Dramatic Soprano Erika Mädi Jones debuted to critical acclaim as Elisabeth Tannhäuser at Longborough Festival Opera in summer 2016 working with Anthony Negus. She sang Ellen Orford Peter Grimes in a project curated by Dartington International Music Festival with Sian Edwards at the baton in 2017. Other roles performed include Sieglinde Die Walküre (Edinburgh Opera Players), Micaëla Carmen (Rogue Opera), Donna Anna Don Giovanni, (Moon-Little Theatre & Co Opera Co). Leonore Fidelio (Guildford Opera). Erika was a chorister at Glyndebourne Festival Opera in 2015.
In recital Erika has performed in venues across the country including Benjamin Britten’s Library at the Red House in Aldeburgh, St. James’ Piccadilly, Blackheath Halls and in festivals such as the London Song Festival, Aldeburgh Festival and Three Choirs Festival. She has been broadcast as part of BBC Radio 3 Lunchtime Recital series and performed as guest on BBC Radio 3 InTune. Erika is and extremely passionate recitalist and sings a wide variety of song repertoire including well known works by Mozart, Schubert, Schumann, Brahms, Wolf, Strauss, Wagner, Britten, Debussy, Duparc and lesser known works by Berg, Korngold, Poldowski, Alma Mahler, Frank Bridge, Rebecca Clarke amongst others
In concert Erika has performed orchestral works such as Wagner’s Wesendonck Lieder with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and Ravel’s Shéhérazade and worked with conductors including Howard Williams, Diego Masson and Gerry Cornelius. Oratorio works performed include soprano soloist in Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Verdi’s Requiem and Brahms’s Ein Deutsches Requiem.
A Britten Pears Young Artist, Erika won the 2017 Dvořák Society for Czech and Slovak Music Prize at the Emmy Destinn Young Singers competition and highly commended in the finals of the 2015 UK Wagner Society singing competition. She was a semi-finalist in the 9. Internationale Wagnerstimmen Wettbewerb in Karlsruhe in 2018. She was a Les Azuriales young artist in 2015. Together with pianist Panaretos Kyriatzidis she won the 2018 British Song Competition awarded by Roger Vignoles in his masterclass as part of the London Song Festival. The duo have been performing together since they met at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance where they won first prize in the Elisabeth Schumann Lieder Duo competition.
Erika graduated from the Cardiff University Music School with honours before pursuing vocal studies at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance. Gaining Distinctions in both Masters of Music and Postgraduate Artist’s Diploma, her studies were supported by the Robinson Hearn Scholarship, Stopford Westminster Bursary, the Kathleen Roberts Scholarship, Trinity Laban Postgraduate and External courses bursary funds. Erika won second prize in the Roy Pleasance Competition whilst there and was a member of the 2013/14 Trinity Laban mentor scheme at English National Opera. She has had the pleasure of performing in masterclasses with such artists as Cheryl Studer, Susan Bullock, Rosalind Plowright OBE, Diana Montague and Ryland Davies.
Erika is extremely grateful to have been supported by Help Musicians UK, the Nicholas Boas Trust and the UK Wagner Society. She is a recipient of the Goodall scholarship from the UK Wagner Society, Friends in New York of TCM London Award/ Edgar TP Comley Certificate of Excellence.
A fluent German speaker, Erika lives in Worcestershire and studies with Alison Wells.
