.htm Kenningham in Australia] *[http://pinafore.www3.50megs.com/c-kenningham-p.html A Charles Kenningham Photo Album] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20110724192642/http://crash.ihug.co.nz/~melbear/downunder/utopiareview2.htm Kenningham and Utopia Limited in New Zealand]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Kenningham, Charles}} Category:1860 births Category:1925 deaths Category:English actors Category:English opera singers Category:Musicians from Kingston upon Hull Category:19th-century English singers