Paul Carey Jones

Last updated

Stoner1a.jpg

Paul Carey Jones (born 11 March 1974 in Cardiff, Wales) is a Welsh-Irish bass-baritone opera singer. [1]

Contents

Early life and education

Jones was born in Cardiff, to a Welsh father (from Carmarthenshire) and an Irish mother (from County Mayo), and is a dual-nationality citizen of the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. [2] He attended the Welsh-medium schools Ysgol Gymraeg Melin Gruffydd (primary school, ages 4–11) and Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Glantaf (secondary school, ages 11–18), and remains a fluent Welsh speaker. [3] He then studied Physics at The Queen's College, Oxford University, where he was awarded a Styring Exhibition in 1993, but "became increasingly aware that the course of the rest of my life was going to diverge from Physics". [4] After completing a PGCE teacher training course at the University of Wales Institute, Cardiff, he then returned to Ysgol Glantaf to teach Physics for two years, before resigning in 1998 to study singing at the Royal Academy of Music and then the National Opera Studio in London, supported by Welsh National Opera. [5] He appeared in the first round of University Challenge as team captain for the Royal Academy of Music, in 1999. [6]

Career

Jones has appeared as a principal guest artist several times for Scottish Opera and Northern Ireland Opera, as well as for the Royal Opera, The Icelandic Opera, Welsh National Opera, Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Teatro Comunale Bolzano, Teatro Rossini, at the Wexford Festival, Buxton Festival, for Opera Holland Park, Longborough Festival Opera, Opera East, Bampton Classical Opera, Diva Opera, and Lyric Opera Dublin. [7]

Wagnerian roles

Jones was joint winner of the 2013 Wagner Society Singing Competition, [8] and has since performed several of Richard Wagner's heldenbariton roles. [9] He appeared for Longborough Festival Opera as Wotan in Die Walküre (2021) and Siegfried (2022), and is due to reprise the role in their full cycle of Der Ring des Nibelungen in 2024, in a production directed by Amy Lane and conducted by Anthony Negus. [10]

Contemporary music

Jones has given world premiere performances of works by the composers Stephen McNeff (the oratorio Cities of Dreams in 2007; the role of Elisha in the opera The Burning Boy in 2017; and the role of Y Bon Pebr in the opera 2117 / Hedd Wyn in 2022); Stuart MacRae (his Prometheus Symphony at the 2019 Lammermuir Festival); [11] Conor Mitchell (the title role in The Musician, Belfast 2021), John Metcalf (the roles of Dancing Williams, Sinbad Sailors, Willy Nilly, Mr Pugh, Mr Pritchard and Mr Floyd in Under Milk Wood: An Opera , Metcalf's adaptation of Dylan Thomas' play for voices); Peter Wiegold (his short opera based on the movie Brief Encounter in 2004); Jonathan Owen Clark (his opera Hidden States in Newcastle in 2004); Richard Elfyn Jones (his oratorio In David's Land at St David's Cathedral in 2006, and his set of songs Four Poems of Gerard Manley Hopkins in 2008); Jonathan Dove (his opera for television, Man on the Moon , in 2006); Keith Burstein (playing the role of Mohammed in the opera Manifest Destiny at the 2005 Edinburgh Festival Fringe); David Power (his set Forever and Other Songs); Emily Hall (four settings of words by Toby Litt at the 2010 Grimsby St Hugh's Festival); Sadie Harrison (Heartoutbursts); and Timothy Raymond (From Dark to Dark). For Northern Ireland Opera in 2012 he created the roles of the Policeman in Ed Bennett's Jackie's Taxi, the Father in Christopher Norby's The Girl Who Knew She Could Fly and the Father in Brian Irvine's May Contain Flash Photography. [12]

His work in contemporary opera has also included the role of Blazes in Peter Maxwell Davies' The Lighthouse at the Cantiere Internazionale d'Arte di Montepulciano, Sam in Leonard Bernstein's Trouble in Tahiti for Second Movement, Andy Warhol in the Italian premiere of Michael Daugherty's Jackie O at the Teatro Rossini in Lugo and the Teatro Comunale di Bologna, The Priest in the Scottish premiere of The Trial by Philip Glass and Pacheco in the world premiere of the revised version of Ines de Castro by James MacMillan, both for Scottish Opera, and The Colonel in the Icelandic premiere of Daniel Bjarnason's Brothers for The Icelandic Opera. [13]

Collaboration with Oliver Mears

Jones works regularly with the director Oliver Mears. Their collaborations include Scarpia ( Tosca ), Verdi's Macbeth, Father ( Hansel and Gretel ) and Noye ( Noye's Fludde ) for Northern Ireland Opera; [14] Scarpia (Tosca) and Speaker ( The Magic Flute ) for Nevill Holt Opera; and Sam ( Trouble in Tahiti ) and Monsieur Juste (The Three Wishes) for Second Movement. [15]

