Frederick Minshull Stockdale (20 May 1947 – 23 November 2018) was a British opera impresario known for founding Pavilion Opera. He also wrote a number of fiction and non-fiction works with an opera theme.

Early life and family

Stockdale was born in 1947, the younger son of Sir Edmund Villiers Minshull Stockdale,

Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the mayor of the City of London and the leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded precedence over all individuals except the sovereign and retains various traditional powe ...

from 1959 to 1960. He was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

and

Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's full name is The College of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint John the Evangelist and the glorious Virgin Saint Radegund, near Cambridge. Its common name comes fr ...

, where he obtained a degree in law. His first marriage was dissolved and his second was to Adele Mason who sings lead soprano in opera.

Career

Despite his law degree, Stockdale never practised, being better known as an impresario and author. He built an opera pavilion in the garden of his house in Lincolnshire, Thorpe Tilney Hall, and in 1981 launched the touring company Pavilion Opera. The company closed in July 2018. After Lincolnshire, Stockdale moved to East Sussex where his plans for the renovation of Eastwood Farm by Robert Adam were approved on appeal. His writing career included fiction and non-fiction works with an opera theme. He wrote several detective novels under the pen name John Gano. Politically, Stockdale was a supporter of the former Labour Party MP,

Dick Taverne Dick Taverne, Baron Taverne, (born 18 October 1928) is a British politician and life peer who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Lincoln from 1962 to 1974. A member of the Liberal Democrats, he was a Labour MP until his deselection in 19 ...

, and became associated with his Democratic Labour Association in the aftermath of the Lincoln by-election in 1973. He was elected as an Independent on to Lincolnshire County Council in 1977, representing East Kesteven no. 2 division. In the 1979 general election he stood as the Democratic Labour candidate in Lincoln, where he came fourth with 4.1 per cent of the vote; the sitting Labour MP,

Margaret Jackson Margaret Jackson, AC (born 17 March 1953) is an Australian corporate executive. Jackson was born in Warragul, Victoria, and studied at Warragul High School. She graduated with a Bachelor of Economics degree from Monash University and a Master o ...

, who had defeated Taverne in the October 1974 general election, lost her seat. However, the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

's candidate

Kenneth Carlisle Sir Kenneth Melville Carlisle (born 25 March 1941) is a politician in the United Kingdom. He was the Conservative Member of Parliament for Lincoln from 1979 to 1997. Early life Born in Hiraethog, Denbighshire, Wales, he is the son of Kenneth ...

won the seat with a majority over Labour of 602 votes, which was considerably less than the 1,743 votes polled by Stockdale. In an analysis of the voting in the election, Ivor Crewe, Director of the British Election Study, stated that the presence of Stockdale (and fellow Democratic Labour candidate Cyril Nottingham in Brigg and Scunthorpe) "splintered enough of the Labour vote... to allow the Conservatives to gain both seats". Stockdale joined the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties For ...

(SDP) on its foundation in 1981, and stood again in Lincoln as its candidate in the general election two years later, achieving 25 per cent of the vote and third place.UK General Election results June 1983, Leicester South - Liverpool Broadgreen
, ''www.politicsresources.net.'' Accessed 22 January 2019.

Death

Stockdale died in 2018.

Selected publications

* ''The Opera Guide''. Collins & Brown, London, 1990. (With M.R. Dreyer) * ''Figaro Here, Figaro There: Pavilion Opera: An Impresarioʾs Diary''. John Murray, 1991. * ''The Bridgwater Sale''. Doubleday, London, 1993. * ''Criminal Conversations''. Doubleday, London, 1994. * ''Affairs of State''. Doubleday, London, 1995. * ''Emperors of Song: Three Great Impresarios''. John Murray, London, 1998.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stockdale, Freddie 1947 births 2018 deaths Alumni of Jesus College, Cambridge Impresarios Members of Lincolnshire County Council People educated at Eton College British non-fiction writers Writers about music