Jennifer Rhys-Davies - soprano
Jennifer Rhys-Davies was born in Wales and studied at Trinity College of Music and with the late Audrey Langford. She made her debut with the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in 1993 as Berta Il barbiere di Siviglia, and has since sung Amaltea Moise in Egitto, Clorinda La Cenerentola, Marianne Der Rosenkavalier, Anna Nabucco and Widow Babette’s Feast. In 1998 she made her debuts for the Glyndebourne Festival as the Italian Singer Capriccio, for the Grande Theatre Limoges as Olympia, Antonia, Giulietta Les Contes d’Hoffman and for Theater Basel as Elisabetta Maria Stuarda. In recent years she has sung Rosalinde Die Fledermaus (Nurnberg), Arminda La Finta Giardiniera and Elettra Idomeneo (Basel), Elisabetta Maria Stuarda and Kostelnicka Jenufa (English Touring Opera), Marcellina Le Nozze di Figaro (Garsington Festival), and in 2007 Mrs Julian Owen Wingrave (ROH) and Lady Billows Albert Herring (Salzburger Landestheater).
Other roles include Queen of the Night (Scottish Opera, Garsington, Hanover, Basel, Stuttgart, Dublin), Lady Macbeth (Welsh National Opera, Nurnberg, ObernhausMaifest), Miss Jessel The Turn of the Screw (WNO/Music Theatre Wales), Hilda Mack Elegy for Young Lovers (Geneva, Lausanne, St Gallen), Donna Anna and Mrs Fiorentino Street Scene (English National Opera), Donna Elvira and First Lady Die Zauberflöte (Welsh National Opera), The Singer The Jewel Box and Sandrina La Finta Giardiniera (Opera North), Konstanze Die Entfürung auf dem Serail, (English Touring Opera), Semiramide (Rossini in Wildbad Fest), Abigaille Nabucco (Eisteddfod Genedlaethol Gymru 2000), Sieglinde (Covent Garden and Bath International Festivals), Angelica in Haydn’s Orlando Palladino (Garsington), and Savitri (Music Theatre Wales). She has also sung Lucia and Leonora Il travatore.
Performances of contemporary music include Maman in the world premiere of Kevin Volans The Man Who Strides the Wind for Almeida Opera, and Mrs Fresteln The Electrification of the Soviet Union on tour with Music Theatre Wales. She has also given a recital featuring works by the Russian composer Nicolas Oboukhov at the International Festival in Erlangen.
On the concert platform Jennifer Rhys-Davies has sung Beethoven Christus am Olberg and Haydn The Seasons (National Concert Hall, Dublin/Prionnsias ODuinn), Handel’s Dixit Dominus and Poulenc Gloria (SDR/Laszlo Heltay), Mendelssohn Elijah and Dvorak Stabat Mater (Eisteddfod Genedlaethol Casnewydd/John S Davis), a Rossini Opera Gala (St David’s Hall/Carlo Rizzi), and Beethoven Symphony No 9 for BBC/S4C under Grant Llewellyn at the Royal opening of North Wales Theatre in Llandudno.
Recordings include 100 Years of Italian Opera and Orazi e Curazi (Opera Rara), Berta Il barbiere di Siviglia and Marianne Der Rosenkavalier (Chandos), Continuo (Variations on a theme by Pachabel), and An Evening’s Pastorale with Cor Meibion Rhisga.
Future engagements include Berta Il Barbiere di Siviglia (ENO & ROH).