Bryn Terfel Jones (; born 9 November 1965), is a Welsh

bass-baritone A bass-baritone is a high-lying bass or low-lying "classical" baritone voice type which shares certain qualities with the true baritone voice. The term arose in the late 19th century to describe the particular type of voice required to sing three ...

opera and concert singer. Terfel was initially primarily associated with the roles of

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

, particularly '' Figaro'', '' Leporello'' and ''

Don Giovanni ''Don Giovanni'' (; K. 527; full title: , literally ''The Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni'') is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Its subject is a centuries-old Spanish legen ...

,'' but he has subsequently shifted his attention to heavier roles, especially those by

Puccini Giacomo Puccini (22 December 1858 29 November 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he was descended from a long line of composers, s ...

and

Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...

Biography

Terfel was born in Pant Glas, Caernarfonshire, Wales, the son of a farmer. His first language is Welsh. He chose Bryn Terfel as his professional name to avoid confusion with another Welsh baritone, Delme Bryn-Jones. He had an interest in and talent for music from a young age. A family friend taught him how to sing, starting with traditional Welsh songs. After winning numerous competitions for his singing, Terfel moved to London in 1984 and entered the

Guildhall School of Music and Drama The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a music school, music and drama school located in the City of London, England. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jazz al ...

, where he studied under Rudolf Piernay. In 1988, he entered and won the Morriston Orpheus Choir Supporters' Association Young Welsh Singer of the Year Competition. He graduated in 1989, winning the Kathleen Ferrier Memorial Award and the

Gold Medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...

. The same year, he came second behind Dmitri Hvorostovsky in the Cardiff Singer of the World competition, winning the

Lieder In the Western classical music tradition, ( , ; , ; ) is a term for setting poetry to classical music. The term is used for any kind of song in contemporary German and Dutch, but among English and French speakers, is often used interchangea ...

Prize.

Career

1990s

In 1990 Terfel made his operatic debut as Guglielmo in ''

Così fan tutte (''Women are like that, or The School for Lovers''), Köchel catalogue, K. 588, is an opera buffa in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. It was first performed on 26 January 1790 at the Burgtheater in Vienna, Austria. The libretto was written ...

'' for Welsh National Opera. Later in the same season, he sang the title role in ''

The Marriage of Figaro ''The Marriage of Figaro'' (, ), K. 492, is a ''commedia per musica'' (opera buffa) in four acts composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with an Italian libretto written by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It premiered at the Burgtheater in Vienn ...

'', a role with which he made his debut with

English National Opera English National Opera (ENO) is a British opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with The Royal Opera. ENO's productions are sung in E ...

in 1991. His international operatic career began that same year when he sang the Speaker in

's ''

The Magic Flute ''The Magic Flute'' (, ), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. It is a ''Singspiel'', a popular form that included both singing and spoken dialogue. The work premiered on ...

'' at the Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels, and made his United States debut as Figaro at the

Santa Fe Opera Santa Fe Opera (SFO) is an American opera company, located north of Santa Fe, New Mexico. After creating the ''Opera Association of New Mexico'' in 1956, its founding director, John Crosby (conductor), John Crosby, oversaw the building of the f ...

. In 1992, Terfel made his Royal Opera House, Covent Garden debut as Masetto in ''

'', with Thomas Allen in the title role. That same year, he made his Salzburg Easter Festival debut singing the role of the Spirit Messenger in ''

Die Frau ohne Schatten ' (''The Woman without a Shadow''), Op. 65, is an opera in three acts by Richard Strauss with a libretto by his long-time collaborator, the poet Hugo von Hofmannsthal. It was written between 1911 and either 1915 or 1917. When it premiered at the V ...

''. This was followed by an international breakthrough at the main Salzburg Festival when he sang Jochanaan in Strauss's ''

Salome Salome (; , related to , "peace"; ), also known as Salome III, was a Jews, Jewish princess, the daughter of Herod II and princess Herodias. She was granddaughter of Herod the Great and stepdaughter of Herod Antipas. She is known from the New T ...

''. He went on to make his debut as Figaro at the

Vienna State Opera The Vienna State Opera (, ) is a historic opera house and opera company based in Vienna, Austria. The 1,709-seat Renaissance Revival venue was the first major building on the Vienna Ring Road. It was built from 1861 to 1869 following plans by ...

