Jones, Della
Jones, Della
Jones, Della, Welsh mezzo-soprano; b. Neath, April 13, 1946. She studied at the Royal Coll. of Music in London (1964–68), in Geneva (1968–70), and with Denis Dowling. After winning the Kathleen Ferrier Memorial Scholarship in 1969, she made her operatic debut as Fyodor in Boris Godunov in Geneva in 1970. She made her first appearance at the Sadler’s Wells Opera in London in 1973 as Ninon in the British premiere of Penderecki’s The Devils of Loudon. In 1977 she made her debut at the Welsh National Opera in Cardiff as Rosina. From 1977 she also made frequent appearances at the English National Opera in London, where she sang Rossini’s Isabella in 1987. She made her debut at London’s Covent Garden in 1983 as the Female Cat in L’Enfant et les sortilèges. Her U.S. debut came in 1986 when she sang Ruggiero in Alcina in Los Angeles. In 1990 she was engaged as Preziosilla at the Scottish Opera in Glasgow. After returning to the Welsh National Opera as Brangäne in 1993, she portrayed Clytemnestra at Opera North in Leeds in 1996. She appeared as a soloist with orchs. and as a recitalist in Europe, North America, and the Far East.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire