Delme Bryn-Jones
Encyclopedia
Delme Bryn-Jones was a Welsh
baritone.
Born Delme Jones in Brynaman, south Wales,
Internationally renowned baritone Delme Bryn-Jones was one of the finest operatic voices to have come out of Wales. Born Delme Jones on 29 March 1934 in Brynamman, he took the extra syllable of his stage name from his birthplace. He studied under Redvers Llewellyn and then at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama
from where he went on to the Vienna Music Academy. He made his professional stage debut in 1959 at Sadler's Wells Theatre
. He ranked with the world's most highly-regarded operatic soloists.
Delme Bryn-Jones's journey to the great opera houses of the world was not a conventional one, for it coincided with the golden age of Welsh opera. His predecessor as premier British baritone was the world renowned Geraint Evans
and his successor is the no less illustrious Bryn Terfel
(also named Bryn Jones, by the way, as his full name is Bryn Terfel Jones). If Delme Bryn-Jones is less well known than them today, it is perhaps because he was less adept at managing his career, for musically he was outstanding, as was his generation of Welsh opera singers, which included Stuart Burrows
, Gwyneth Jones, Margaret Price
, Elizabeth Vaughan, Robert Tear
, Dennis O'Neill
and Gwynne Howell
.
His débuts with the major opera companies were as follows: Début with New Opera Company in 1959 (Maconchy's The Sofa). He sang Macbeth opposite Gwyneth Jones for the Welsh National Opera
in 1963 while also making his Glyndebourne début as Nick in The Rake's Progress. He also made his Covent Garden
début in 1963 who engaged him again in 1965 to sing Paolo opposite Tito Gobbi's Boccanegra and a year later he sang Marcello in Puccini's La Bohème. His American début was in 1967 at the San Francisco Opera
as Lescaut in Manon and Donner in Das Rheingold. The Vienna State Opera
heard him first in 1969 as Renato in Verdi's Un Ballo in Maschera.
The Welsh singer won acclaim at most of the world's major operatic venues, although he was sometimes considered too cheerful-looking to play the villainous parts often given to baritones. Others, however, saw the insidious evil of an apparently honest face, hell bent on destruction: His Iago was once compared to the demeanor of John Reginald Christie.
A promising career was regrettably hampered at times by personal problems, of which much has been made but little known. His Memorial Service was testimony to the many lives he had touched through his very private approach to recovering from alcoholism.
In his final years Delme became President of the Rushmoor Oddfellows Male Voice Choir from Aldershot, Hampshire, and in 2000 enjoyed great critical acclaim for a series of masterclasses and radio recitals in Canada.
His television and radio appearances run into many hundreds and include several TV series of his own, such as "Y Gelli Aur" ["The Golden Grove"], (BBC Wales) and "Delme" (S4C). Another side of his many faceted personality is that of professional actor, appearing as Captain Cat in "Under Milk Wood" and as Blind Dick Llewellyn in the BBC television production of Jack Jones's "Off to Philadelphia in the Morning" (the life story of the Merthyr Tydfil composer Joseph Parry
).
His many roles included, amongst others:
Beethoven – Fidelio (Don Pizarro)
Berlioz – La Damnation de Faust (Mephistopheles)
Bizet – Les Pecheurs de Perles (Zurga)
Britten – A Midsummer Night's Dream (Demetrios)
Cilea – Adriana Lecouvrer (Michonnet)
Donizetti – Don Pasquale (Malatesta)
Giordano – Andrea Chenier (Gerard)
Gluck – Alceste (Hercule)
Mascagni – Cavalleria Rusticana (Alfio)
Mozart – Cosi Fan Tutte (Guglielmo)
Mozart – Le Nozze di Figaro (Almaviva)
Mozart – Zauberfloete (Papageno, speaker)
Puccini – Butterfly (Sharpless)
Puccini – Il Tabarro (Michele)
Verdi – Aida (Amonasro)
Verdi – Falstaff (Ford)
Verdi – Otello (Iago)
Verdi – Rigoletto (title role)
Verdi – La Traviata (G.Germont)
Weber – Abu Hassan (Omar)
In addition he made numerous recordings and he can be heard in Britten's Billy Budd (Decca 1967).