. On 19 June 1992, Terfel made his U.S. concert debut singing in

Mahler Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and the modernism ...

's Eighth Symphony with the

Chicago Symphony Orchestra The Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) is an American symphony orchestra based in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by Theodore Thomas in 1891, the ensemble has been based in the Symphony Center since 1904 and plays a summer season at the Ravinia F ...

at the

Ravinia Festival Ravinia Festival is a primarily outdoor music venue in Highland Park, Illinois. It hosts a series of outdoor concerts and performances every summer from June to September in a wide variety of musical genres from classical to pop. The first orche ...

under the baton of

James Levine James Lawrence Levine ( ; June 23, 1943 – March 9, 2021) was an American conductor and pianist. He was music director of the Metropolitan Opera from 1976 to 2016. He was terminated from all his positions and affiliations with the Met on March ...

. Also at the festival, on 22 June, he and Levine (at the piano) performed

Schumann Robert Schumann (; ; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and music critic of the early Romantic music, Romantic era. He composed in all the main musical genres of the time, writing for solo piano, voice and piano, chamber ...

's ''Liederkreis'' (op. 39) and

Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; ; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. Despite his short life, Schubert left behind a List of compositions ...

's ''

Schwanengesang ''Schwanengesang'' (Swan Song), 957, is a collection of 14 songs written by Franz Schubert at the end of his life and published posthumously: # Liebesbotschaft (text: Ludwig Rellstab) # Kriegers Ahnung (Rellstab) # Frühlingssehnsucht (Rellst ...

'', and on 27 June, he was Abimélech in Saint-Saëns's '' Samson and Delilah'' (with

Plácido Domingo José Plácido Domingo Embil (born 21 January 1941) is a Spanish opera singer, conductor, and arts administrator. He has recorded over a hundred complete operas and is well known for his versatility, regularly performing in Italian, French, ...

and Denyce Graves in the title roles), also with the CSO under Levine. In January and February 1993, Terfel sang the role of Donner in

's ''

Das Rheingold ''Das Rheingold'' (; ''The Rhinegold''), Wagner-Werk-Verzeichnis, WWV 86A, is the first of the four epic poetry, epic music dramas that constitute Richard Wagner's Literary cycle, cycle ''Der Ring des Nibelungen'' (English: ''The Ring of the Nib ...

'' at

Lyric Opera of Chicago Lyric Opera of Chicago is an American opera company based in Chicago, Illinois. The company was founded in Chicago in 1954, under the name 'Lyric Theatre of Chicago' by Carol Fox (Chicago opera), Carol Fox, Nicola Rescigno and Lawrence Kelly, w ...

;

Zubin Mehta Zubin Mehta (born 29 April 1936) is an Indian conductor of Western classical music. He is music director emeritus of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO) and conductor :wikt:emeritus, emeritus of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Mehta's father ...

conducted. Also in 1992, he signed an exclusive

recording contract A recording contract (commonly called a record contract or record deal) is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording act (artist or group), where the act makes an audio recording (or series of recordings) for the label to sell and ...

with

Deutsche Grammophon Deutsche Grammophon (; DGG) is a German classical music record label that was the precursor of the corporation PolyGram. Headquartered in Berlin Friedrichshain, it is now part of Universal Music Group (UMG) since its merger with the UMG family of ...

and returned to the Welsh National Opera to sing Ford in '' Falstaff''. In 1993, he recorded the role of Wilfred Shadbolt in '' The Yeomen of the Guard'', by

Gilbert and Sullivan Gilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the dramatist W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) and the composer Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900) and to the works they jointly created. The two men collaborated on fourteen com ...

and sang Figaro to acclaim at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris. In 1994, Terfel sang Figaro at Covent Garden and made his

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera is an American opera company based in New York City, currently resident at the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center), Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Referred ...

and

Teatro Nacional de São Carlos The ''Teatro Nacional de São Carlos'' () (''National Theatre of Saint Charles'') is an opera house in Lisbon, Portugal. It was opened on June 30, 1793 by Queen Maria I as a replacement for the Tejo Opera House, which was destroyed in the 1755 ...

debuts in the same role. However, back surgery in 1994 (and again in 2000) prevented him from performing in several scheduled events. In 1996, he expanded his repertoire to include more

, singing Wolfram in '' Tannhäuser'' at the Metropolitan Opera, and Stravinsky, singing Nick Shadow in '' The Rake's Progress'' at the Welsh National Opera. These performances won him the

Royal Philharmonic Society The Royal Philharmonic Society (RPS) is a British music society, formed in 1813. Its original purpose was to promote performances of instrumental music in London. Many composers and performers have taken part in its concerts. It is now a memb ...

