Henry Phillips

Henry Phillips (1801–1876) was an English singer, who took on operatic roles in the 1820s and 1830s. Life The son of Richard Phillips, an actor, he was born in Bristol on 13 August 1801. At age eight he appeared as a boy singer at Harrogate Theatre, and soon afterwards was engaged to sing soprano parts, first at the Haymarket Theatre, and then at Drury Lane Theatre. Phillips became a pupil of Mr Broadhurst, and began his career as a bass at Covent Garden in Henry Rowley Bishop's Law of Java. At this time he was baritone, occasionally singing as a bass. His voice was weak, and he moved to Bath. He returned to London in 1823, studied under Sir George Smart, and was engaged by Charles Kemble to sing in Thomas Arne's Artaxerxes; but was a failure in it. In 1824, however, Phillips sang Caspar in a production of Der Freischütz, with success, and his reputation rose. He participated in provincial musical festivals, and had much theatre and concert work. In 1825 he became principal bass at the Concerts of Antient Music, and entered the choir of London's Bavarian Chapel. In 1834 he sang at the Lyceum Theatre in Edward Loder's Nourjahad and in John Barnett's The Mountain Sylph, making a success of the ballad Farewell to the Mountain.