Bryn Terfel
Bass-Baritone
Welsh bass-baritone Sir Bryn Terfel has established an extraordinary career, performing regularly on the prestigious concert stages and opera houses of the world. After winning the Song Prize at the 1989 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World, he made his professional operatic debut in 1990 as Guglielmo in Così fan tutte with the Welsh National Opera. He made his international operatic debut in 1991 as Speaker in Die Zauberflöte at the Théâtre de la Monnaie, Brussels and made his American debut in the same year as Figaro with the Santa Fe Opera. Other roles performed during his career include Méphistophélès in Faust, both the title role and Leporello in Don Giovanni, Jochanaan in Salome, the title role in Gianni Schicchi, Nick Shadow in The Rake's Progress, Wolfram in Tannhäuser, Balstrode in Peter Grimes and the four villains in Les contes d'Hoffmann.
Equally at home on the concert platform, his highlights range 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 and curating a special Christmas concert and live international stream for the Metropolitan Opera's "Met Stars Live in Concert" series from Brecon Cathedral, Wales. He has given recitals all around the world and for nine year he hosted his own festival in Faenol, North Wales.
To mark his 50th birthday and 25 years in the profession, Sir Bryn held with a special one-off Gala Concert at the Royal Albert Hall, presented by Hollywood star Michael Sheen. He is a Grammy, Classical Brit and Gramophone Award winner with a discography encompassing operas of Mozart, Wagner, and Strauss, and more than 15 solo discs including Lieder, American musical theatre, Welsh songs, and sacred repertory. Bryn was made a Commander of the British Empire (CBE) for his services to Opera, was awarded the Queen's Medal for Music and received a knighthood for his service to music. He was the last recipient of the Shakespeare Prize by the Alfred Toepfer Foundation and was given The Freedom of the City of London.
