Claire Barnett-Jones

In the 2024-25 season, Barnett-Jones returns to Dutch National Opera as Mrs Sedley in Barbora Horáková Joly’s new production of Peter Grimes conducted by Lorenzo Viotti. She also makes her house debut at the Bayerische Staatsoper as Forester’s Wife/Owl in Barrie Kosky’s The Cunning Little Vixen, and her house debut at the Royal Ballet and Opera, Covent Garden, as Waltraute in Barrie Kosky’s new production of Die Walküre conducted by Antonio Pappano. On the recital platform she performs Mahler Songs of a Wayfarer at Wigmore Hall and recitals across the UK and Ireland. Further ahead, Barnett-Jones will return to the Bayreuther Festspiele and will make her company debut in a new Lake Stage production at the Bregenz Festival.

Highlights of the 2023-24 season included a return to Oper Frankfurt as Mescalina in Vasily Barkatov‘s new production of Le Grand Macabre conducted by Thomas Guggeis, appearances with Scottish Opera for performances as Gaea in Strauss Daphne, with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra for Beethoven Mass in C and a return to the London Symphony Orchestra as Barena/Pastuchnya in Jenůfa conducted by Sir Simon Rattle. Barnett-Jones also joined the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra for Wagner Wesendonck Lieder and the London Philharmonic Orchestra as Second Norn Götterdämmerung conducted by Vladimir Jurowski.

Further highlights include Sosostris in Tippett The Midsummer Marriage with the London Philharmonic Orchestra under the Baton of Edward Gardner at the Royal Festival Hall, the role of Dryad in concert performances of Ariadne auf Naxos at the Edinburgh International Festival, her BBC Proms debut with a solo recital as part of the Proms at Birmingham 2022 and her debut as 3rd Lady for Welsh National Opera‘s The Magic Flute. In concert, Barnett-Jones has performed Beethoven Symphony No. 9 at St John’s Smith Square, Handel Messiah at the Royal Albert Hall, as part of ‘Precipice’, a series of specially curated concerts for The Grange Festival, Messiah and Verdi Requiem with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, and has given recitals at Snape Maltings, the Ludlow English Song Festival, the Wigmore Hall with Iain Burnside, Queen’s University Belfast, with I Musici Ireland in Wexford, and toured the UK alongside pianist Sholto Kynoch as part of the Oxford Lieder Festival autumn touring season.

Barnett-Jones was a Harewood Artist at English National Opera, where her roles included Rossweisse/Fricka in Richard Jones‘ The Valkyrie, Lapák The Cunning Little Vixen, and her company debut was as Eurydice Myth/Persephone in Birtwistle The Mask of Orpheus, and was awarded the Lilian Baylis Award for Outstanding Potential in the Field of Opera in recognition of her exceptional stage debut. Since leaving the programme she returned for the Jubilee Prodution of Britten Gloriana singing The Housewife and covering Gloriana. Other cover roles for English National Opera have included Frederica Luisa Miller, Jezibaba Rusalka and Suzuki Madame Butterfly.

In 2017, Barnett-Jones was presented with the Wessex Glyndebourne Association Award for a young singer of much promise, and in 2018 made her Glyndebourne Festival Debut as 2nd Noble Orphan in Der Rosenkavalier, and performed Annina La Traviata for Glyndebourne Touring Opera later that year.

Whilst still studying Barnett-Jones created the role of ‘Alto 1’ in Stockhausen Mittwoch Aus Licht with Birmingham Opera Company and the BBC Proms, directed by Sir Graham Vick, sung Fricka and Wellgunde in Das Rheingold for Grimeborn Festival, and the role of Maurya Riders of the Sea for British Youth Opera, where she was awarded the Basil A. Turner Prize for outstanding performance.

Barnett-Jones was selected to compete in the Final Rounds of Operalia, The World Opera Competition. She was also awarded the Wagner Prize of the Netherlands, the Junior Jury Prize at the 52nd International Vocal Competition s’Hertogenbosch, as well as the 2nd Prize, Villa Medici Recital Prize and Waynflete Singers Concert Prize all at The Grange Festival International Singing Competition. She has also been the recipient of the Elly Ameling Masterclass Prize (Lieder) at the 51st IVC Competition with pianist Somi Kim, the Dame Patricia Routledge English Song Prize, the Birmingham Town Hall/Symphony Hall Recital Prize, and the Mario Lanza Opera Prize.

Barnett-Jones studied at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, Royal Academy Opera and Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and is a recipient of the Sir John Tomlinson Fellowship, Independent Opera Fellow and a Samling Artist. Her studies were sponsored by the D’Oyly Carte Memorial Fund Scholarship, The George Drexler Foundation, The May Gibson Charitable Trust, The Josephine Baker Trust, The Countess of Munster Trust, The Winship Foundation, Sir Ian Fleming Award from Help Musicians and The William Gibbs Foundation.

2024/25 season / 958 words. Not to be altered without permission.