Collaboration with Llŷr Williams

As a member of Yehudi Menuhin's Live Music Now! scheme he gave over 200 concerts, [16] mainly in partnership with the pianist Llŷr Williams, with whom he continues to collaborate; their debut album of classical songs, titled Enaid – Songs of the Soul, was released in November 2007 by Sain. [17]

In November 2008 they premiered a set of songs, Four Poems of Gerard Manley Hopkins , written specifically for them by the composer Richard Elfyn Jones, in a recital at Cardiff University, and in August 2011 they appeared at an evening recital at the Machynlleth Festival, giving their first performance of Schubert's Winterreise . [18]

Recordings

Jones' debut album of classical songs, titled Enaid – Songs of the Soul, was released in November 2007 by Sain., [19] with the pianist Llŷr Williams. A track from the album was included on Sain's 2009 compilation album, The Welsh Gold Collection. [20]

His second solo album, Songs Now, of songs by contemporary British composers, was released in August 2012 by Meridian Records, with the pianist Ian Ryan. [21] His third solo album, of songs by Clara Schumann and Rhian Samuel, with soprano Katharine Dain and pianist Jocelyn Freeman, was released in 2019 by Ty Cerdd Records under the title Song Lied Cân. [22]

Jones sings the roles of Squire Allworthy and Dobbin on Naxos' recording of Edward German's Tom Jones , released in August 2009. He appears in various roles, including Dancing Williams, Sinbad Sailors and Mr Pugh, on the original cast recording of John Metcalf's Under Milk Wood: An Opera, released by Ty Cerdd in 2014, [23] and in Stephen McNeff's 2117 / Hedd Wyn as Y Bon Pebr, also from Ty Cerdd in 2022, with a libretto by Gruff Rhys. [24]

On DVD, Jones appears as Andy Warhol on Dynamic's 2009 recording of Michael Daugherty's Jackie O , and in various roles on the BBC's 2005 film of Rachel Portman's The Little Prince.

A recording by Jones of Puccini's aria Questo Amor was used on the soundtrack of San Banarje's multi-award-winning 2010 film Bodhisattva . [25]

Writing

Jones publishes a long-running blog under the title Ranitidine & Tonic. [26] His regular posts on the response of the classical music industry to the COVID-19 pandemic were published in late 2020 in paperback, hardback, Kindle and audiobook editions (the latter narrated by the author) under the title Giving It Away: Classical Music in Lockdown and other fairytales . [27]

Campaigning Work

Since 2021 Jones has been a member of the steering group of the voluntary campaigning organisation Freelancers Make Theatre Work, [28] being particularly active on the impact of Brexit on the performing arts industry in the UK. [29]

References and notes

  1. "Paul Carey Jones, Bass-baritone".
  2. Interview with Art Scene Wales, 14 September 2021
  3. Interview with Art Scene Wales, 14 September 2021
  4. The Queen's College Newsletter, Autumn/Winter 2004
  5. The Western Mail, 7 January 2006
  6. Opera News, February 2007
  7. Official website
  8. The Wagnerian, 4 December 2013
  9. Official website
  10. Longborough Festival Opera
  11. Premiere of Prometheus Symphony
  12. Official website
  13. Official website
  14. NI Opera
  15. Official website
  16. Live Music Now interview with Paul Carey Jones, 16 September 2021
  17. Sain website
  18. Official website
  19. Sain website
  20. Sain website
  21. Meridian Records
  22. Ty Cerdd Records
  23. Ty Cerdd Records
  24. Ty Cerdd Records
  25. Official website
  26. Ranitidine & Tonic
  27. Giving It Away: Classical Music in Lockdown and other fairytales. Independently published. 25 October 2020. ISBN   9798552628056.
  28. Freelancers Make Theatre Work official website
  29. "British Musicians Face Up to Brexit's Perfect Storm", 29 March 2021

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Huw Bunford</span> Musical artist

Huw "Bunf" Bunford is a musician best known as the guitarist in Super Furry Animals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Music of Wales</span> Music associated with Wales

The Music of Wales, particularly singing, is a significant part of Welsh national identity, and the country is traditionally referred to as "the land of song".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aled Jones</span> Welsh singer, TV presenter and actor (born 1970)

Aled Jones, is a Welsh singer, radio and television presenter, and actor. As a teenage chorister, he gained widespread fame in 1985 with his recording of "Walking in the Air", which reached the UK top five. Since then he has worked in television with the BBC and ITV, and on radio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bryn Terfel</span> Welsh bass-baritone singer ( born 1965)

Sir Bryn Terfel Jones,, is a Welsh bass-baritone opera and concert singer. Terfel was initially primarily associated with the roles of Mozart, particularly Figaro, Leporello and Don Giovanni, and has subsequently shifted his attention to heavier roles, especially those by Puccini and Wagner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meic Stevens</span> Musical artist

Meic Stevens is a Welsh singer-songwriter. He has been one of the most prominent figures in the Welsh music scene for over five decades, and played a key role in establishing the popular music scene in Wales. He is described by some as "the Welsh Bob Dylan" and has also been compared favorably with musicians such as Syd Barrett. Stevens's songs are mostly sung in his native Welsh language and have a mystical, faintly psychedelic flavour. His work has influenced groups such as Gorky's Zygotic Mynci and Super Furry Animals. He is largely unknown outside Wales.

John Metcalf MBE is a Welsh-Canadian composer. He has worked in many forms, including large-scale operas, choral and orchestral works, and chamber music, both instrumental and vocal. His music is tonal, and is often rhythmically complex, with much use of polyrhythms.

Gillian Elizabeth Thomas is a Welsh actress, singer, and comedian. Early in her career she was known as Gillian Elisa Thomas.

David Wynne was a prolific Welsh composer, who taught for many years at Cardiff University and wrote much of his best-known music in retirement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Glantaf</span> State school in Cardiff, Wales

Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Glantaf is a Welsh-medium coeducational secondary school in Llandaff North, a district in the north of Cardiff, Wales; it is the largest of its kind in the country. Of the three Welsh-medium secondary schools serving Cardiff, it was the first to be established; the others are Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Plasmawr and Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Bro Edern. As of 2017, 36% of pupils came from Welsh-speaking homes.

Jeremy Huw Williams is a Welsh baritone opera singer, known for his work in contemporary classical music.

Dyfed Wyn Evans is a Welsh baritone opera singer who grew up in Dinas Powis, Glamorgan, Wales. He attended Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Glantaf and went on to study at the Royal Northern College of Music and the Vienna Conservatoire. He is married to the mezzo-soprano Carolyn Jackson.

Llŷr Williams is a Welsh concert pianist.

Elin Manahan Thomas is a Welsh soprano. A specialist in Baroque music, she sang at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in May 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rhydian Roberts</span> Welsh musical artist

Rhydian James Roberts, also known mononymously as Rhydian, is a Welsh former baritone singer, television presenter and musical theatre actor. He rose to fame in series 4 of The X Factor (2007), and subsequently became less widely known. Rhydian Roberts retired from performing in February 2023 with a farewell album. He is currently an artist manager at Neil O'Brien Entertainment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Annette Bryn Parri</span>

Annette Bryn Parri is a Welsh pianist, best known as an accompanist to opera stars such as Bryn Terfel and Rebecca Evans. Parri appears regularly on the National Eisteddfod stage, and also at the International Eisteddfod at Llangollen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anthony Michaels-Moore</span> English operatic baritone

Anthony Michaels-Moore is an English operatic baritone and the first British winner of the Luciano Pavarotti International Voice Competition. Michaels-Moore has since performed in many of the world's major opera houses across Europe, the Americas, and Asia. He has distinguished himself as a specialist in Verdi and Puccini roles, most renowned for his portrayals of Falstaff, Nabucco, Rigoletto, Simon Boccanegra, Iago in Otello, Germont in La traviata, Sharpless in Madama Butterfly, and Scarpia in Tosca. In addition to the standard repertoire, he has sung and recorded the baritone roles of some of the less-known 19th Century Italian operas, as well as the popular English art song cycles by Stanford and Vaughan Williams.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rhys Meirion</span> Musical artist

Rhys Meirion is a Welsh opera and classical tenor singer. He was born on 24 February 1966 in Blaenau Ffestiniog, Gwynedd. He joined the English National Opera in 1999 and became a company principal from 2001 to 2004. He has also sung leading roles at Oper Frankfurt, West Australian Opera and Opera Australia. His album Benedictus with the bass-baritone Bryn Terfel was nominated for a Classical Brit Award in 2006.

<i>Risorgimento!</i> Opera by Lorenzo Ferrero

Risorgimento! is an opera in one act by Lorenzo Ferrero set to an Italian-language libretto by Dario Oliveri, based on a scenario by the composer. It was completed in 2010 and first performed at the Teatro Comunale Modena on 26 March 2011.

<i>Under Milk Wood: An Opera</i> 2015 opera by John Metcalf

Under Milk Wood: An Opera is a chamber opera in one act by the Welsh composer John Metcalf. The libretto is directly adapted from the play for voices Under Milk Wood by Dylan Thomas. It was premièred on 3 April 2014 at the Taliesin Arts Centre in Swansea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gwyn Hughes Jones</span>

Gwyn Hughes Jones is a Welsh operatic tenor, best known for his leading roles in romantic Italian operatic repertoire.