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
baritone.
Born Delme Jones in Brynaman, south Wales,
Internationally renowned baritone Delme Bryn-Jones was one of the finest operatic voices to have come out of Wales. Born Delme Jones on 29 March 1934 in Brynamman, he took the extra syllable of his stage name from his birthplace. He studied under Redvers Llewellyn and then at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama
Guildhall School of Music and Drama
Guildhall School of Music and Drama is an independent music and dramatic arts school which was founded in 1880 in London, England. Students can pursue courses in Music, Opera, Drama and Technical Theatre Arts.-History:...
from where he went on to the Vienna Music Academy. He made his professional stage debut in 1959 at Sadler's Wells Theatre
Sadler's Wells Theatre
Sadler's Wells Theatre is a performing arts venue located in Rosebery Avenue, Clerkenwell in the London Borough of Islington. The present day theatre is the sixth on the site since 1683. It consists of two performance spaces: a 1,500 seat main auditorium and the Lilian Baylis Studio, with extensive...
. He ranked with the world's most highly-regarded operatic soloists.
Delme Bryn-Jones's journey to the great opera houses of the world was not a conventional one, for it coincided with the golden age of Welsh opera. His predecessor as premier British baritone was the world renowned Geraint Evans
Geraint Evans
Sir Geraint Llewellyn Evans was a Welsh baritone or bass-baritone noted for operatic roles including Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro, Papageno in Die Zauberflöte, and the title roles in Falstaff and Wozzeck...
and his successor is the no less illustrious Bryn Terfel
Bryn Terfel
Bryn Terfel Jones CBE is a Welsh bass-baritone opera and concert singer. Terfel was initially associated with the roles of Mozart, particularly Figaro and Leporello, but has subsequently shifted his attention to heavier roles, especially those by Wagner....
(also named Bryn Jones, by the way, as his full name is Bryn Terfel Jones). If Delme Bryn-Jones is less well known than them today, it is perhaps because he was less adept at managing his career, for musically he was outstanding, as was his generation of Welsh opera singers, which included Stuart Burrows
Stuart Burrows
Stuart Burrows - OBE is a Welsh operatic tenor.-Biography:The Cilfynydd-born singer scaled the peaks of musical distinction during his lengthy career which saw him give up teaching to pursue a new life on the opera stage...
, Gwyneth Jones, Margaret Price
Margaret Price
Dame Margaret Berenice Price, DBE was a Welsh soprano.-Early years:Price was born in Blackwood, Wales. Born with deformed legs, she was operated on at age four and suffered pain in her legs the rest of her life. She often looked after her younger brother John who was born with a mental handicap...
, Elizabeth Vaughan, Robert Tear
Robert Tear
Robert Tear, CBE was a Welsh tenor and conductor.Tear was born in Barry, Glamorgan, Wales, UK, the son of Thomas and Edith Tear. He attended Barry Boys' Grammar School and during this period sang in the chorus of the first Welsh National Opera's production of 'Cavalleria Rusticana' in April 1946...
, Dennis O'Neill
Dennis O'Neill
Dennis O'Neill CBE is a Welsh operatic tenor and recording artist.-Early career:Born of Welsh and Irish parents, he studied privately with Professor Frederic Cox in Manchester and then in London...
and Gwynne Howell
Gwynne Howell
Gwynne Howell is a Welsh bass, particularly associated with Verdi and Wagner roles.-Life and career:Born in Gorseinon, Wales, he studied at the RMCM, where he sang Leporello in concert, and Hunding, Fasolt, and Pogner in staged performances.He joined the Sadler's Wells Theatre in 1968, and the...
.