Award for the singer of the year. In 1997, Terfel made his

La Scala La Scala (, , ; officially , ) is a historic opera house in Milan, Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as (, which previously was Santa Maria della Scala, Milan, a church). The premiere performa ...

debut as Figaro. In 1998, he had a recital at

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...

, including works by

Wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the grey wolf or gray wolf, is a Canis, canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of Canis lupus, subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, includin ...

, Fauré, Brahms,

, and others. In 1999, he performed in Paris the title role of ''

'' for the first time and sang his first '' Falstaff'' at the

; the latter of which he reprised in the inaugural production at the newly refurbished Royal Opera House. In 1999, Terfel performed the

Rugby World Cup The Men's Rugby World Cup is a rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams, the winners of which are recognised as the World championship, world champions of the sport. The tournament is administer ...

anthem " World in Union" with

Shirley Bassey Dame Shirley Veronica Bassey (; born 8 January 1937) is a Welsh singer. Known for her career longevity, powerful voice and recording the James Bond music, theme songs to three James Bond films - the only artist to officially perform more than o ...

at the

Millennium Stadium The Millennium Stadium (), known since 2016 as the Principality Stadium () for sponsorship reasons, is the national stadium of Wales. Located in Cardiff, it has a retractable roof and is the home of the Wales national rugby union team; it has ...

before the 1999 Rugby World Cup Final.

2000s

In 2000, Terfel said he would like to record "an album of

arias". In 2003, Terfel hosted and performed on the stage with opera tenor

José Carreras Josep Maria Carreras Coll (; born 5 December 1946), better known as José Carreras (, ), is a Catalan operatic tenor from Spain who is particularly known for his performances in the operas of Donizetti, Verdi and Puccini. Born in Barcelona, ...

and soprano Hayley Westenra in front of a capacity crowd of 10,000 people at the Faenol Festival in Wales. In 2007, Terfel performed at the opening gala concert for the re-dedication of the

Salt Lake Tabernacle The Salt Lake Tabernacle, formerly known as the Mormon Tabernacle, is located on Temple Square in Salt Lake City, in the U.S. state of Utah. The Tabernacle was built from 1863 to 1875 to house meetings for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-d ...

with the

Mormon Tabernacle Choir The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square, formerly known as the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, is an American choir affiliated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). It has performed in the Salt Lake Tabernacle for o ...

on 6–7 April. Later, he performed the title role in a concert version of ''

Sweeney Todd Sweeney Todd is a fictional character who first appeared as the villain of the penny dreadful serial '' The String of Pearls'' (1846–1847). The original tale became a feature of 19th-century melodrama and London legend. A barber from Fleet St ...

'' that had four performances from 5–7 July at London's

Royal Festival Hall The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,700-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London, England. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge, in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is a G ...

. This idea came from Terfel, his fellow bass-baritone and friend, the Irishman Dermot Malone. Terfel has not shied away from popular music either. He has recorded CDs of songs by

Lerner and Loewe Lerner and Loewe is the partnership between lyricist and librettist Alan Jay Lerner and composer Frederick Loewe. Spanning three decades and nine musicals from 1942 to 1960 and again from 1970 to 1972, the pair are known for being behind the cr ...

and

Rodgers and Hammerstein Rodgers and Hammerstein was a theater-writing team of composer Richard Rodgers (1902–1979) and lyricist-dramatist Oscar Hammerstein II (1895–1960), who together created a series of innovative and influential American musicals. Their musical ...

. In 2001, he commissioned and performed ' Atgof o'r Sêr' ('Memory of the Stars') in the National Eisteddfod with the composer Robat Arwyn. In September 2007, Terfel withdrew, to severe criticism, from Covent Garden's ''

Der Ring des Nibelungen (''The Ring of the Nibelung''), WWV 86, is a cycle of four German-language epic music dramas composed by Richard Wagner. The works are based loosely on characters from Germanic heroic legend, namely Norse legendary sagas and the . The compo ...

