Bryn Terfel Jones CBE
(; born 9 November 1965) is a Welsh bass-baritone opera and concert singer. Terfel was initially associated with the roles of Mozart, particularly Figaro and Leporello, but he has expanded his repertoire to include heavier roles, especially those by Wagner.
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BRYN TERFEL TICKETS
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Biography
Bryn Terfel Jones was born in
Pant Glas, North Wales, the son of a farmer. He knew of another Welsh baritone named
Bryn Jones, so Terfel chose Bryn Terfel as his professional name. Terfel had an interest in and talent for music from a very 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 where he studied under
Rudolf Piernay. He graduated in 1989, winning both the Kathleen Ferrier Memorial Award and the Gold Medal. He came in second behind
Dmitri Hvorostovsky in the Cardiff
BBC Singer of the World Competition the same year, though he won the
Lieder Prize.
Career
In 1990, Terfel made his operatic début as Guglielmo in
Così fan tutte
at the
Welsh National Opera, and later in the same season he sang the title role in
The Marriage of Figaro
, a role with which he made his debut with the
English National Opera in 1991. His international operatic career began that same year when he sang the Speaker in
Mozart's
Die Zauberflöte
at the
Théâtre de la Monnaie in
Brussels and made his United States début as Figaro at the
Santa Fe Opera.
In 1992, he made his
Royal Opera House,
Covent Garden début as Masetto in
Don Giovanni
, with
Thomas Allen in the title role. That same year Terfel made his
Salzburg Easter Festival debut singing the role of the Spirit Messenger in
Die Frau ohne Schatten
. This was followed by an international breakthrough at the main Salzburg Festival when he sang Jochanaan in
Strauss's Salome
. Terfel went on to make his début as Figaro at the
Vienna State Opera and his debut at
Covent Garden as Masetto in
Don Giovanni
. That year, he also signed an exclusive
recording contract with
Deutsche Grammophon, 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 and sang Figaro to acclaim at the
Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris.
[1] Terfel has said that he would like to record "an album of Gilbert and Sullivan arias".
[2] [3]
In 1994, Terfel sang Figaro at Covent Garden, and made both his
Metropolitan Opera and
Teatro Nacional de São Carlos débuts in the same role. He also sang
Mahler's
Eighth Symphony
at the
Ravinia Festival under the baton of
James Levine. However, back surgery in 1994 (and again in 2000) prevented him from performing in several scheduled events. In 1996, Terfel expanded his repertoire to include Wagner, singing Wolfram in
Tannhäuser
at the Metropolitan Opera, and
Stravinsky, singing Nick Shadow in
The Rake's Progress
at the Welsh National Opera.
In 1997, Terfel made his
La Scala début as Figaro. In 1998, Bryn had a recital at
Carnegie Hall which included works by
Wolf,
Fauré,
Brahms,
Schumann,
Schubert, and others. In 1999, Terfel performed in Paris the title role of
Don Giovanni
for the first time and sang his first
Falstaff
at the
Lyric Opera of Chicago; the latter of which he reprised in the inaugural production at the newly refurbished
Royal Opera House.
In 2007, Terfel performed at the opening gala concert for the re-dedication of the
Salt Lake Tabernacle with the
Mormon Tabernacle Choir on April 6-7. Later, Terfel performed the title role in a concert version of
Sweeney Todd
that had four performances from July 5 to July 7 at London's
Royal Festival Hall. This was the idea of he and his fellow Irish bass-baritone friend Dermot Malone.
[4]
Terfel has not shied away from popular music either. He has recorded CDs of songs by Lerner and Loewe and Rodgers and Hammerstein. In 2001 he commissioned and performed
Atgof o'r Ser ('The Memory of Stars') in the National Eisteddfod with the composer
Robat Arwyn.
In September 2007, Terfel withdrew to severe criticism from Covent Garden's
Ring Cycle
when his six-year-old son required several operations on his finger. But the singer did successfully return to the Met in November 2007 to sing the role of Figaro.
[5] He told reporters in
New York that he will now retire Figaro from his repertoire.
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 sang in this production in 1993, when he played the role of Ford.
[6]
In 2009 Terfel will sing Scarpia and the Dutchman for the Royal Opera House.
