"Cardiffian Paul Carey Jones gave a confident performance in a varied programme from the passion of Bellini's I Puritani and Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin to songs by Schubert, Brahms and a lively Mervyn Burtch composition, all elegantly accompanied by Llyr Williams."
Mike Smith, Western Mail, 6th June 2006
"My choice of winner might well have been Paul Carey Jones, a baritone who seems to be in great demand just now. He is touring as Rossini's Figaro with Opera East, in rehearsal covering the role of Nixon in Nixon in China for ENO, and preparing for the premiere of Richard Elfyn Jones' in David's Land at the Fishguard Festival.
"He was equally generous in his programme for this evening offering a total of six items. He opened with a velvety, caressing “Ah! Per sempre io ti perdei” from Bellini's I Puritani , and continued with lieder by Schubert and Brahms. His next song, “When Satan fell” by Mervyn Burtch turned D H Lawrence's equivocal poem into a perfect piece of miniature theatre with every word clear and perfectly weighted, and those same skills were carried through to “It is enough” from Mendelssohn's Elijah. I enjoyed his finale from Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin which also gave the orchestra a chance to show off. Indeed, the orchestra played superbly all evening for David Parry, switching styles at the flick of a baton."
Serena Fenwick, Musical Pointers, June 2006