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Talk:John Rhys Evans

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The archive.org link has no useful content, I have restored the old link and tagged it as dead. Verbcatcher (talk) 00:02, 10 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Notability

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I suspect that John Rhys Evans is insufficiently notable to merit a WIkipedia article. Please see the guidelines in WP:GNG and WP:MUSICBIO. My reasoning is:

  • No sources are cited in article. There is one external link, to a dead webpage. No external sources are referenced in the Wikidata page or the Commons Category.(John Rhys Evans (Q6254706)) (c:Category:John Rhys Evans)
  • The article may have been be written by a family member. Other than minor edits, the article was written by User:Article creator01, who has uploaded an image of Evans to Commons as "c:File:Dad toxedo.jpg". This editor has not contributed to any other Wikipedia articles.
  • A Google search has failed to give any significant sources.[1] This search uncovered:
    • A death notice in the Washington Post, probably written by the family.[2]
    • A YouTube tribute by a family member (link not given here because of WP:ELNEVER)
    • A minor role in a recording at Glyndebourne Opera House: "Il barbiere di Seviglia - Baritone Vocals [An Official]".[3][4]
    • One site lists Evans alongside Victoria de los Ángeles in what is probably the same recording.[5] However a Gramophone review of the same recording does not mention Evans, and he is not listed on the album cover.[6]
    • A reference to an engagement in a London production of The Merry Widow.[7]
    • Evans appeared in minor role (Novice's Friend) in a 1964 Covent Garden performance of Billy Budd.[8]

From this I conclude that John Rhys Evans was a professional singer who played minor roles in performances at major opera houses. The article says that he also played leading operatic roles, but it appears that these were at minor opera houses.

His role at the Investiture of the Prince of Wales is unclear. There is an 'Evans' listed among the performers on the recording of the investiture, which could be him, but there are several better-known singers listed.[9]

None of my research establishes that Evans is sufficiently 'notable' for an article, because of the sparsity of reliable sources (WP:GNG) and because it appears that his musical career was insufficiently prominent (WP:MUSICBIO). Although the article appears impressive, in my view it would not establish sufficient notability, even it it was fully-sourced.

I will tag the article with {{Notability}}, but I will not nominate it for deletion until others have had a good chance to establish notability. Verbcatcher (talk) 00:41, 10 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

@Verbcatcher: It seems obvious that the article was started by someone closely connected with Evans, probably a family member, as it's very badly written. Annoying to see that some of the corrections I made have since been reverted. I've added some references - they are not great, but it does sound like he had a fairly notable career although he was never the big star that his half-brother was. There could be Welsh-language references hidden away somewhere, I guess. Deb (talk) 13:13, 10 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks. I had not picked up that Sir Geraint was his half brother or the connection with Cilfynydd (the Cefneithin of Welsh singers). I will try to make this clearer. Of course, this does not add to John Rhys Evans's notability, see WP:INVALIDBIO. The article is not that badly written, although it does need more work, and the style of writing does not itself suggest that it was written by a family member. Verbcatcher (talk) 20:44, 10 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]
"Her Majesty the Queen of England"? Deb (talk) 11:04, 11 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]
The phrase "Queen of England" could reflect an author who was unfamiliar with the terminology (Evans lived in the USA), or it might be intended to highlight the imposition of an English prince on Wales. Verbcatcher (talk) 18:31, 11 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]
I am on the hunt for refs. Given his obit in the Washington Post, I suspect he is notable, at least for the USA (where he seems to have been known as John R. Evans), if not for Wales. I have added a Legacy reprint of the obit for now, and am trying to find the original notice. There is nothing in the Welsh biography dictionary, but then there is no entry for Sir Geraint, either... Tony Holkham (Talk) 16:37, 25 September 2018 (UTC)[reply]
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