"Intimacy of a very different sort fell to Welsh baritone, Paul Carey Jones, and the English mezzo-soprano, Julia Riley. This was a seduction duet from Don Giovanni, in which the 31-year-old Mozart is rather more understanding of the ways of the world. The two singers brought real subtleties of tone and temperament to the piece.
"In what was easily the best-known piece of the whole evening, Carey Jones got to put on the mantel of Mozart's Figaro, in Non Più Andrai, an aria where he is painting a picture of army life to a wayward page. It also saw him moving into much more dramatic story telling, using simple costumes and props to help as he put the frighteners on the recalcitrant Cherubino.
"Entertaining stuff, indeed. One piano, played by Ian Shaw, and four voices might seem a simple formula. But this was excellent entertainment and a fascinating introduction to new musical territory of a kind which Scottish Opera should, indeed, keep as an essential part of its annual repertoire."
Thom Dibdin, Edinburgh Evening News, 18th January 2006
"Paul Carey Jones demonstrated the most theatrical presence, though arguably he also had the best opportunities with Figaro's Non piu andrai, some impassioned Bellini from I Puritani, and a gloomily dramatic monologue from Borodin's Prince Igor."
Rowena Smith, The Herald, 19th January 2006
"...with Derek Clark’s inspired choice of music and inventive, fluid direction from Dafydd Burne-Jones, there is nothing peripheral about the concept at all. It could even be the backbone of a successful opera strategy. For opera lovers it is a chance to hear new and varied works. For interested newcomers, it provides a glimpse of what all the fuss is about.
"Baritone Paul Carey Jones allows his voice to hint at its full power - in the confines of a 360 seat auditorium. Soprano Edel Shannon provides glimpses of beautifully realised vocal runs and superb non-vocal creation of character. Mezzo-soprano Julia Riley and tenor Alexander Grove find wonderfully expressive depths to their vocal interpretations. Ian Shaw’s piano is constant but unintrusive. All told, a satisfyingly delectable treat."
Thom Dibdin, The Stage, January 2006
"There were fine touches from all four singers in their solos. There was appropriate braggadocio in Paul Carey Jones' Figaro aria. Here was a baritone confident within his entire vocal range. In his Bellini aria, 'Ah per sempre io ti perdei", he showed he could taper his voice to a near whisper, yet could command a resonant fortissimo. He revealed a lovely half-voice in the aria from 'Prince Igor'. It's not surprising he was once a prizewinner at the National Eisteddfod."
John Swan, West Highland Free Press, 3rd February 2006
"And finally to baritone Paul Carey Jones. Few who have trodden the boards at Carnegie Hall before him have had such natural mastery over an audience before singing a note. Call it gravitas, call it charisma; but if Paul Carey Jones was a politician, priest or poet we would surely have been converted. And what a voice. What a voice! He could have held a note for as long as Rumpelstiltskin slept if he'd wanted.
"A reviewer ought to be able to put into words what this performer accomplished. In many ways, to do so would be to belittle the man. Only hearing him can account for the deep feelings of love, joy, loss and pain that he sings about, and we then suddenly feel. What a talent. What a danger. He should carry a health warning for the fragile soul. His voice is an emotional rollercoaster."
Northern Times, 10th February 2006
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