'' when his six-year-old son required several operations on his finger. But he successfully returned to the Met in November 2007 to sing the role of Figaro. He told reporters in New York City that he would retire Figaro from his repertoire. But he sang the role of

Wotan (''The Ring of the Nibelung''), WWV 86, is a cycle of four German-language epic music dramas composed by Richard Wagner. The works are based loosely on characters from Germanic heroic legend, namely Norse legendary sagas and the . The compos ...

in Covent Garden's revival of ''Der Ring'' from September to November 2012. Terfel intended to take 2008 as a sabbatical from opera performances, but broke this to take the title role in WNO's revival of '' Falstaff''. He had sung in this production in 1993, when he played the role of Ford. In 2009, Terfel sang Scarpia and the Dutchman for the Royal Opera House.

Since 2010

In 2010, Terfel debuted as

Hans Sachs Hans Sachs (5 November 1494 – 19 January 1576) was a German ''Meistersinger'' ("mastersinger"), poetry, poet, playwright, and shoemaking, shoemaker. Biography Hans Sachs was born in Nuremberg (). As a child he attended a singing school that w ...

in Wagner's '' Die Meistersinger'' in a production for Welsh National Opera, in Cardiff and on tour. On 17 July 2010, the cast of this production gave a "concert staging" at the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272. Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...

as part of the 2010

BBC Proms The BBC Proms is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hall in central London. Robert Newman founded The Proms in 1895. Since 1927, the ...

, which was broadcast on

BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, Radio drama, drama, High culture, culture and the arts ...

and

BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002

television. On 31 July, again at the Proms, he performed in a concert from the Royal Albert Hall celebrating the works of

Stephen Sondheim Stephen Joshua Sondheim (; March22, 1930November26, 2021) was an American composer and lyricist. Regarded as one of the most important figures in 20th-century musical theater, he is credited with reinventing the American musical. He received Lis ...

, in his 80th birthday year. Terfel took on the role of Wotan for the premiere performances of

Robert Lepage Robert Lepage (born December 12, 1957) is a Canadian playwright, actor, film director, and stage director. Early life Lepage was raised in Quebec City. At age five, he was diagnosed with a rare form of alopecia, which caused complete hair lo ...

's new Met staging of Wagner's ''Der Ring,'' 2010–12. He sang the role in all three of the four ''Der Ring'' operas featuring Wotan: ''

'', ''

Die Walküre (; ''The Valkyrie''), Wagner-Werk-Verzeichnis, WWV 86B, is the second of the four epic poetry, epic music dramas that constitute Richard Wagner's Literary cycle, cycle ''Der Ring des Nibelungen'' (English: ''The Ring of the Nibelung''). It was ...

'' and ''

Siegfried Siegfried is a German-language male given name, composed from the Germanic elements ''sig'' "victory" and ''frithu'' "protection, peace". The German name has the Old Norse cognate ''Sigfriðr, Sigfrøðr'', which gives rise to Swedish ''Sigfrid' ...

''. In September 2013, Terfel collaborated with

released the album ''Homeward Bound'' which reached No. 58 on the Official UK Charts. In September 2014 Terfel reprised his role as

in the Live from Lincoln Center concert production of ''

'', which was broadcast on PBS. This production also starred

Emma Thompson Dame Emma Thompson (born 15 April 1959) is a British actress and screenwriter. Emma Thompson on screen and stage, Her work spans over four decades of screen and stage, and List of awards and nominations received by Emma Thompson, her accola ...

as Mrs Lovett, Philip Quast as Judge Turpin, and Audra McDonald as The Beggar Woman. Terfel, Thompson, and Quest reprised their roles in 2015 with the

opposite John Owen-Jones and Katie Hall as Pirelli and Johanna at the

London Coliseum The London Coliseum (also known as the Coliseum Theatre) is a theatre in St Martin's Lane, City of Westminster, Westminster, built as one of London's largest and most luxurious "family" variety theatres. Opened on 24 December 1904 as the Lond ...

. In 2016, Terfel took the title role in Mussorgsky's '' Boris Godunov'', directed by Antonio Pappano at the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is a theatre in Covent Garden, central London. The building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. The ROH is the main home of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, and the Orch ...

