Welsh tenor Dafydd Jones is a member of the Bayerische Staatsoper Opernstudio in Munich for the 24/25 season
He studied at the Royal College of Music International Opera Studio with Nicky Spence and Caroline Dowdle and previously graduated with a Masters Degree at the Royal College of Music, where he was awarded the Queen Mother Rose Bowl.
Recent operatic engagements include his debuts in the title role of Albert Herring (Opera North) and Fenton, Falstaff (Verbier Festival) and covering Tamino Die Zauberflöte (Glyndebourne Opera). Other operatic roles include his international debut as Clotarco, Armida (Bregenzer Festspiele); his role and festival debut as Pastore in John Caird’s production of Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo for Garsington Opera as an Alvarez Young Artist; Don Ottavio Don Giovanni (OPRA Cymru); Earl Torlloller Iolanthe (cover, English National Opera); title role in Orpheus in the Underworld (Royal College of Music International Opera Studio) and Joe La fanciulla del West (Verbier Festival, cancelled during the pandemic).
As a song enthusiast, Dafydd joined the 2023 French Song Exchange programme at the Wigmore Hall; was a Young Artist at the 2021 Leeds Lieder Festival; a member of the 2021 Academy Atelier Lyrique at the Verbier Festival and made his debut at the 2021 Oxford Lieder Festival.
Dafydd is passionate about performing new works, premiering the role of Llewellyn the Great in Paul Mealor’s new community opera GELERT at the 2022 North Wales International Music Festival. He also gave the world premiere of Brian Hughes’ song cycle The Green Desert at the same festival in 2021. In November 2018, Dafydd was the tenor soloist in the world premiere of Bob Chilcott’s remembrance work Move him into the sun conducted by the composer.
In 2024, Dafydd won the Royal Overs-seas League Gold Medal and the Lies Askonas competition at the Royal College of Music. He was awarded the Ferrier Loveday Song Prize in the finals of the 2023 Kathleen Ferrier Competition with pianist Caroline Dowdle. Other recent success including winning the Brooks-Van der Pump English Song Competition and runner-up in the Joan Chissell Schumann Competition at the Royal College of Music. Dafydd was also awarded the Ted Moss and Berther Taylor-Sach award in the Lieder Competition. In the summer of 2021, Dafydd won the Prix Thierry Mermod at the Verbier Festival as a member of the Academy Atelier Lyrique. He has also gained many accolades in Welsh competitions, including the prestigious Osborne Roberts Memorial Prize – The Blue Riband at the National Eisteddfod of Wales in 2019.
Dafydd would like to acknowledge the generous support he received as an Aldama Scholar, supported by the Ivor Llewellyn Foster Scholarship at the College. He is also supported by the Amaryllis Fleming Foundation and Geoff and Val Richards.
