Short and swarthy, John Braham (1777?-1856), the son of John and Esther Abrahams, was born in London and studied with the tenor Michael Leoni, and later with Venanzio Rauzzini. He made his first appearance at Covent Garden Theatre as an eleven-year old on 21 April 1787 billed as Braham, a version of his real name Abrahams. By 1796 when he appeared at the King's Theatre, Braham was England's leading tenor. His reputation as a singer was enhanced by a successful continental tour from 1797 until 1801 with the famous soprano Nancy Storace with whom he had a long relationship and with whom he performed in Paris to an audience that included Napoleon and Josephine, and with whom he met Horatio Nelson and Emma Hamilton in Leghorn in 1799. Praised for his virtuoso technique, clear enunciation and dramatic interpretation of music, his acting was often forgiven for the quality of his singing, Sir Walter Scott once remarking that 'Braham was a beast of an actor but an angel of a singer'.

In 1835 Braham built the St. James's Theatre that opened on 14th December 1835 and where three works by his friend Charles Dickens were staged, including The Village Coquettes in which Braham took part, but the expenses of theatre ownership cost Braham his savings and his plans for retirement.