. On 6 May 2023, Terfel performed a setting in Welsh, by Paul Mealor, of Kyrie eleison at the

Coronation of Charles III and Camilla The Coronation of the British monarch, coronation of Charles III and his wife, Queen Camilla, Camilla, as Monarchy of the United Kingdom, king and List of British royal consorts, queen of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth re ...

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...

. This was the first time Welsh had been sung at a coronation service. On 7 May, he sang "

You'll Never Walk Alone "You'll Never Walk Alone" is a show tune from the 1945 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical '' Carousel''. In the second act of the musical, Nettie Fowler, the cousin of the protagonist Julie Jordan, sings "You'll Never Walk Alone" to comfort and e ...

" in a duet with

Andrea Bocelli Andrea Bocelli (; born 22 September 1958) is an Italian tenor. He rose to fame in 1994 after winning the newcomers' section of the 44th Sanremo Music Festival performing " Il mare calmo della sera". Since 1994, Bocelli has recorded 15 solo st ...

at the Coronation Concert at

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a List of British royal residences, royal residence at Windsor, Berkshire, Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, about west of central London. It is strongly associated with the Kingdom of England, English and succee ...

. In February 2024, Terfel released a new album, ''Sea Songs'', on

. In 2025, Terfel was one of the coaches in '' Y Llais'', a Welsh-language version of ''

The Voice UK ''The Voice UK'' is a British singing reality competition television series. Created by John de Mol and Roel van Velzen, it premiered on BBC One on 24 March 2012. Based on the original Dutch singing competition '' The Voice of Holland'', and ...

''.

Personal life

Terfel was married to his childhood sweetheart, Lesley, in 1987 until their divorce in 2013. The marriage produced three children. In 2017, Terfel and harpist Hannah Stone had a daughter. The couple married on 26 July 2019 at Caersalem Newydd Baptist Church in the bride's home city of Swansea. Terfel was a leading petitioner in creating Bontnewydd railway station on the rebuilt

Welsh Highland Railway The Welsh Highland Railway (WHR; ) is a restored Narrow-gauge railway, narrow-gauge heritage railway in the Welsh county of Gwynedd. It runs from Caernarfon to Porthmadog, and passes through a number of popular tourist destinations includi ...

and in part sponsored its construction.

Partial solo discography

*''Bryn Terfel – Volume I'' (1988) *''Bryn Terfel – Volume II'' (1990) *''The Vagabond and Other Songs by Vaughan Williams, Butterworth, Finzi and Ireland'' (1995) *''Something Wonderful'' (1996) *''Handel Arias'' (1997) *'' We'll Keep a Welcome'' (2000) *''Some Enchanted Evening'' (2001) *''Under the Stars'' (2003), with

Renée Fleming Renée Lynn Fleming (born February 14, 1959) is an American soprano and actress, known for performances in opera, concerts, recordings, theater, film, and at major public occasions. A recipient of the National Medal of Arts, Fleming has been nom ...

*''Bryn'' (2003) *''Simple Gifts'' (2005) *''Tutto Mozart!'' (2006) *''First Love'' (2008), songs from the British Isles *''Carols and Christmas Songs'' (2010) *''Homeward Bound'' (2013), with the

*''Dreams and Songs'' (2018) *''Sea Songs'' (2024)

Welsh albums

File:Bryn Terfel Cyfrol 1 - Volume 1, album cover.jpg, Sain (Recordings) Ltd; 1988 File:Schwanengesang, album cover.jpg, left, Sain (Recordings) Ltd; 1990 File:Cyfrol 2 - Volume 2, album cover.jpg, Sain (Recordings) Ltd; 1990 File:Caneuon Meirion Williams - The Songs Of Meirion Williams, album cover.jpg, Sain (Recordings) Ltd; 1993 File:Hafan Gobaith - Another Day, album cover.jpg, Sain (Recordings) Ltd; 1995 File:Hafan Gobaith - Another Day 2003, album cover.jpg, Sain (Recordings) Ltd; 2003 File:Benedictus, album cover.jpg, Sain (Recordings) Ltd; 2005

Videography

* '' James Levine's 25th Anniversary Metropolitan Opera Gala'' (1996), Deutsche Grammophon DVD, B0004602-09

Honours and awards

Terfel continues to be a patron of the Welsh language and Welsh culture, facets of his life which are largely unknown outside his native Wales. Terfel has been awarded the honour, by the

National Eisteddfod The National Eisteddfod of Wales ( Welsh: ') is the largest of several eisteddfodau that are held annually, mostly in Wales. Its eight days of competitions and performances are considered the largest music and poetry festival in Europe. Competito ...

