Opera Scotland

Jennifer Rhys-Davies Suggest updates

Born Panteg, Gwent 8 May 1953.

Died Cardiff 8 March 2020.

Welsh soprano.

Jennifer Rhys-Davies trained in London at Trinity College of Music.  While in Scotland she was remembered for several runs as Queen of the Night, her repertoire included major Rossini parts (Semiramide) as well as Wagner (Sieglinde).

Her professional debut was in 1979 with Welsh National Opera as First Lady The Magic Flute.  She worked with English Touring Opera from its early days (as Opera 80), in roles by Mozart (Konstanze);  Donizetti (Elisabetta Maria Stuarda);  Janáček (Kostelnička); and Britten  (Lady Billows).

With Scottish Opera she sang Queen of Night in two different productions of The Magic Flute.  Her debut with the Royal Opera was in 1993 (Berta Il barbiere di Siviglia).  She later returned as Lady-in-Waiting Macbeth, which toured to the Edinburgh Festival.

With ENO she sang Hilda Mack (Elegy for Young Lovers).  At Garsington she sang Angelina in Haydn's Orlando Paladina) and with Opera North Sandrina La finta giardiniera and Aloysia Weber in The Jewel Box.  (an opera plotted round the use of Mozart's concert arias).  She also appeared at Glyndebourne (Italian soprano Capriccio).  With Music Theatre Wales she sang Mrs Frestln in The Electrification of the oviet Union.

Appearances outside the UK included Basel (Elisabetta).  In Germany she worked in Dresden,  Leipzig and Nuremberg.