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The Welsh tenor, Huw Rhys-Evans, won the Blue Riband Prize for the Singer of the Year at the Royal National Eisteddfod of Wales and on three occasions, the Tenor Solo Award. Following studies with Kenneth Bowen at the Royal Academy of Music, he was awarded the Tenor Prize at the 1990 Great Grimsby International Competition for Singers and completed his studies at the National Opera Studio.
Huw Rhys-Evans is particularly celebrated as an interpereter of the Evangelist in the J.S. Bach Passions. His concert engagements have taken him throughout the UK as well as to France, Germany, Italy, Canada, USA, The Netherlands and Singapore. His many and varied oratorio engagements have included J.S. Bach Passions at the Netherlands, B Minor Mass (BWV 232) in Besançon, St Matthew Passion (BWV 244) with the Northern Chamber Orchestra; George Frideric Handel's Joshua at St John's, Smith Square, Messiah at the Royal Albert Hall, Saul with the Darmstadt Konzertchor; J. Haydn's The Creation with the English Chamber Orchestra, Nelson Mass at the Fenice Theatre, Venice; Felix Mendelssohn's Elijah with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra; Rossini's Stabat Mater at Westminster Abbey; J.S. Bach's St Matthew Passion (BWV 244) in Manchester and Southwark Cathedrals; Lloyd Webber's Requiem with the Scottish Opera Orchestra and Carmina Burana at both the Royal Albert Hall and the Royal Festival Hall.
Huw Rhys-Evans' operatic engagements have included Ernesto in Don Pasquale and Ismaele Nabucco for WNO, Harris in Uncle Remus for Pegasus Opera, Flute in A Midsummer Night's Dream and Brighella in Ariadne Auf Naxos for English Touring Opera; Brighella Ariadne auf Naxos for the Fondation Royaumont; Vivaldo in Die Hochzeit des Camacho at the Flanders International Festival; Duca Ottavio in Don Giovanni (Gazzaniga) and Errico in La Vera Costanza for Bampton Classical Opera (for the latter, he was cited as amongst Who's Hot by OPERA NOW), Ferrando in Cosi Fan Tutte for Madrid Comic Opera, Opera d'Automne and Tours Opera, Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni for Perth Festival Opera, Belmonte in Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail for Opera Project, Nadir in The Philosopher's Stone for Collegium Musicum 90 (broadcast on BBC Radio 3), Tamino Die Zauberflöte with the North Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, Pang in Turandot for Lyric Opera Dublin, Pang in Turandot for Mid-Wales Opera, Brighella in Ariadne Auf Naxos for the Norwegian State Opera, Young Servand in Electra at the BBC Proms, First Jew in Salome for the Bastille Opera, Third Jew in Salome for Merseille Opera, and Hyllus in G.F. Handel's Hercules at the Varazdin Baroque Festival Croatia with the Welsh Baroque Orchestra.
Huw Rhys-Evans is particularly celebrated as a singer of Rossini, his engagements include Carlo/Goffredo in Armida, the title role Le Comte Ory and Torvaldo in Torvaldo e Dorliska at the Rossini in Wildbad Festival, Count Almaviva in II barbiere di Siviglia for Opera North and Spier Opera,South Africa, Pilade in Ermione, Idreno in Semiramide for Chelsea Opera Group and Belfiore in Il Viaggio a Reims at the Palace of Verseille and the Strasbourg Music Festival. He also sang Don Ramiro in La Cenerentola. He has sung Rossini for companies such as the Fondation Royaumont, the Spier Arts Trust, South Africa, Chelsea Opera Group and Opera North. In the summer of 2002 he sang the title role of Rossini's Count Ory at the Rossini in Wildbad Festival in Germany under the eminent young conductor, Brad Cohen and returned in the summer of 2003 to sing the title role of Torvaldo E Dorliska.
Huw Rhys-Evans' Carnegie Hall debut was in October 2001 when he appeared as a guest with the Morriston Male Voice Choir. He has since made his Proms debut at the Royal Albert Hall in 2002 singing in the Kurt Weill opera The Royal Palace conducted by Sir Andrew Davis. He returned again this summer to sing in the Richard Strauss concert performance of Elektra, which was televised nationally. He appeared on Friday Night is Music Night in January 2002 and performed throughout the UK in December 2001/January 2002 with the London Festival Orchestra having debuted with the orchestra singing Messiah in Rhodes.
Huw Rhys-Evans sang with Wokingham Choral Society at Loddon Valley Leisure Centre on Saturday 30th November 30, 1991 performing Mozart's Requiem. He appeared with the Society again at Loddon Valley Leisure Centre on Novemberr 21, 1992 to perform F. Mendelssohn's Elijah. He joined the Society once more at Guildford Cathedral on Saturday December 6, 2003 performing the Grande Messe des Morts by Hector Berlioz. In 1994-1995 he sang with the Amsterdam Baroque Choir under the direction of Ton Koopman and participated in the first two volumes of their recording project of the complete Bach Cantatas.
Huw Rhys-Evans sang the role of Filippo in Haydn's Opera L'infedelita Delusa with Aix-en.Provence Touring Opera Company (Touring Europe) up to March 2010. Recent engagements include the following: Evangelist in J.S. Bach's St John Passion (BWV 245) at the Leith Hill Music Festivalt Dorking, W.A. Mozart's Coronation Mass and Benjamin Britten's Rejoice in the Lamb in Aberaeron, Stainer's Crucifixion in Bushey, Haydn's Creation at the Cheltenham Music Festival, Song recital at the Bushey Music Festival and a mostly Mozart song recital in Stamford.
Huw Rhys-Evans has recorded Tamino and Almaviva for Opera Vox Cartoons and his varied CD credits include the title role in Rossini's Le Comte Ory on the Naxos label, "All Through the Night" (Welsh Songs for Harp), Judge in Le calife de Bagdad, Gouvy's Cantata Egill and Stabat Mater, Vivaldo in F. Mendelssohn Die Hochzeit des Camacho, Ferrando in Cosi fan tutte, Pedrillo Die Entfiihrung aus dem Serail, Carmina Burana, G.F. Handel's Judas Maccabaeus, Messiah and Edward Elgar's The Kingdom. His latest recording of Torvaldo e Dorliska by Rossini has just been released on the Naxos label. He has broadcast for BBC Radio 2's Friday Night is Music Night. |
