Men of the Time, eleventh edition/Reeves, Sims

​REEVES, Sims, tenor singer, bom at Woolwich in 1821, was first instructed by his father. At an early age he held the appointment of organist and director of the choir at the church of North Cray, and after taking lessons on the pianoforte from J. B. Cramer, he was placed under the care of T. Cooke, Hobbs, and other distinguished professors of singing. In 1839 he made his first appearance on the stage at Newcastle, at which time he was singing baritone parts; he next visited the principal provincial towns, and went to Paris to study his profession. Not long afterwards he made his first appearance in Italian Opera at Milan, in the tenor part of Edgardo in "Lucia di Lammermoor," and came out in the same character at Drury Lane Theatre, Dec. 6, 1847, then under the management of the late M. Jullien. His first original character was in Balfe's opera of the "Maid of Honour," and he appeared at Her Majesty's Theatre, ​ as Carlo, in "Linda di Chamouni" in 1848, and was engaged at the Royal Italian Opera at Covent Garden in 1849. Since that time Mr. Reeves has held the rank of first English tenor, and has appeared with extraordinary success at all the great performances of oratorios at Exeter Hall, the provincial festivals, and the Cryrstal Palace. One of his best original parts was in Mr. Macfarren's opera of "Robin Hood," produced at the performances of English opera at Her Majesty's Theatre in 1860. He achieved great success in the part of "Faust," at the same theatre.