BRYN TERFEL - Welsh opera star - Meet Me At The Opera

BRYN TERFEL :’Being an opera singer is easy’ in interview with The Telegraph.

Bass-baritone, father, golfer, fine-wine collector and MUFC supporter: www.brynterfelfoundation.org
Bryn Terfel, the world’s most in-demand baritone, barely has a day off in the next five years.Welsh opera star bass-baritone BRYN TERFEL is a Grammy, Classical Brit and Gramophone Award winner with a discography encompassing operas of Mozart, Wagner and Strauss and more than fifteen solo discs including Lieder, American musical theatre, Welsh songs and sacred repertory. In 2003, Bryn received a CBE for his services to Opera and in 2006 was awarded the Queen’s Medal for Music. He is also the last recipient of the Shakespeare Prize by the Alfred Toepfer Foundation, Hamburg. Bryn Terfel is one of the most sought after international voices, Welsh bass-baritone Bryn Terfel is a frequent visitor to all the major opera companies and concert halls in the world. He first became well known for his portrayal of Figaro and Falstaff but in recent years he is acclaimed for his performances of Wagnerian roles such as Wotan, Hans Sachs and Der Fliegende Höllander.

Welsh bass-baritone Bryn Terfel has been awarded a knighthood for services to music in the New Year’s Honours 2017.

‘I’m immensely proud to accept this, and I think of my family, I think of my sons, I think of my fans, I think of the great British public’, said the singer of the honour.

BRYN TERFEL

“Majestic in voice, massive in stature” “Vocally, Terfel has it all – a resounding instrument, huge when it has to be, capable of infinite shades of colour, from shimmering pianissimi to heroic climaxes capable of shaking the very hall in which he sings” “Mr. Terfel loves words, loves the sounds of words and loves giving them to his audience in huge bunches of variegated colors.”

Welsh bass-baritone Bryn Terfel has performed in all the great opera houses of the world, and is especially recognized for his portrayals of Figaro, Falstaff and Wotan. He made his operatic début in 1990 as Guglielmo in Così fan tutte for Welsh National Opera. His international operatic career began in 1991 when he sang the Speaker in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte at the Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels and in the same year he made his United States début as Figaro at the Santa Fe Opera. Other roles performed during his career include 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, Reb Tevye in The Fiddler on the Roof 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, BBC Last Night of the Proms, and the Royal Variety Show to a Gala Concert with Andrea Bocelli in Central Park, New York. He has given recitals all around the world and for nine years hosted his own festival in Faenol, North Wales.

In 2015, to mark his 50th birthday and twenty five years in the profession, Bryn performed in a Gala Concert at the Royal Albert Hall, London and in a concert performance of Tosca at the Wales Millennium Centre. He was also given The Freedom of the City of London. Operatic highlights in 2015 included his debut in the role of Reb Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof for Grange Park Opera, the Title Role in Sweeney Todd for English National Opera and Méphistophélès in Damnation of Faust for Opera de Paris.

Highlights in 2016 include his début in the role of Boris Godunov for the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, recitals in North America and concerts in festivals throughout Europe. In the 16/17 season he will perform Scarpia in Paris and Berlin, Han Sachs at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden and Dulcamara and Wotan for Vienna State Opera.

“A born communicator who loves words as much as music, he has reached out to audiences way beyond the rarefied temples of opera house and recital hall . . . ”
(The Times, London, August 2008)

Born in North Wales in 1965, Bryn Terfel entered London’s Guildhall School of Music in 1984, studying first with Arthur Reckless and later with Rudolf Piernay. In 1988 he won the Kathleen Ferrier Memorial Scholarship and the following year graduated from the Guildhall, receiving the school’s Gold Medal. Shortly after that he represented Wales in the “Singer of the World” Competition in Cardiff and launched his career by winning the lieder prize.

