Frederick Federici (22 April 1850 – 3 March 1888) was an Italian-born British opera singer known for his work in the bass-baritone roles of the Savoy Operas written by Gilbert and Sullivan. He is also remembered as a reputed theatre ghost in Australia.
Early in his career, Federici worked as a talent agent before becoming a concert singer. From 1879 to 1887 he toured extensively in Gilbert and Sullivan's comic operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company. His roles included the Pirate King from The Pirates of Penzance appearing in the opera's first performance in 1879. He also played, among other roles, Captain Corcoran in H.M.S. Pinafore, Colonel Calverley in Patience, Strephon in Iolanthe and Florian in Princess Ida. He appeared in the title role in The Mikado (1885) and as Sir Roderic in Ruddigore (1887) in the first authorised American productions of those works.
In 1887, Federici moved to Australia where he played in Gilbert and Sullivan and other operas with the J. C. Williamson company. His last role was Mephistopheles in Gounod's opera Faust at the Princess Theatre in Melbourne in March 1888. On opening night, after he sang the last note of the opera, and as he descended through a trap door in the stage, he had a heart attack and died suddenly. Ever since then, a legend holds that his ghost haunts that theatre.[1]