A farmer’s son from North Wales has been crowned the best young singer in the world.
Dafydd Jones, 27, was watched by his proud grandmother, Brenda Jones, who first taught him to sing, as he was named Pendine International Voice of the Future at Llangollen International Eisteddfod.
The rising star from Llanrhaeadr near Denbigh was presented with the £3,000 first prize and a gleaming silver salver by Mario Kreft MBE, owner of the Pendine Park care organisation which sponsored the competition via the Pendine Arts and Community Trust (PACT).
For Brenda watching her beloved grandson take the same Llangollen Pavilion stage once graced by the legendary Italian tenor, Luciano Pavarotti, was a dream come true.
She said: “For years we’ve all been telling him he should compete at the international eisteddfod and now for him to win the top prize is a wish fulfilled. What a wonderful night.”
Dafydd’s parents, Elfyn and Meinir Jones, grandfather John Henry Jones and other excited members of the family were all in the audience to see him presented with the winner’s trophy.
He and fellow finalist, soprano Victoria Harley, from Hull, in Yorkshire, who won a £1,000 prize as runner up, emerged from almost 30 singers from around the world to reach this year’s Pendine International Voice of the Future final.
The prestigious competition, one of the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod’s flagship events, sees contestants face a demanding selection process and a series of preliminary rounds before the grand final on the festival’s closing night, when the Choir of the World title is also decided.
Earlier this year, organisers announced PACT, which supports arts and community initiatives across Wales, had pledged to continue sponsoring the competition for a further five years.
Mario said: “My wife Gill and I have supported this competition since 2013 and we are always left in awe of the quality of young singers who take part.
“This Llangollen stage has been graced by the greats of opera like Pavarotti who came to Llangollen first as a child in a choir and later in adulthood as an operatic superstar.
“It is our duty to support the Pavarottis of tomorrow, to offer a pathway for promising young singers to also emerge into the international spotlight.
“The competition perfectly reflects Pendine Park’s ethos, where the arts in general – and music in particular – form a golden thread running through daily life at all our care home.
“That feels particularly meaningful this year as we celebrate our 40th anniversary which is why we have pledged to continue to support the competition for the next five years.”
Mr Kreft added: “I am heartened to discover that Dafydd grew up on his family’s farm in Llanrhaeadr in the Vale of Clwyd where I was brought up.
“And he is soon to embark on one of his first roles as a freelance opera singer, in Florence, Italy. Gill and I had our honeymoon in Florence. We love it there and it brings me joy to think that Dafydd is soon to begin a new chapter of his career in that wonderful city.”
Dafydd is scheduled to join the cast of the expressionist opera Wozzeck in Florence after spending three years in Munich as a member of the Bayerische Staatsoper Opernstudio.
For the competition Dafydd performed three works – Vainement ma Bien Aimee by Eduard Lalo; Der Soldat, by Wolf, and Llanrwst by Gareth Glyn.
He said: “I am overjoyed to win, especially as Victoria’s performance was so strong. I knew the result would be close.
“I am so grateful to have reached the final and to now have the Pendine International Voice of the Future title on my CV is such a career boost.
“Now that I am starting out as a freelancer, I need to be able to pay for flights and transport to get to auditions so the £3,000 prize is a huge help.”
Dafydd credited his grandmother with introducing him to the joy of music through singing lessons and teaching him piano as a child.
He quickly became good enough to compete in local and eventually national eisteddfods.
Brenda said: “I could tell quite soon that he had a natural talent, and as he got older I was not equipped to give him all the training he needed so we asked Brian Hughes, the composer and vocal instructor to take him on. Once under Brian’s tuition, that’s when we began to realise his real potential.”
Dafydd went on to study at the Royal College of Music in London where, on graduating with a master’s degree, he was awarded the Queen Mother Rose Bowl.
Pendine International Voice of the Future competition judges Sarah Tynan and Njabulo said Dafydd has the potential to become one of the great stars of the operatic stage.
The Eisteddfod’s Artistic Director, Dave Danford, said the competition provided an unforgettable finale to the festival.
He thanked everyone involved in the eisteddfod for contributing to its continued success and paid tribute to the loyal audience for getting behind each event.
He added: “I’d also like to thank the wonderful support from Pendine Park for what is one of our flagship competitions, the Pendine International Voice of the Future, which has given us such a memorable closing night. Congratulations to both the winner and runner up on outstanding performances.”
