Paul Carey Jones baritone

Born in Cardiff, Paul Carey Jones studied at Ysgol Glantaf, Queen’s College Oxford, the Royal Academy of Music, and at the National Opera Studio, where he was the recipient of the Welsh National Opera Bryan Davies Award. His operatic roles have included Marcello La bohème (Scottish Opera on Tour), Figaro The Barber of Seville (Opera East), Sam Trouble in Tahiti (Second Movement), Escamillo Carmen (Stowe Opera), Eurymaque Pénélope and Martino L’occasione fa il ladro (Wexford Festival Opera), Osmin Zaïde (Aldeburgh Festival), Malatesta Don Pasquale (Bel Canto Opera), The Forester The Cunning Little Vixen (Surrey Opera), Figaro Le nozze di Figaro (Diva Opera), Papageno Die Zauberflöte (Opera by Definition), Bartolo in Paisiello’s Il barbiere di Siviglia (Bampton Classical Opera & Buxton Festival). In contemporary opera Paul Carey Jones has created the roles of Mohammed in Keith Burstein's Manifest Destiny, Paracelsus the Alchemist in Jonathan Owen Clark’s Hidden States, St David in Richard Elfyn Jones’ In David’s Land, Freddie Jesson in Peter Wiegold’s Brief Encounter, and, as well as performing the eleven roles for baritone in Stephen Oliver's A Man of Feeling. He has also covered Nixon Nixon in China (English National Opera) and been involved with workshops for Almeida Opera with Errollyn Wallen and ROH2 with Stuart MacRae.

Paul Carey Jones sang in the UK premiere of Galuppi’s motet Confitebor Tibi Domine and has performed in concert and recital across the UK, at venues including Cardiff’s St David’s Hall, The Queen Elizabeth Hall and Purcell Room on the South Bank, at the Edinburgh Festival and in 2002 at Buckingham Palace with the LSO under Seiji Ozawa at Mstislav Rostropovich’s 75th birthday concert. Recent concert work has included recitals at the Wexford Festival, the North Wales International Music Festival, the Ruthin Festival, the Fishguard International Music Festival, and at the Newport Centre. Performances in Europe have taken him to the Channel Islands, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Poland and Switzerland.

Paul was a member of the late Sir Yehudi Menuhin’s Live Music Now scheme, for whom he gave over 200 concerts. In 2001 he was awarded the National Eisteddfod of Wales’ most prestigious award for young singers, the W. Towyn Roberts Scholarship. His broadcast performances include Media Man Man on the Moon for Tiger Aspect / Channel 4, The Little Prince for BBC television, BBC Radio 3’s In Tune, Opera Night for RTÉ Lyric FM, Eisteddfod 2001 for BBC2, A Visit to the Eisteddfod and Raised Voices for HTV Wales, and Crwtyn Bach y Simne, Heno, Dechrau Canu Dechrau Canmol, Croma and Musicale for S4C.

Paul Carey Jones is featured in the February issue of the Metropolitan Opera, New York’s Opera News. His current engagements include Escamillo Carmen for Lyric Opera, Dublin, Gaspar Rita and First Comrade Der Silbersee for Wexford Festival Opera, Bronze Rothschild’s Violin and The Devil The Knife’s Tears for Second Movement, Fiorello Il barbiere di Siviglia for Scottish Opera, Lawrence The Wreckers for Duchy Opera, The Dream of Gerontius at the Royal Albert Hall, London, Messiah at The Music Hall, Aberdeen, Carmina Burana at both the Brangwyn Hall, Swansea, and The Swan Theatre, High Wycombe, Stanford Stabat Mater in York Minster and the Mostly Mozart Tour with Denise Leigh for Calibre Productions.

“Paul Carey Jones and Hannah Pedley sang superbly and acted convincingly as smooth Sam and desperate Dinah...They must both have great futures in store.”
Sam: Trouble in Tahiti / Second Movement / The Observer

“...Kate Royal, already a lyric soprano of rich timbre and dramatic command. Equalling her in maturity is Paul Carey Jones, a Welsh baritone of striking vocal achievement and an effective stage performer. This is a beefy, wide-ranging instrument, and he has presence to spare. All being well they look set to become significant players on the operatic scene.”
Zurga: Les Pêcheurs des Perles / National Opera Studio Showcase / The Stage

“Paul Carey Jones puts in a stunning performance as Mohammed.””
Mohammed: Manifest Destiny / Edinburgh Fringe / Metro

“Paul Carey Jones made a smooth Malatesta, with an incisive baritone...”
Malatesta: Don Pasquale / Bel Canto Opera / Opera

“... Paul Carey Jones displaying swagger and voice-to-match as Eurymaque.”
Eurymaque: Pénélope / Wexford Festival Opera / Opera Now

“...most of the acting and singing honours go to the opera's peripheral couple. Stephanie Corley lights up the stage as an outrageously saucy Musetta, matched by Paul Carey Jones' fiery, possessive Marcello.”
Marcello: La bohème / Scottish Opera On Tour / The Guardian

“The star of the show was Paul Carey Jones as John Styx, singing through the lines quite beautifully, and underplaying the comedy almost entirely through the eyes – absolutely hilarious.”
John Styx: Orpheus in the Underworld / British Youth Opera / Opera

www.paulcareyjones.com