BRYN TERFEL Season 2017:
11/01/2017 Soloist in the Elbphilharmonie Opening with Anja Harteros, Philippe Jarousssky, Jonas Kaufmann, Wiebke Lehmkuhl and the NDR

Elbphilharmonie Orchester at the Elbphilharmonie Großer Saal, Hamburg, Germany

BRYN TERFEL

12/01/2017 Soloist in the Elbphilharmonie Opening with Anja Harteros, Philippe Jarousssky, Jonas Kaufmann, Wiebke Lehmkuhl and the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester at the Elbphilharmonie Großer Saal, Hamburg, Germany
20/01/2017 Title Role in a concert performance of Falstaff with Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen, conducted by Daniel Harding at Philharmonie Gasteig, Munich
22/01/2017 Title Role in a concert performance of Falstaff with Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen, conducted by Daniel Harding at Philharmonie Gasteig, Munich
11/03/2017 Hans Sachs in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden
15/03/2017 Hans Sachs in Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden
19/03/2017 Hans Sachs in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden
22/03/2017 Hans Sachs in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden
25/03/2017 Hans Sachs in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden
28/03/2017 Hans Sachs in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden
31/03/2017 Hans Sachs in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden
30/04/2017 Wotan in Das Rheingold for Wiener Staatsoper at the Wiener Staatsoper GmbH, Opernring 2
01/05/2017 Wotan in Die Walküre for Wiener Staatsoper at the Wiener Staatsoper GmbH, Opernring 2
07/05/2017 Der Wanderer in Siegfried for Wiener Staatsoper at the Wiener Staatsoper GmbH, Opernring 2
20/05/2017 Wotan in Das Rheingold for Wiener Staatsoper at the Wiener Staatsoper GmbH, Opernring 2
21/05/2017 Wotan in Die Walküre for Wiener Staatsoper at the Wiener Staatsoper GmbH, Opernring 2
28/05/2017 Der Wanderer in Siegfried for Wiener Staatsoper at the Wiener Staatsoper GmbH, Opernring 2
31/05/2017 Performs in Recital under the accompaniment of Eugene Asti at Kulturpalast, Dresdner Musikfestspiele
03/06/2017 Soloist in concert with Tatiana Serjan and the Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale, conducted by Antonio Pappano at Grosses Festspielhaus, Salzburg. 15:00
08/06/2017 Soloist in a Classical Spectacular with Australian soprano Lauren Fagan and the BSO Concert Orchestra, conducted by Gareth Jones at Upton House and Country Park, Poole
16/06/2017
Bryn Terfel, Zenaida Yanowsky and pianist Iain Burnside present an intimate evening to open Grange Park Opera’s new season in their new opera house.

22/06/2017 Dulcamara in L’Elisir d’Amore for Wiener Staatsoper at the Wiener Staatsoper GmbH, Opernring 2
25/06/2017 Dulcamara in L’Elisir d’Amore for Wiener Staatsoper at the Wiener Staatsoper GmbH, Opernring 2
28/06/2017 Dulcamara in L’Elisir d’Amore for Wiener Staatsoper at the Wiener Staatsoper GmbH, Opernring 2
06/07/2017 Performs in Recital with Caradog Williams at Cheltenham Town Hall, Imperial Square, Cheltenham, GL50 1QA. 19:30
10/07/2017
Presents a programme of ‘Bad Boy’ Arias with the Philharmonic Orchestra of Radio France and the chorus of Avignon, Monte-Carlo and Nice Opera in the Antic Theater, Choregies D’Orange. 21:45.

Contact: Artist Manager: Matthew Todd matthew.todd@harlequin-agency.co.uk
Assistant: Carys Davies carys.davies@harlequin-agency.co.uk http://harlequin-agency.co.uk/index.php?page=12&action=details&id=50 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/10227815/Bryn-Terfel-interview-Being-an-opera-singer-is-easy.html

Bryn Terfel and Antonio Pappano on what makes Boris Godunov a masterpiece (The Royal Opera):

Bryn Terfel – Bad Boys (Trailer):

Bryn Terfel – Madamina (Don Giovani, Mozart):

Non piu andrai (Le nozze di Figaro) – Bryn Terfel

Stephen Fry interviews Bryn Terfel at the BBC Proms 2010:

Bryn Terfel & Andrea Bocelli pearl fishers duet:

BRYN TERFEL’s recent reviews:

