About Gwyneth Jones (soprano)
Dame Gwyneth Jones is a Welsh dramatic soprano, widely regarded as one of the greatest Wagnerian sopranos of the second half of the 20th century. The possessor of a large-scaled, powerful dramatic soprano voice, joined to a vivid stage presence and finely developed acting ability, Jones enjoyed an extensive international career that took her to all the world's major opera houses. Her talent was cultivated through a long relationship with the Bayreuther Festspiele, through which she developed a more human, vulnerable, and womanly image for Richard Wagner's main female characters. She is best known for her rendition of Brünnhilde in the 1976 Jahrhundertring at Bayreuth, staged to commemorate the theater's centenary anniversary. She discovered that her easy top range could enable her to sing soprano roles and she switched to the soprano repertoire from around 1964, her first major soprano role being Amelia in Verdi's Un ballo in maschera. Jones had sung her first Brünnhilde at Bayreuth in 1974, and her first complete Ring cycle there in 1975, both as preparation for the new production.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.