[7] [8]
Personal life
He is married to his childhood sweetheart, Lesley; the couple have three children: Tomos, Morgan, and Deio Sion. In September 2007, Terfel drew criticism after pulling out from Covent Garden's
Ring Cycle
when his six-year-old son Deio had to have three operations on a badly broken finger.
[9]
The family lives in
Bontnewydd, near
Caernarfon,
Gwynedd. Terfel was a leading petitioner in the creation of
Bontnewydd railway station on the rebuilt
Welsh Highland Railway, and in part sponsored its construction.
Honours and awards
Terfel has been awarded the honour, by the
Eisteddfod, of becoming a member of the
Gorsedd of Bards. Created in 1792 as celebration of Welsh heritage, Gorsedd inductees are considered to have contributed to Welsh culture.
In 2003, Terfel became a
Commander of the Order of the British Empire, receiving the honour from the
Prince of Wales. In 2006, he became the second recipient of the Queen's Medal for Music (the previous recipient was conductor Sir
Charles Mackerras). In 2008, he was appointed an
Honorary Fellow of
Jesus College, Oxford.
[10]
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.
Faenol Festival
Starting in 2000, Terfel started the Faenol Festival near
Snowdonia in
Wales. Billed as "Bryn Terfel's
Faenol Festival" (often referred to as "BrynFest" or known locally in
Welsh as "Gwyl Y Faenol"), it 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.
Operatic repertoire
These are the roles that Terfel has performed on stage
[11]
Composer
| Opera
| Role
| In repertoire
| Recorded
|
Britten
| Peter Grimes
| Balstrode
| 1995
| No
|
Donizetti
| L'elisir d'amore
| Dulcamara
| 2001
| No
|
Gounod
| Faust
| Mephistopheles
| 2004
| No
|
Mozart
| Così fan tutte
| Guglielmo
| 1991
| No
|
Mozart
| Don Giovanni
| Masetto
| 1992
| Yes
|
Mozart
| Don Giovanni
| Leporello
| 1991
| Yes
|
Mozart
| Don Giovanni
| Don Giovanni
| 1999 –
| Yes
|
Mozart
| Die Zauberflöte
| Speaker
| 1991
| No
|
Mozart
| Le nozze di Figaro
| Figaro
| 1991 – 2007
| Yes
|
Offenbach
| Les contes d'Hoffmann
| Four male roles
| 2000
| No
|
Puccini
| Gianni Schicchi
| Gianni Schicchi
| 2007
| No
|
Puccini
| Tosca
| Scarpia
|
| Yes
|
Puccini
| Madama Butterfly
| Sharpless
| 1996
| No
|
Richard Strauss
| Die Frau ohne Schatten
| Der Geisterbote
| 1992
| Yes
|
Richard Strauss
| Salome
| Jochanaan
| 1993
| Yes
|
Sondheim
| Sweeney Todd
| Sweeney Todd
| 2002 –
| No
|
Stravinsky
| The Rake's Progress
| Nick Shadow
| 1996 – 2000
| Yes
|
Stravinsky
| Oedipus Rex
| Creon
| 1992
| Yes
|
Verdi
| Falstaff
| Falstaff
| 1999 –
| Yes
|
Verdi
| Falstaff
| Ford
| 1993
| No
|
Wagner
| Das Rheingold
| Donner
| 1993
| No
|
Wagner
| Das Rheingold
| Wotan
| 2005 –
| No
|
Wagner
| Die Walküre
| Wotan
| 2005 –
| No
|
Wagner
| Tannhäuser
| Wolfram
| 1998
| No
|
Wagner
| Der fliegende Holländer
| Holländer
| 2006 –
| No
|
References
- The Marriner/Philips Yeomen
- Barnes & Noble.com Music - Classical Interview
- http://www.terfeliaid.co.uk/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=89
- Terfel, Friedman, Evans and Quast to Star in London Sweeney Todd
- http://www.forumopera.com/concerts/nozze_met071201.html
- Classical review: Falstaff | Five:15 | Music | The Observer
- Opera Schedules from The Opera Critic
- Opera Schedules from The Opera Critic
- BBC NEWS | Wales | Opera star puts his family first
- The Principal's Report
- Bryn Terfel Opera Repertoire