Charles Manners

A cabinet card portrait of the bass singer and opera company manager Charles Manners (1857-1935). His earliest performances were with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, first as a chorus member and then as a principal, creating the role of Private Willis in Iolanthe in 1882. After leaving D'Oyly Carte the following year, he sang with several opera companies, most notably the Carl Rosa Opera Company and Covent Garden. In 1898, he and his wife, the singer Fanny Moody, set up their own company, dedicated to presenting opera in English.

The Moody-Manners company performed in London, the British provinces, North America and South Africa from 1898 to 1916. After his retirement, Manners continued to campaign for a national opera company, which was eventually founded forty years after his death.

Photographed by Elliott and Fry of 55, Baker Street, London.