TOSCA
Scarpia in Tosca for Opéra National de Paris, September 2016
Classique News
A leurs côtés, Bryn Terfel est un fabuleux Scarpia, grand et méchant mais pas moche! Il a une prestance magnétique qui inspire la terreur et l’admiration. Son chant est grand.
Semi-Staged Concert Performance of Tosca at the Wales Millennium Centre, November 2015
The Arts Desk
Terfel, in his most powerful voice, dominated the stage with this Scarpia that is demonice without quite growing horns and a forked tail.
Scarpia in Tosca for the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden
The Telegraph

BRYN TERFEL

What lifted the proceedings to another plane, however, was Bryn Terfel’s magnificently creepy, immaculately vocalized Scarpia. As a study in the poisonous but charismatic combination of sexual allure and psychotic sadism, it can’t have been equalled since Tito Gobbi’s heyday.
Scarpia in Tosca for Bayerische Staatsoper
Musicalcriticism.com
Bryn Terfel’s Scarpia was deliciously loathsome, parading a disdainful arrogance that sneered at all the lower forms of life and relishing the suffering he inflicted on them.

BORIS GODUNOV
Title Role in Boris Godunov for the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, March 2016
The Guardian
Terfel makes his character unusually sympathetic. His voice may not be ideally dark or sonorous enough for such a definitively Russian role, but his singing is so carefully phrased and nuanced that it hardly matters.
Title Role in Boris Godunov for the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, March 2016
The Times
Bryn Terfel’s mesmerising Boris is first among equals in a terrific cast.

LA DAMNATION DE FAUST
Méphistophélès in La Damnation de Faust with Opera National de Paris
Opern Welt
Bryn Terfel singt Méphisto mit dosiertem Volumen, sein Bariton strömt beste-chend klar, jedes Wort des Textes ist verständlich, bis in die letzte Lautnuance durchdrungen, eine Vorstellung von fesselnder Präsenz.

FIDDLER ON THE ROOF
Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof for Grange Park Opera, June 2015
Financial Times
Terfel’s Tevye. Big of personality, huge of voice, he brings Tevye to life on a positively Wagnerian scale, part Dutchman (the wandering Jew), part Hans Sachs (loving, wise, forgiving), part Wotan (powerless leader of his clan) – a giant performance in tiny Grange Park.
Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof for Grange Park Opera, June 2015
The Times
The casting of the Welsh opera star Bryn Terfel as Tevye is an emphatic success. His Tevye is earthy, intelligent, and huge-hearted.
Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof for Grange Park Opera, June 2015
The Telegraph
Burly and bearded, he looks the part comfortably and sings throughout with ease and clarity- ‘If I were a rich man’ is nicely dispatched, without mugging or over-selling the sly humour.
Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof for Grange Park Opera, June 2015
The Observer
Forget Mozart, Verdi, Wagner or the many other operatic composers that have made Terfel famous. He has always understood musical theatre. He can act. He has a vital understanding of text and sings with heart. As he showed recently in Sweeney Todd, he can rein in his voice and in so doing enhance the efforts of others. With only a hint of pathos, he rolled his magnificent voice round If I Were a Rich man as if every syllable counted, and won our hearts.
Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof for Grange Park Opera, June 2015
Music OMH
Terfel does not disappoint as he know how to shape his voice to suit particular part. That alone is enough to create a strong performance, and so the fact that it is backed by such a world class bass-baritone instrument feels almost like a bonus. His acting is also highly engaging and he nails ‘If I were a rich man’.
SWEENEY TODD
Title Role in Sweeney Todd for English National Opera at the London Coliseum, March 2015
The Guardian
Terfel’s tones have a heroic lustre. Terfel is also a strong actor.
Title Role in Sweeney Todd for English National Opera at the London Coliseum, March 2015
The Telegraph
At the London Coliseum, on the other hand, a whacking great banquet is on offer, with a cast led by a major film star in Emma Thompson and a Wagnerian heavyweight in Bryn Terfel. Terfel’s Demon Barber may be a familiar quantity in London, but he continues to command the role with a laconic intensity which makes Todd’s monomania all the more mesmerising. Singing with steely restraint and a welcome lack of rasp or rant, he portrays a Byronic wanderer, with a tormented inner life.
Title Role in Sweeney Todd for English National Opera at the London Coliseum, March 2015
Digital Spy
Terfel deserves high acclaim for his powerful interpretation of Sweeney Todd. Both menacing and childlike, it is almost impossible to take your eyes off him whenever he is on stage. He is a truly huge talent, in every sense of the word.
Title Role in Sweeney Todd for English National Opera at the London Coliseum, March 2015

