Rhydian Jenkins

Welsh tenor Rhydian Jenkins is currently a member of the International Opera Studio at Oper Köln. He was a 2022-24 Young Artist at the National Opera Studio, and he was a Garsington Opera Alvarez Young Artist and a Longborough Festival Opera Emerging Artist.

He graduated with distinction from the David Seligman Opera School at The Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and won both the 2019 Bryn Terfel Scholarship and the 2021 MOCSA Young Welsh Singer of the Year Prize. He was also a finalist in the 2023 Bampton Classical Opera Young Singer’s Competition.

His engagements have included Sergei (Cherry Town, Moscow) for Welsh National Opera, Snout & Fairy 3 (The Fairy Queen) for Longborough Festival Opera, as well as creating the role of Vittorio in Marianna Bottini’s Elena e Gerardo for Random Opera Company. He also covered the roles of Ruggero (La rondine) for IF Opera, and Spoletta (Tosca) for Northern Ireland Opera. Other roles include Don Ottavio (Don Giovanni), Count Almaviva (Il barbiere di Siviglia), Peter Quint/Prologue (The Turn of the Screw), Alfred (Die Fledermaus) and Anthony Hope (Sweeney Todd). For Garsington Opera, he recently covered Lysander (A Midsummer Night’s Dream) and Count Ivrea (Un giorno di regno).

He has appeared in recital at London’s Wigmore Hall and made his debut with The Hallé performing The Glories of Rome at The Bridgewater Hall. Wider concert engagements have included performances at London’s Royal Albert Hall and Cadogan Hall, St David’s Hall, Cardiff, and Wales Millennium Centre.

As a Young Artist at the National Opera Studio, Rhydian Jenkins enjoyed residencies at English National Opera, Opera North, Scottish Opera and Welsh National Opera, performing in scenes roles including Count Almaviva (Il barbiere di Siviglia), Fenton (Falstaff), Ernesto (Don Pasquale), Beppe (Rita), Telemaco (Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria), Vašek (The Bartered Bride), Jaquino (Fidelio), Basilio (Le nozze di Figaro) and La Remendado (Carmen).

During 2024 / 2025, his roles at Oper Köln in his first season include performing the roles of Tamino & Monostatos (Die Zauberflöte für Jung und Alt), Parpignol (La bohème), Hund (Die Bremer Stadtmusikanten), Batman (Superheldennormalos - world premiere) and Ensemble for Saariaho’s La Passion de Simone.