Opera Scotland

Henry Heyes Suggest updates

English bass-baritone.

Henry Heyes was a friend of Henry Wood from their days at music college. In his memoirs, Wood reveals that his main reason for accepting a position as conductor of the Rousbey company was the presence on the tour of this friend as an understudy.

What Heyes did not know, was that his well-off and indulgent parents had reached an agreement with Rousbey to give the young singer a job.  He was not well paid, but even so, his fees were actually being paid by his parents to Rousbey, who simply passed the money on.  Whether this arrangement continued in the seasons after Wood's departure is not clear, but Henry Heyes certainly did stay on with the company, gaining generally favourable reviews for singing a widening repertoire of principal roles.