Born in Wales, Dennis O'Neill has enjoyed a long career as one of the world’s leading Operatic tenors appearing for all the leading companies of the world. He has specialised in the works of Verdi and has sung twenty-one of his roles. He was awarded the 2005 Verdi Medal by the Amici di Verdi in recognition of his work He studied privately with the renowned Frederick Cox in Manchester and London, in Mantua with Campogalliani and in Rome with Ricci.

He has enjoyed a long association (over two hundred peformances in leading roles) with the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. His many roles have included Rodolfo (La Bohème), Duca (Rigoletto), Pinkerton (Madama Butterfly), Edgardo (Lucia di Lammermoor), Macduff (Macbeth), Gustavo (Ballo in Maschera), Foresto (Attila), Otello, Don Carlos, Radames (Aida), Aroldo, Carlo (Giovanna d’Arco), Jacopo (I due Foscari) and  Canio (Pagliacci) and Eleazar (La Juive).

For the Metropolitan Opera he has appeared as Alfredol (La Traviata), Rodolfo (La bohème), Radames (Aida), Duca (Rigoletto), Calaf (Turandot) Turiddu (Cavalleria Rusticana) and Canio (I Pagliacci).  Other North American engagements have included Chicago Lyric Opera, San Francisco, San Diego, Vancouver Opera and concerts with the Philadelphia, Cleveland, Montreal, and Ottawa Symphonies, and for the Cincinnati Festival. He has also appeared in several South American Opera houses.

A frequent guest at the Bayerische Staatsoper, Munich, his debut in Ballo in Maschera was followed by Manrico (Il Trovatore) in a new production conducted by Sinopoli, and then  by Der Rosenkavalier, Tosca, Lucia, Simon Boccanegra, Aida and the title role in Otello conducted by Zubin Mehta. For the Vienna State Opera (Boheme, Butterfly, Turandot, Traviata, Ballo in Maschera, Trovatore).

He has performed extensively throughout Europe at Opera Houses and Festivals, including Vienna, Berlin, Bonn, Cologne, Hamburg, Mannheim, Dresden, Hanover, Leipzig, Munich, Weimar, Halle, Dublin, Edinburgh, Paris, Nice, Marseilles, Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Antwerp, Stockholm, Oslo, Bergen, Copenhagen, Zurich, Geneva, Athens,  Brussels, Antwerp, Barcelona, Madrid, San Sebastian, Oviedo, Lisbon, Porto, Milan, Rome, Bologna, Turin and at the Arena di Verona.

He has retained a close and special relationship with the Welsh National Opera, for whom he has also served as a member of the board.

Dennis O'Neill is a busy concert artist and has sung with conductors including Muti, Sir Colin Davis, Sinopoli, Rattle and Pritchard. Notable concert performances have included Idomeneo with Sir Charles Mackerras at the BBC Proms, the opening of the Proma with Sir John Pritchard, Oberto and the Verdi Requiem at theEdinburgh Festival, Aida in Tel Aviv with Mehta, Le Damnation de Faust at the Paris Opera with Dutoit, Tosca in Cleveland with Slatkin ,the Dream of Gerontius with Svetlanov and Berlioz Te Deum with Abbado in London.

He has given recitals at Covent Garden and La Monnaie in Brussels and concerts as far afield as Sao Paolo in Brazil, Moscow, St Petersburg, and throughout Australia. He has performed in concerts before members of the Royal families of Sweden, the United Kingdom, Norway, Spain and for the late Pontiff, John Paul the Second.

Dennis O'Neill's own television series for the BBC were enormously popular (the accompanying recording went to the top of the classical record charts) and he subsequently completed a three part televison series on Caruso. 

His many recordings include solo albums, videos of Der Rosenkavalier with Solti, Die Fledermaus with Kiri te Kanawa conducted by Placido Domingo, Macbeth with Sinopoli, and Mefistofele from San Francisco.  Recent releases include La fanciulla del West (Slatkin on BMG/RCA), Verdi's Requiem (Colin Davis on BMG/RCA) and with Simone Young for ABC, Tosca, La bohème, Cavalleria Rusticana, I Pagliacci, Trovatore, Aida, Turandot  and two solo discs of operatic arias, all for Chandos, an anthology in three discs of Italian Songs b Bellini, Donizetti, and Verdi for Naxos.and a recital of the songs of Liszt  on the Nimbus label

He visits the Sydney regularly and has recently sung performances there of Cavelleria Rusticana, Pagliacci, Tosca , Otello, and Il Trovatore. Other recent appearances include Otello in Hamburg, Brazil and Munich, Aida in Munich and Dresden, Ballo in Lisbon, La Gioconda in concert for ENO, Turandot at the Met and Covent Garden, Ballo in Rome, Aida in Munich and Catania, Norma in Barcelona and a tour of the Verdi Requiem with La Scala and Muti, and The Dream of Gerontius in Munich with Mehta.

Dennis O’Neill was appointed Commander of the British Empire (CBE) for services to Opera and many other acknowledgment include the prestigious honorary membership of the Royal Academy of Music. (Hon.R.A.M).

He is deeply involved with the education of the younger generation of Opera Singers, having given masterclasses throughout the World, specialising in the Italian repertoire and bel canto technique. He is Director of the Artists Development Programme at the Wexford Festival Opera and a visiting professor at the Royal Academy of Music and at the Royal Opera’s Young Artist’s Programme.

Biog to follow

Jane Samuel studied music at Bristol University graduating with honours in July 1993. In her final year she chose to specialise in Piano Accompaniment and was involved in accompanying many important masterclasses including one for BBC Television in London with Alan Hacker and one at the Thornbury Music Festival which culminated in a performance of Poulenc’s Clarinet Sonata with the great Jack Brymer. Opportunities such as these coupled with the active encouragement of the university staff gave Jane the enthusiasm to pursue a career within the profession. In September 1994 she accepted a post at the (now Royal) Welsh College of Music and Drama as a Vocal Coach and Accompanist and followed that in 1996 with a position on the staff of the college’s Junior Department as a Piano Tutor. In early 2007 Jane also began work as a staff coach at Dennis O’Neill’s Cardiff International Academy of  Voice.

Jane is in demand as an accompanist at home and abroad, having toured extensively throughout Europe, Canada, America, Malaysia, Australia and New Zealand. Through her work at the college, CIAV and her association with the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain and Welsh National Opera she has had the privilege of working with some of the world’s finest musicians including Dennis O’Neill, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, Stuart Burrows, Della Jones, Christopher Maltman, Rosemary Joshua, Robert Tear, Jane Eaglen, Rebecca Evans, Wynne Evans, John Mitchinson, Susan Bullock, Dame Ann Murray, Elin Manahan Thomas,  Patrick Harrild, James Rae and Sir John Eliot Gardiner.

As Katherine Jenkins’ official accompanist Jane has appeared on television and radio shows all over the world. British credits include The Andrew Marr Show, Songs of Praise, Heaven and Earth, The Paul O’Grady Show, GMTV, The Apprentice and The South Bank Show Awards.

In September 2008 she fulfilled a lifelong ambition when she stepped onto the stage of New York’s Carnegie Hall with legendary bass baritone, Bryn Terfel.