Derek Oldham

Derek Oldham (29 March 1887 – 20 March 1968) was an English tenor and actor born John Stephens Oldham in Accrington, Lancashire, the son of Thomas Oldham and his wife Harriett, née Stephens. He is best remembered for his performances in the leading tenor roles of the Gilbert and Sullivan canon with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, a association that spanned several decades and extended to Broadway appearances between 1934 and 1936.

As a child, Oldham sang as a boy soprano for more than five years, performing in oratorios including Sullivan's The Golden Legend and The Prodigal Son, as well as in concerts and pantomimes. In his early adult years he worked as a bank clerk and participated in amateur operatic societies before making his professional stage debut in 1914, playing Julien in The Daring of Diane at the London Pavilion. Later that same year he appeared at the Lyric Theatre as Bumerli in The Chocolate Soldier. With the outbreak of World War I, Oldham enlisted in the Scots Guards, was subsequently commissioned in the East Lancashire Regiment, and was awarded the Military Cross for gallantry in Macedonia in 1918. During his service he organized a concert group to entertain fellow soldiers and produced The Chocolate Soldier in proximity to enemy lines.

Demobilized in July 1919, Oldham joined the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company the following month, taking on the principal tenor roles immediately. These included Alexis in The Sorcerer, Lord Tolloller in Iolanthe, Cyril in Princess Ida, Nanki-Poo in The Mikado, Colonel Fairfax in The Yeomen of the Guard, and Marco in The Gondoliers. The following year he added Ralph Rackstraw in H.M.S. Pinafore, Frederic in The Pirates of Penzance, and Richard Dauntless in Ruddigore to his repertoire, and in 1921 he exchanged the role of Cyril for Prince Hilarion in Princess Ida.

Oldham departed the D'Oyly Carte company in 1922 to pursue a career in West End musicals and operettas. His first such production was Whirled into Happiness at the Lyric Theatre, where his leading lady was Winnie Melville, whom he married in 1923. He went on to star in Madame Pompadour (1923, as Rene), The Merry Widow (1923, as Camille), and Rose-Marie (1925, as Jim), performing at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane and other West End venues. In 1927, Oldham and Melville appeared together in the European premiere of The Vagabond King, with Oldham as François Villon and Melville as Katherine de Vaucelles. The couple separated in 1933; Melville died in 1937.

Oldham returned to the D'Oyly Carte company for the 1929–30 season, reprising his established roles of Ralph, Frederic, Tolloller, Hilarion, Nanki-Poo, Fairfax, and Marco. He also appeared in The Song of the Drum at Drury Lane in 1931, playing Captain Anthony Darrell. His Broadway career began with the company's 1934–35 American tour, the organization's first major United States tour of the twentieth century, during which he performed in productions including The Hot Mikado, Princess Ida, H.M.S. Pinafore, Iolanthe, and The Yeomen of the Guard. American promoters had stipulated Oldham's participation as a condition of the engagement. During this tour, he and Sylvia Cecil were released by the company for one evening to perform a programme of classical and popular selections, including "Prithee, pretty maiden" from Patience, at a White House party held the night before President Roosevelt's second inauguration. Oldham continued his Broadway association through 1936, and the 1936–37 season included another extended American tour during which he served as leading tenor.

Oldham recorded prolifically for His Master's Voice, singing leading tenor roles in nineteen full and abridged Savoy opera recordings. These included the Defendant in Trial by Jury (1928), Alexis in The Sorcerer (1933), Frederic in The Pirates of Penzance (1920, 1929, and 1931), the Duke of Dunstable in Patience (1930), Earl Tolloller in Iolanthe (1922 and 1929), Hilarion in Princess Ida (1924 and 1932), Nanki-Poo in The Mikado (1926 and 1936), Richard Dauntless in Ruddigore (1924 and 1931), Colonel Fairfax in The Yeomen of the Guard (1920, 1928, and 1931), and Marco in The Gondoliers (1927 and 1931). He also made numerous recordings of songs, musicals, and operettas. Between 1934 and 1957, Oldham appeared in several films, among them The Broken Rosary (1934) as Giovanni, Charing Cross Road (1935) as Jimmy O'Connell, Melody of My Heart (1936) as Joe Montfort, and Dangerous Exile (1957) as William. In 1938 he appeared at the Royal Albert Hall as Chibiabos in Hiawatha, conducted by Malcolm Sargent.

From 1948 onward, Oldham developed a parallel career as a Lieder singer and lecture-recitalist, and later concentrated on non-musical plays. His final London stage appearance was as Dr. Stoner in Agatha Christie's Verdict in 1958. A member of the Gilbert and Sullivan Society in London from 1924, he was elected vice-president of the society in 1947 and maintained his connection to the Gilbert and Sullivan world throughout his life, serving as compère for the D'Oyly Carte company's last-night festivities at the close of its 1961–62 London season at the Savoy Theatre. In September 1966 he appeared on the BBC radio programme Desert Island Discs. During the final decade of his life, Oldham lived in retirement in Hayling Island, Hampshire. He died in Portsmouth on 20 March 1968, nine days before his eighty-first birthday.