His débuts with the major opera companies were as follows: Début with New Opera Company in 1959 (Maconchy's The Sofa). He sang Macbeth opposite Gwyneth Jones for the Welsh National Opera
Welsh National Opera
Welsh National Opera is an opera company founded in Cardiff, Wales in 1943. The WNO tours Wales, the United Kingdom and the rest of the world extensively. Annually, it gives more than 120 performances of eight main stage operas to a combined audience of around 150,000 people...
in 1963 while also making his Glyndebourne début as Nick in The Rake's Progress. He also made his Covent Garden
Covent Garden
Covent Garden is a district in London on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St. Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit and vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist site, and the Royal Opera House, which is also known as...
début in 1963 who engaged him again in 1965 to sing Paolo opposite Tito Gobbi's Boccanegra and a year later he sang Marcello in Puccini's La Bohème. His American début was in 1967 at the San Francisco Opera
San Francisco Opera
San Francisco Opera is an American opera company, based in San Francisco, California.It was founded in 1923 by Gaetano Merola and is the second largest opera company in North America...
as Lescaut in Manon and Donner in Das Rheingold. The Vienna State Opera
Vienna State Opera
The Vienna State Opera is an opera house – and opera company – with a history dating back to the mid-19th century. It is located in the centre of Vienna, Austria. It was originally called the Vienna Court Opera . In 1920, with the replacement of the Habsburg Monarchy by the First Austrian...
heard him first in 1969 as Renato in Verdi's Un Ballo in Maschera.
The Welsh singer won acclaim at most of the world's major operatic venues, although he was sometimes considered too cheerful-looking to play the villainous parts often given to baritones. Others, however, saw the insidious evil of an apparently honest face, hell bent on destruction: His Iago was once compared to the demeanor of John Reginald Christie.
A promising career was regrettably hampered at times by personal problems, of which much has been made but little known. His Memorial Service was testimony to the many lives he had touched through his very private approach to recovering from alcoholism.
In his final years Delme became President of the Rushmoor Oddfellows Male Voice Choir from Aldershot, Hampshire, and in 2000 enjoyed great critical acclaim for a series of masterclasses and radio recitals in Canada.
His television and radio appearances run into many hundreds and include several TV series of his own, such as "Y Gelli Aur" ["The Golden Grove"], (BBC Wales) and "Delme" (S4C). Another side of his many faceted personality is that of professional actor, appearing as Captain Cat in "Under Milk Wood" and as Blind Dick Llewellyn in the BBC television production of Jack Jones's "Off to Philadelphia in the Morning" (the life story of the Merthyr Tydfil composer Joseph Parry
Joseph Parry
Joseph Parry , was a Welsh composer and musician. Born in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales, he is best known as the composer of Myfanwy and Aberystwyth used in Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika the National anthem of South Africa.The cottage at 4 Chapel Row, Merthyr Tydfil, where Parry was born, is now open to the...
).
His many roles included, amongst others:
Beethoven – Fidelio (Don Pizarro)
Berlioz – La Damnation de Faust (Mephistopheles)
Bizet – Les Pecheurs de Perles (Zurga)
Britten – A Midsummer Night's Dream (Demetrios)
Cilea – Adriana Lecouvrer (Michonnet)
Donizetti – Don Pasquale (Malatesta)
Giordano – Andrea Chenier (Gerard)
Gluck – Alceste (Hercule)
Mascagni – Cavalleria Rusticana (Alfio)
Mozart – Cosi Fan Tutte (Guglielmo)
Mozart – Le Nozze di Figaro (Almaviva)
Mozart – Zauberfloete (Papageno, speaker)
Puccini – Butterfly (Sharpless)
Puccini – Il Tabarro (Michele)
Verdi – Aida (Amonasro)
Verdi – Falstaff (Ford)
Verdi – Otello (Iago)
Verdi – Rigoletto (title role)
Verdi – La Traviata (G.Germont)
Weber – Abu Hassan (Omar)
In addition he made numerous recordings and he can be heard in Britten's Billy Budd (Decca 1967).