Opera singer Buddug James was born in Cardigan in Ceredigion. Before pursuing her musical studies, she worked in one of her father's butcher shops in the town.
Buddug's break came when she received a scholarship from the Welsh Arts Council to study with Maestro d'Angelo in Rome and at the Guildhall in London where she performed Nancy in Flotow's Martha, Fyodor in Boris Godunov, and Hermia in Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream.
In 1986, Buddug sang at the Glyndebourne Festival and studied at the National Opera Studio where she sang Monteverdi's Poppea conducted by David Parry. She has sung in the British premieres of Smetana's Devil's Wall, Wolfgang Rihm's Jakob Lenz directed by Pierre Audi and the role of Vitige in Handel's Flavio. She created the role of Faranesi in Gerald Barry's Intelligence Park for Opera Factory at the Almeida - recorded for the BBC.
Buddug made her European debut as Hermia for the Netherlands Opera, directed by Brigitte Fassbaender. She has performed all over the world in over forty operatic roles.
Buddug has won prizes at the Pantyfedwen Eisteddfodau, the National Eisteddfod of Wales and the Welsh Triennial Competition.
She has also undertaken various acting roles for BBC, HTV, S4C and Theatr Genedlaethol Gymru (National Theatre of Wales).
In 2001, Buddug premiered Castradiva - a one-woman show based on the fictional life of a castrato which featured arias by Handel and Gluck. The production premiered at Theatr Mwldan in Cardigan and subsequently toured Ireland and Wales performing numerous music festivals including Buxton, Gower, Tudeley, Beaumaris and Edinburgh.
Buddug comes from a talented family. Her two sisters Eirian and Elin are also singers and they three have sung together since childhood. The James Family performed in a Millennium concert to celebrate Freedom, Celtic Sights and Sounds at the Hugh Lane Gallery in Dublin and before a capacity audience of 72,000 at the Millennium Stadium before the Wales v Ireland match in 2001.
In August 2001, Buddug and her sister Eirian were awarded the highest accolade of Y Wisg Wen (the White Robe) at the National Eisteddfod and S4C commissioned a 60 minute documentary on the James Family which was broadcast in 2002.
In 2006, Buddug will premiere a new one-woman show at Theatr Mwldan in Cardigan, A Knife at the Opera written and directed by Chris Harries. Inspiration for the show came from a particularly fierce review which Buddug received from an opera critic. A friend reminded her of the hammer horror film Theatre of Blood where a Shakespearean actor murders all his critics! The comic story intertwines seven arias as Buddug takes on the role of six suspect divas and DI Gethin Gumshoe, gently poking fun at critics and performers.
Buddug is also a vocal tutor at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and has directed several of the institution's productions.
Leading opera diva
