James Stuart Burrows was born on 7 February 1933 at 19 William Street in Cilfynydd, near Pontypridd, South Wales, the second of three children of Albert Burrows and Gladys (née Powell). As a boy he had a soprano voice and would sing from his bedroom window to neighbours in the street below; his first solo performance came at a Christmas concert aged just ten, and he became a familiar voice at his local chapel. Remarkably, the same short street produced fellow opera star Sir Geraint Evans and rugby international Glyn Davies. Burrows began his working life as a teacher in Bargoed, training as a singer at Trinity University College, Carmarthen after winning a singing competition in 1954.
He made his stage debut with Welsh National Opera in 1963, and by 1967 was performing regularly at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, a relationship that lasted 22 seasons. That same year his acclaimed performance in the title role of Stravinsky's Oedipus Rex at the Athens Festival brought him international recognition. From 1971 he appeared at New York's Metropolitan Opera for 12 years, sharing the stage with stars including Cesare Siepi and Kathleen Battle. His focus on the great Mozart tenor roles, including Tamino and Don Ottavio, earned him the affectionate nickname 'King of Mozart', and he went on to sing at La Scala, the Vienna State Opera, the Salzburg Festival and the Paris Opéra.
Burrows was appointed OBE in 2007 and received the Freedom of the Borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf in 2008, alongside honorary fellowships from the University of Wales and Trinity College Carmarthen. He remained closely associated with south Wales throughout his life, presiding over several charitable causes and mentoring younger Welsh singers such as Aled Jones. He died at a hospice in Cardiff on 29 June 2025, aged 92, remembered by Jones as "the greatest lyric tenor of his generation."