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J.G. (Jack) Robertson was born in Peru. He came to England to study at the Royal Academy of Music. He made his debut in Henry Irving's production of "Much Ado About Nothing" at the Lyceum in 1882. In that production he sang 'Sigh No More, Ladies'. Clement Scott, the drama critic, wrote that Robertson had "not only a sweet and expressive voice, but well understood the grace and delicacy of this charming lyric. He did not come down to the footlights and deliver his song in a full bodied way as operatic tenors are wont to do, but he acted Balthasaar and belonged to the scene." It is easy to see how Robertson would have been popular with W.S. Gilbert, who tended to dislike tenors.
J.G. Robertson was the principal tenor at the Savoy during the 1887-8 season. He appeared, however, only in revivals: "H.M.S. Pinafore", "The Pirates of Penzance", and "The Mikado", filling the gap between the departure of Durward Lely at the close of "Ruddigore" and the arrival of Courtice Pounds at the beginning of "The Yeomen of the Guard". In 1893 Gilbert cast him as Alfredo, the leading tenor in "The Mountebanks".
Robertson appeared in a few unsuccessful West End musicals in the nineties. By the turn of the century he had become a successful concert singer.
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