Paul Carey Jones
Paul Carey Jones - Biography
Paul Carey Jones was born in Cardiff and studied at The Queen’s College Oxford, the Royal Academy of Music and the National Opera Studio, where he was the recipient of the Royal National Eisteddfod of Wales’ W. Towyn Roberts Scholarship.
Paul Carey Jones’ operatic roles for major companies include Scarpia / Tosca and Father / Hansel & Gretel (Northern Ireland Opera), Father / Hansel & Gretel, Angelotti / Tosca, Haly / L’Italiana in Algeri, Fiorello / Il Barbiere di Siviglia and Marchese d’Obigny / La Traviata (Scottish Opera), Eurymaque / Pénélope, First Comrade / Der Silbersee and Gasparo / Rita (Wexford Festival Opera), Andy Warhol / Jackie O (Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Teatro Rossini di Lugo), Blazes / The Lighthouse (Cantiere Internazionale d’Arte di Montepulciano), and Marcello / La Bohème (Scottish Opera on Tour). His other performed roles include Sam / Trouble in Tahiti, Escamillo / Carmen, Don Giovanni and Masetto / Don Giovanni, Figaro / Le Nozze di Figaro, Guglielmo and Don Alfonso / Così Fan Tutte, Papageno / Die Zauberflöte, Osmin / Zaïde, Figaro / Il Barbiere di Siviglia, and Alidoro / La Cenerentola. He has also covered the roles of Marcello / La Bohème (Scottish Opera), Richard Nixon / Nixon in China and Jaufré Rudel / L’Amour de Loin (English National Opera), and Billy Smith & Roy Fiction / Anna Nicole (Royal Opera, Covent Garden).
His oratorio repertoire comprises over fifty major works, including Mendelssohn's Elijah, Handel's Messiah, Haydn's Creation, Bach's John and Matthew Passions, Vaughan Williams’ Sea Symphony, and the Requiems by Mozart, Brahms, Fauré, Duruflé and Salieri. In 2004 he sang in the UK premiere of Galuppi’s motet Confitebor Tibi Domine, in 2006 at the world premiere of Richard Elfyn Jones’ oratorio In David’s Land at St David’s Cathedral, and in 2007 the world premiere of Stephen McNeff’s Cities of Dreams at the Brangwyn Hall, Swansea.
Since 1998, Paul as worked in partnership with the critically-acclaimed pianist Llyr Williams; highlights have included the world premiere of Richard Elfyn Jones’ Four Poems of Gerard Manley Hopkins written especially for them in 2008, Winterreise at the 2011 Machynlleth Festival, and their debut album Enaid – Songs of the Soul on the Sain label.
In partnership with the pianist Ian Ryan, Paul has also recently given world premieres of songs and song cycles by composers David Power, Mike Parkin, David Lancaster, Emily Hall and Jonathan Owen Clark.
His other recent recordings include Andy Warhol / Jackie O on DVD for Dynamic and Squire Allworthy / Tom Jones on CD for Naxos.