Biography

English director Richard Jones made his Royal Opera debut in 1994, directing Der Ring des Nibelungen. He has since returned to direct Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, L’Heure espagnole/Gianni Schicchi, The Gambler, Anna Nicole (world premiere), Il trittico, Gloriana, Boris Godunov, La bohème. (revived in the 2019/20 Season) and Kát’a Kabanová for The Royal Opera.
Jones has directed opera for English National Opera, Welsh National Opera, Glyndebourne (Festival and on Tour), Opera North, Scottish Opera, and for the Metropolitan Opera, New York, La Scala, Milan, Bavarian State Opera, Paris Opéra, the opera companies of Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Berlin, Chicago and Tokyo and the Bregenz Festival. He has worked in theatre at the Old Vic, Young Vic, the National Theatre, Almeida, the Royal Court, in the West End, for the Royal Shakespeare Company and for the Public Theatre, New York. He has directed three times on Broadway.
Jones has won six Olivier Awards (most recently for The Royal Opera’s Kát’a Kabanová), two Evening Standard Awards, a South Bank Show Award, been named Opernwelt Director of the Year and is a Tony nominee. In 2017 his production of The Hairy Ape at the Park Avenue Armory was nominated for six Drama Desk Awards. He was made a CBE in 2015.
Videos
News and features
Katya Kabanova wins Best New Opera Production at Olivier Awards 2019
Richard Jones' Royal Opera production was acclaimed as 'strongly acted, carefully executed and superbly conducted'.
Insights into The Royal Opera's new La bohème
Join the cast and creative team of Richard Jones' hotly-anticipated new production as they explore one of the most romantic operas of all time.
Watch: Antonio Pappano explores the music of Il tabarro and Suor Angelica
The Music Director of the Royal Opera digs deeper into the scores of two of the three operas that make up Il trittico.
Photos
Jeremy White as Talpa, Carlo Bosi as Tina, Patricia Racette as Giorgetta in Il tabarro

Eva-Maria Westbroek as Anna Nicole in Anna Nicole

Angela Denoke as Paulina and Roberto Saccà as Alexey Ivanovitch in The Gambler.

Richard Jones

Richard Jones in rehearsal for Anna Nicole

The Royal Opera's Lady Macbeth of Mtensk.

Roberto Saccà as Alexey Ivanovitch, Kurt Streit as The Marquis and Susan Bickley as Babulenka in The Gambler

Roberto Saccà as Alexey Ivanovitch and Michael Lessiter as a Gambler in The Gambler

Roberto Saccà as Alexey Ivanovitch in The Gambler.

Richard Jones's production of The Gambler

John Tomlinson as The General and Roberto Saccà as Alexey Ivanovitch in The Gambler

Francesco Demuro, Alan Oke, Peter Curtis, Robert Poulton, Gwynne Howell and Lucio Gallo in Gianni Schicchi (Il trittico), The Royal Opera

Richard Jones

Richard Jones in rehearsal for Gloriana, The Royal Opera

Artists of The Royal Opera in Anna Nicole

Patricia Racette as Giorgetta, Lucio Gallo as Michele in Il tabarro

Richard Jones's production of The Gambler

Richard Jones's production of The Gambler

John Tomlinson as The General and Jurgita Adamonyte as Blanche in The Gambler
