Bryn Terfel

"I started singing because I come from Wales"  Bryn Terfel

Worshipped as he is throughout the music world, it's appropriate that Bryn Terfel is being acclaimed as one of the greatest ever performers of the role of chief god Wotan in Wagner's Ring Cycle. The combination of a great voice, immaculate diction, commanding stage presence and flair for acting has made Bryn Terfel the hottest property in opera throughout the world.

The Welsh bass-baritone Bryn Terfel rose to prominence when he won the Lieder Prize in the 1989 Cardiff Singer of the World Competition. In 2003, Bryn was awarded a CBE for services to Opera in the Queen’s New Year Honours list and received the Queen’s Medal for Music in 2006. He is also the last recipient of the Shakespeare Prize by the Alfred Toepfer Foundation, Hamburg.

He has performed in all the great opera houses of the world, and is especially recognized for his portrayals of Figaro and Falstaff. Other roles include Wotan in Das Rheingold and Die Walküre, Holländer in Der fliegende Holländer, Méphistophélès in Faust, both the Title Role and Leporello in Don Giovanni, Jochanaan in Salome, Scarpia in Tosca, the title-role in Gianni Schicchi Nick Shadow in The Rake’s Progress, Wolfram in Tannhäuser, Balstrode in Peter Grimes, Four Villains in Les contes d’Hoffmann, Dulcamara in L’Elisir d’Amore and the Title Role in Sweeney Todd.

Bryn is also known for his versatility as a concert performer, with highlights ranging from the opening ceremony of the Wales Millennium Centre to Last Night of the Proms and the Royal Variety Show. In 2007 he sang the title role in concert performances of Sweeney Todd as part of the re-opening of the Royal Festival Hall, London. He has given recitals in the major cities of the world and hosts his own festival every year in Faenol, North Wales.

In January 2009 he made his Prague debut at the Smetana Hall of the Municipal House at a great audience and critical acclaim.

He is a Grammy, Classical Brit and Gramophone Award winner with a discography encompassing operas of Mozart, Wagner and Strauss, as well as more than ten solo discs including Lieder, American musical theatre, Welsh songs and sacred repertory.

Operatic Highlights in 2010 include Bryn’s debut in the role of Hans Sachs in Die Meistersinger von Nürnburg for Welsh National Opera, his return to Metropolitan Opera, New York as Scarpia in Tosca and Wotan in Das Rheingold and his debut for Monte Carlo Opera in the title role in Falstaff. Concert highlights in 2010 include a European concert tour to promote his album “Bad Boys” released in November 2009 and recitals in New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Bryn is pleased to have an association with several companies, most notably Rolex, Clogau Gold and the Penderyn Distillery.