THE D'OYLY CARTE OPERA COMPANY

John Stoddart as the Defendant in Trial by Jury

John Stoddart (1959-60)

[Born 1924, died Colwyn Bay, North Wales Mar 2001]

Tenor John Stoddart made his London debut in July 1958 as Jacques IV in an operatic version of A Tale of Two Cities (Sadler's Wells Theatre) and appeared later that month at the same venue as Bobchinsky in The Government Inspector.

He joined the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company in November 1959 as replacement for principal tenor Leonard Osborn. Over the next eight months, Stoddart appeared as the Defendant in Trial by Jury, the Duke of Dunstable in Patience, Earl Tolloller in Iolanthe, Richard Dauntless in Ruddigore, and Colonel Fairfax in The Yeomen of the Guard. He left the D'Oyly Carte in July 1960 at the end of the season, joining Sadler's Wells Opera as leading tenor. His roles with Sadler's Wells included Tolloller in their 1962 production of Iolanthe.

(There was a set designer named John Stoddart who, coincidentally, worked for D'Oyly Carte [designing sets for a 1968 production of The Gondoliers] and Sadler's Wells [designing a 1969 Patience]. The singer and the set designer were two different people.)




Page modified January 18, 2021© 2003-21 David Stone