BRYN TERFEL

The Guardian
Terfel has electrifying presence and makes the rest of the West End cast seem better, bigger, more compelling. He maintains absolute vocal control and physical stillness. In Pretty Women, in Johanna, and so too in his own, final Ballad of Sweeney Todd, his voice is velvet smooth and beautiful.
Title Role in Sweeney Todd for English National Opera at the London Coliseum, March 2015
whatsonstage.com
The best-sung Sweeney of all time. His voice has a rumbling rage and range that’s simply thrilling to hear.
Title Role in Sweeney Todd at the Lincoln Center, New York, March 2014
The New York Times
His [Bryn Terfel] rich, pitch-dark voice soared into the auditorium with an enveloping intensity, filling the hall with Sweeney’s thundering avowals of vengeance for the brutal treatment of his beloved wife.
Title Role in Sweeney Todd for the Lyric Opera of Chicago, 2002
The New York Times
The Welsh bass-baritone Bryn Terfel may have been born to sing a lot of roles, Wotan among them. But it would be difficult to imagine a more perfect marriage of role, voice and stage personality than his performance of the Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Mr. Terfel is a true bass-baritone, rolling out sonorous, ominous rivers of sound. Furthermore, his larger-than-life frame and personality suit the character to perfection.
DER FLIEGENDE HOLLANDER
Title Role in Der Fliegende Hollander for Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, February 2015
The Telegraph
Bryn Terfel has been singing the Dutchman intermittently for nearly a decade now, and his reading of the character has continually matured – a baleful Byronic presence, he does more with less histrionically, suggesting a man whose anger and remorse smoulders rather than blazes. The agonized opening monologue is sung with an intense restraint along a firmly sculpted line, and he remains rock-steady when the orchestra is all thunder and lightning.
Title Role in Der Fliegende Hollander for Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, February 2015
The Guardian
Bryn Terfel returns to the title role, and again brings to it a compelling intensity.
Der Fliegende Hollander at the Festival Hall with the Zurich Opera, December 2012
The Times
When Bryn Terfel is in this form you wonder whether anyone has ever sung Wagner with more power, passion, dramatic flair or vocal energy. Simply the way that he uses those pungent German consonants to convey anger, sardonic self-loathing, momentary hope or nihilistic despair is a masterclass. But this portrayal had far more than magnificent technique; it seemed to embody the seared soul of the doomed Dutchman.
Title Role in Der Fliegender Hollander for the Royal Opera House, February 2009
Financial Times
It is not just that the vocal range suits him perfectly, or the deep resonance of his voice, but how his quiet singing plumbs the Dutchman’s agony fathoms-deep where the other singers no not reach.
Title Role in Der Fliegende Hollander for Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, February 2009
Online review London.com
In well-articulated German and with masterful vocal control he was able to express, at once, dignity, defiance, torment and overwhelming longing for a woman who would save him from his curse. He was menacing and tender, brooding and haunted, exhauseted by his destiny, and yet full of hope.
Title Role in Der Fliegende Hollander for Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, February 2009
Financial Times
It is not just that the vocal range suits him perfectly, or the deep resonance of his voice, but how his quiet singing plumbs the Dutchman’s agony fathoms-deep where the other singers no not reach.

L’ELISIR D’AMORE
Dulcamara in L’Elisir d’Amore for the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, November 2014
Wales Online
Terfel makes light work of the patter requirements and other vocal requirements of the role. What sets him apart is the ease in anything that he selects combined with just splendid comic timing. Here as a rather grubby quack doctor Terfel somehow manages to create a character who is both rather seedy and exploitative but hugely likeable.
Dulcamara in L’Elisir d’Amore for the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, October 2014
The Times
Within seconds of Bryn Terfel’s arrival on stage at the Royal Opera House as Doctor Dulcamara, the travelling salesman with a cure for every ailment (spoiler: they’re all bogus), he has threatened to steal the show just by the way he exits his battered old lorry, in a grubby avalanche of snotty hankies, sweet wrappers and accumulated filth.
Dulcamara in L’Elisir d’Amore for the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, October 2014
Backtrack
Terfel played the Covent Garden audience like a fiddle and his antics constantly drew the eye.

