Reviews
Mother/Witch Hansel & Gretel for Mid Wales Opera
But special mention must be given to Afonwy-Jones, who doubles up as the grisly witch of the woods in the second act.
The second act explodes with frenetic energy, thanks to Afonwy-Jones’s wonderful performance as the witch. She is both hilarious and genuinely horrific in her get up as an exaggerated homemaker (imagine a murderous Julia Child).
Leo Greenway 25th March 2023 Operascene.co.uk
Julian Philips: Looking West / Nova Music Opera at Ryedale Festival 2022
“St Bega was cleanly, smoothly and spiritually sung by the mezzo Rebecca Afonwy-Jones…”
Opera
Dorabella: Così fan tutte / Saffron Opera Group 2022
“Rebecca Afonwy-Jones’ lovely mezzo has depth without darkness, and its warmth made her Dorabella a good foil to her more complicated sister.”
Opera
Kerstin: Juliana / Resonus Classics CD 2022
“Rebecca Afonwy-Jones is convincing as the jilted Kerstin…”
Gramophone
“…Rebecca Afonwy-Jones, who reprises the role she created as the jilted and sidelined housekeeper, Kerstin, with biting aplomb.”
Limelight
“The recording displays young singers of exceptional accomplishment who are a delight to listen to. As Kerstin, Rebecca Afonwy-Jones inhabits her role with a remarkable interiority, her sumptuous mezzo conveying a great deal through subtle variations of timbre. She is the beating heart of the performance.”
Opera
Dardano: Amadigi / English Touring Opera 2021
“Rebecca Afonwy-Jones as the spurned Dardano…sang and acted with dignity and conviction.”
Bachtrack
“Afonwy-Jones, dark voiced and implacable does fine things with the anguished ‘Pena tiranna,’ one of Handel’s greatest arias.”
The Guardian
“Rebecca Afonwy-Jones is a bluff, appealing Dardano, relishing the opera’s knockout aria ‘Pena tiranna.’”
iNews
“Dardano, is a breeches role, sung by mezzo Rebecca Afonwy-Jones with some amazing low notes which have a lovely timbre.”
LondonTheatre1
“Rebecca Afonwy-Jones sang a lush account of ‘Pena tiranna;” her fruity mezzo is the kind of voice that would have been preferred for the alto lead at the beginning of the English Händel renaissance…”
Opera
“Rebecca Afonwy-Jones brings terrific energy to the role of Dardano and, aided by a sombre but beautiful bassoon obligato, movingly communicates his embittered acceptance that Oriana will not be his.”
Opera Today
Rebecca Afonwy-Jones made much of the tiny role of the Countess Ceprano. She has a ravishingly burnished voice that made her one little song a highlight of the evening.
Neil Jones, Opera Now
Rebecca Afonwy-Jones’ Carmen was both dark and manipulative, with enough seductive fruitiness in her voice to sustain complete plausibility”
The Scotsman
Rebecca Afonwy-Jones, who had earlier demonstrated the rich power of her mezzo range, was here full of wide-eyed eroticism in these explorations of love as a novelty full of unexpected delights. (Chansons de Bilitis)
Keith Bruce Herald Scotland