Temple made his professional stage debut at the Crystal Palace in May 1869 as Count Rodolfo in "La sonnambula". He soon sang in "Lucia di Lammermoor", played Pablo in "The Rose of Castille" and was the King in "Maritana". He subsequently toured the provinces with opera and opera bouffe companies, playing the title role in Verdi's "Rigoletto", among others. The next year at St George's Hall, London, he played Mephistopheles in "Faust" and the King in "Maritana", and later sang in oratorio there. The same year, at the Crystal Palace, among other roles, he repeated the King, played Father Tom in "The Lily of Killarney", and the Sheriff in "Martha". He continued to sing other roles in the provinces. Despite this early success, of his performance in "The Rose of Castille" in 1871, "The Observer" commented, "Possibly, the less said about Mr Richard Temple ... the better." Also in 1871, among other concert and opera roles, Temple toured with Fred Sullivan's Operetta Company, appearing as Sergeant Bouncer in Arthur Sullivan's "Cox and Box", as Marquis in "Punchinello" by William Charles Levey, and Old Matthew in H. B. Farnie's Offenbach adaptation "Breaking the Spell", among other roles, at Manchester and Liverpool. Arthur Sullivan was the musical director.