FAUST
Mephistopheles in Faust for Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, April 2014
The Telegraph
His characterization was electrifying throughout: what a wonderful operatic actor he is.
DIE MEISTERSINGER VON NÜRNBERG
Hans Sachs in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg for Welsh National Opera, June 2010
Financial Times
Bryn Terfel singing his first Hans Sachs, exceeded expectations, delighting the home crowd with his stage presence and wrap-around vocal charm. He strides the stage like a gentle giant, oozing generosity, wisdom and masculine maturity. Terfel inhabits the German text from within and boasts stamina to spare, inspiring everyone.
Hans Sachs in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg for Welsh National Opera, June 2010
The Telegraph
Bryn Terfel sang his first Sachs. It was no disappointment: the central monologues were superbly declaimed, and the man’s suppressed anger at the stupidity surrounding him was as powerfully drawn as his rueful wisdom
Hans Sachs in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg for Welsh National Opera, June 2010
The Times
Everyone expected Bryn Terfel to dominate as Hans Sachs and he does. Terfel sings thrillingly, unleashing spine-tingling vocal reserves at the very point where most Sachses wilt.
Hans Sachs in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg for Welsh National Opera, June 2010
Western Mail
Terfel played a psychologically multi-faceted Hans Sachs, as singer and actor balanced the requirements of power and gentleness.
Hans Sachs in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg for Welsh National Opera, June 2010
The Arts Desk
Hans Sachs in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg for Welsh National Opera, June 2010
WAGNER’S RING
Wotan in Das Rheingold for Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, 2012
FT.com
Gloriously sung, imposingly played as the patrician leader of a dying breed, Terfel’s Wotan is a match for any, past or present. His ability to sing quietly and look intimately into his character’s heart provides a depth of understanding.
Die Walkure for the Metropolitan Opera, New York
SF Gate
The Welsh bass-baritone creates a Wotan of tremendous power and poignancy, a God, keenly aware of his own imminent demise and helpless to stop it. The role is an endurance test for any singer, and Terfel at times pushes his voice to its limits, but never quite over. He ends his long scene of farewell to Brunnhilde in Act 3 sounding as fresh as when the evening started.
GIANNI SCHICCHI
Title Role in Gianni Schicchi for the Royal Opera House
Evening Standard
The title role might have been made for Bryn Terfel, physically dominant, soaring over the orchestra with ease. His comic timing is immaculate, every flicker of an eyebrow bristling with wit and purpose; sly, oafish, hilarious, cunning.
CONCERTS / RECITALS
Title Role in a concert performance of Falstaff at Verbier Festival, July 2016
Opera
Terfel is a great ensemble player, generous with his experience and careful not to overshadow his fellow cast members, and still sounds miraculously fresh in the long sung passages and nimble in the pater even though it’s been 17 years since his first Falstaff. The role fits him like a glove; he can switch the mood from comedy to cruelty with the lift of an eyebrow or the curl of a lip, and the sight of the formerly great Sir John squeezed into a grey jersey ‘onesie’ after his ducking in the Thames provoked a wave of sympathy before the laughter began.
Llangollen Eisteddfod’s 70th Gala Concert, July 2016
The Daily Post
Llangollen Eisteddfod’s 70th gala concert was an electrifying display of range, power and subtlety from opera superstar Bryn Terfel. The bass-baritone from Pant Glas, a favourite with Llangollen Eisteddfod audiences, was on top form as he sang operatic arias, songs from musical theatre and a hymn written by local-born composer W. S. Gwyn Williams. He thrilled the audience with a powerful rendition of Abendlich strahlt der Sonne Auge as the Wotan of Wagner’s Das Rheingold and delighted them with his version of If I were a rich man from musical Fiddler on the Roof. His characterisation showed clearly what a wonderful operatic actor he is. This was a concert that will live long in the memory. Bravo!
Recital at Ozawa Hall, Tanglewood with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, July 2015
The Classical Review
