Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod: Hollywood actor will bring glitz and glamour
A Hollywood actor who has worked with movie greats Clint Eastwood and Morgan Freeman was today heading for a blockbuster performance in North Wales.
The Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod has signed up Julian Lewis Jones to narrate the concert adaptation of Georges Bizet's opera Carmen starring internationally-acclaimed opera stars Kate Aldrich and Noah Stewart at the opening concert tonight.
One of Julian's next projects will be what's likely to be the most expensive film in cinema history, Justice League, which is based on the DC Comics superhero characters. He rose to international prominence after his leading role in the 2009 film, Invictus, in which he played Etienne Feyder, the head of Nelson Mandela's bodyguard team.
The 48-year-old said working on the Oscar-nominated movie which was directed by Eastwood and co-starred Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon was a "wonderful experience".
This will not be the first time the Anglesey-born actor will have been on the Llangollen stage as he introduced an evening concert at the festival more than five years ago.
Julian said: "This will be a very different experience for me and narrating an opera isn't something I have ever done before.
"This will be something new and I'm chuffed to have been asked to do it. My role as narrator is to set the scene for the audience so they know what is happening and what each scene is all about. It will be new for me too as I have never worked with opera as an art form before.
"I'm looking forward to seeing Kate Aldrich and Noah Stewart.
"I have only been able to check out Kate's profile on the internet but it's clear she is a top, top star on the world stage. And I believe Noah Stewart is already a firm favourite with the Llangollen audience.
"I don't often get back to North Wales as much as I'd like but always enjoy Llangollen. It's been too long since I was there and I'm delighted to be going back."