, of membership of the Gorsedd of Bards. The Gorsedd was created in 1792 as a celebration of Welsh heritage, and inductees are considered to have contributed to Welsh culture. * Morriston Orpheus Choir Supporters' Association (MOCSA) Young Welsh Singer of the Year (1988) *

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(2003) * Queen's Medal for Music (2006) * Honorary Fellow of

Jesus College, Oxford Jesus College (in full: Jesus College in the University of Oxford of Queen Elizabeth's Foundation) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship ...

(2008) *Honorary Doctorate in Music,

Bangor University Bangor University () is a Public university, public Research university, research university in Bangor, Gwynedd, Wales. It was established by Royal charter, Royal Charter in 1885 as the University College of North Wales (UCNW; ), and in 1893 ...

(2012) *Honorary Doctorate in Music,

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music (RCM) is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including pe ...

(2012) * Austrian

Kammersänger Kammersänger (male; ) or Kammersängerin (female; ), abbreviated Ks. or KS, is a German Title of honor, honorific title for distinguished singers of opera and classical music. It literally means "chamber singer". Historically, the title was besto ...

(2022) In 2006, the

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

-based Alfred Toepfer Foundation awarded Terfel its annual Shakespeare Prize in recognition of his life's work. Terfel was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

in the 2017 New Year Honours for services to music. Terfel is also president of the Welsh homelessness charity Shelter Cymru and is patron of Bobath Children's Therapy Centre Wales, a registered charity based in Cardiff which provides specialist Bobath therapy to children from all over Wales who have

cerebral palsy Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of movement disorders that appear in early childhood. Signs and symptoms vary among people and over time, but include poor coordination, spasticity, stiff muscles, Paresis, weak muscles, and tremors. There may b ...

. Terfel is a vice president of the Dunvant Male Choir in Swansea, the oldest continuously singing Welsh choir, dating from 1895. The choir sang at Terfel's wedding in 2019.

Faenol Festival

In 2000 Terfel founded the Faenol Festival (known in Welsh as "Gŵyl y Faenol"), at the Faenol Estate near

Snowdonia Snowdonia, or Eryri (), is a mountainous region and National parks of the United Kingdom, national park in North Wales. It contains all 15 mountains in Wales Welsh 3000s, over 3000 feet high, including the country's highest, Snowdon (), which i ...

, Wales. Billed as "Bryn Terfel's Faenol Festival" (often referred to as "BrynFest") turned into an annual music festival featuring internationally famous opera singers as well as popular Welsh artists. In the same year he released ''We'll Keep a Welcome – The Welsh Album'', an anthology of favourite traditional songs. The festival had been voted a £250,000 grant by the

Welsh Assembly The Senedd ( ; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and () in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, Its role is to scrutinise the Welsh Government and legislate on devolve ...

, but did not take place in 2009 or 2010 and ended as of 2010. Subsequently, the 2012 Faenol Festival took place in London.

Operatic repertoire

Terfel has performed the following roles on stage:

References

External links

Bryn Terfel at Official Deutsche Grammophon site

www.brynfest.com Faenol Festival

Bryn Terfel biography from BBC Wales
{{DEFAULTSORT:Terfel, Bryn 1965 births Alumni of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama Bards of the Gorsedd Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Grammy Award winners Honorary members of the Royal Academy of Music Living people People from Caernarfonshire Operatic bass-baritones Welsh Eisteddfod winners 20th-century Welsh male opera singers 21st-century Welsh male opera singers Welsh-language singers Welsh bass-baritones Deutsche Grammophon artists People educated at Ysgol Dyffryn Nantlle Knights Bachelor Singers awarded knighthoods Österreichischer Kammersänger

Biography

Career

1990s

2000s

Since 2010

Personal life

Partial solo discography

Welsh albums

Videography

Honours and awards

Faenol Festival

Operatic repertoire

See also

References

External links