There is little doubt that Bryn Terfel remains one of the most versatile performers on the music scene today. But it is in the intimate world of the art song where Terfel’s talents as singer and actor can be at their most poignant, and he is capable of mining drama even from smaller works. That was the case Thursday night at Tanglewood’s Ozawa Hall, where the singer offered bracing accounts of songs by German, French and Welsh composers. The latter was a rare treat and provided some of the evening’s most colourful musical moments.
Recital at Ozawa Hall, Tanglewood with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, July 2015
The Boston Musical Intelligencer
Recitals by the great Welsh bass-baritone Bryn Terfel have evolved, over the years; into love-ins. Audiences adore Bryn, and no wonder. He has a powerfully beautiful voice, is a charismatic actor, and has enough charm for a dozen singers. Bryn is a real stage animal, and if allowed, he would happily keep his programs going until well into the night. Surely, nothing would make his audiences happier.
Act 3, Walküre, Wales Millennium Centre, April 2015
Arts Scene in Wales
Bryn singing the god Wotan with cracklingly intense pronunciation
Act 3, Walküre, Wales Millennium Centre, April 2015
Wales Arts Review
In superb voice, Terfel embodied with every musical and physical gesture this towering and complex character, whose unresolveable, often self-made dilemmas lie at the heart of the entireRing.
Act 3, Walküre, Wales Millennium Centre, April 2015
The Guardian
Terfel, both demonic and tender, nuancing words with the artistry that gives his every phrase and gesture a vibrant immediacy, was in commanding form.
Concert at Leeuwin Estate Winery, Australia, March 2015
The West Australian
Bryn Terfel was cruising on Saturday night. His voice rose effortlessly from that barrel chest and out through whiskery jaws to punch the cool night air. Terfel delivered his material with a confident cheeky charm
Broadway Classics Concert with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, March 2015
The Age
A relaxed Terfel strutted the stage, clearly enjoying giving out favourites such as If I Were a Rich Man, Oh What a Beautiful Morning and I’ve Got Plenty O’Nuttin. Becalmed for a trio of Irish and Welsh folk songs including Danny Boy and All Through the Night, Terfel proved it’s all about the voice, showing exquisite control.
Broadway Classics Concert with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, March 2015
Simon Parris: Man in Chair
From the outset, a hallmark of Terfel’s style was his relaxed, amiable stage manner. It was clear that he was extremely well rehearsed, knowing the songs inside out, yet he made each number seem spontaneous and fresh, as if not only the sentiments of the lyrics but also the dynamics and tempo of the music were just occurring to him as he went along.
‘Bad Boys’ Scandinavian Concert Tour
Hufudstadsbladet, Helsinki
The roof at Finlandia lifted already during the first aria at Bryn Terfel ‘s concert. His strong personality and intelligent analysis of lyrics and music is extremely entertaining and irresistible. Add ingenious choice of repertoire. What makes Bryn Terfel stand out compared to other baritones? It’s of course his personality: a contrasting mix of a big “brutal” man with a formidable voice, a sensible soul with an extremely intelligent sense of humor and an accomplished musician with a flair for nuances and sophisticated interpretation of lyrics. He sounds great on his records, but live he is so much better.
Recital at Carnegie Hall, New York
The New York Times
Mr. Terfel loves words, loves the sounds of words and loves giving them to his audience in huge bunches of variegated colors. He can roar – with pain, with pleasure, with fierce indignation, filling the hall with full, strong tone. But he can also coo and purr at an extreme pianissimo, making a sound that stays audible only because there is so much in it to feel, as well as to hear.
Recital at the Esplanade Concert Hall, Singapore
Today
Vocally, Terfel has it all – a resounding instrument, huge when it has to be, capable of infinite shades of colour, from shimmering pianissimi to heroic climaxes capable of shaking the very hall in which he sings…. The words were married perfectly to the music, evoking the silence and earthiness of the English countryside….In ending with Schubert’s Litanei auf das Fest Aller Seelen, Terfel again showed his consummate artistry and possibility for greatness in Lieder, completing quietly an evening that had been pure enjoyment.
Last Night of the Proms at the Royal Albert Hall, London
The Times
Majestic in voice, massive in stature, Bryn Terfel effortlessly hijacked the Last Night of the Proms.