Gwyn Hughes Jones (born 25 October 1969) is a Welsh operatic tenor, best known for his leading roles in romantic Italian operatic repertoire.
Gwyn Hughes Jones was born in Llanbedrgoch, Anglesey, Wales,[1] and, after attending Ysgol Llanbedrgoch and Ysgol Gyfun Llangefni,[2] studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and the National Opera Studio.[3]
Jones began his operatic career at Welsh National Opera in 1995, appearing as Ismaele in Verdi's Nabucco.[4] He has subsequently appeared for WNO in roles such as Cavaradossi in Tosca, Don Alvaro in La forza del destino and Pinkerton in Madam Butterfly.[5] He debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in 2001 as Ismaele.[6]
In 2011, he appeared as Cavaradossi in Puccini's Tosca directed by Catherine Malfitano for English National Opera.[7] In 2012, he sang Manrico in Verdi's Il trovatore directed by David McVicar.[8], and in 2014 sang Pinkerton in Puccini's Madama Butterfly[9] at the New York Metropolitan Opera. In 2015, he was cast as Don Alvaro in Verdi's La forza del destino by director Calixto Bieito.[10] In 2016, he was cast as Turiddu in Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana by director Elijah Moshinsky.[11]
Jones has released three solo albums for Sain Records: Gwyn Hughes Jones - Tenor (1996);[12] Baner Ein Gwlad (1998);[13] and Canu'r Cymry (2011).[14] He appears as Macduff in Verdi's Macbeth for Chandos Records, released in 2014.[15]