Under the microscope
WELSH opera singer Sir Bryn Terfel, 58, answers our health quiz …
CAN YOU RUN UP THE STAIRS?
YES, but since I broke my leg just before lockdown, I’m more cautious. I slipped, did a beautiful prima ballerina turn, but my foot didn’t move. So it was a triple fracture out of absolutely nothing. I cycle to the Opera House when in London. I love to swim — it’s great for breath control.
GET YOUR FIVE A DAY?
WHEN I’m touring, I tend to get invited to restaurants and I’ve learned to have fish and grilled veg. Broccoli seems to be around the kitchen these days for the kids, aged six and three [his children with wife, harpist Hannah Stone, 36].
EVER DIETED?
I WOULDN’T say that I worry about my weight, though I do love it when you return to a production and your costume still fits. [At 6ft 3in, he weighs 22st.]
ANY VICES? CRISPS. ANY FAMILY AILMENTS?
NO. Both my parents are in their 80s — my father is a retired farmer, but still incredibly fit. He spent his life walking up a mountain in the morning to check his stock and the dry-stone walls. My mother’s the same.
WORST ILLNESS/INJURY?
MY BACK. I was singing in New York in the 1990s when I picked up a mandolin and slipped a disc in my back. Unfortunately, this was on a raked stage [which slopes back from the audience], and maybe because of a previous injury from working on the farm, throwing hay bales, the back decided to give up. I limped into the hospital and walked out casually post surgery! The last time I had trouble with it, I had an injection into the joint. This, touch wood, has kept me away from the surgeon’s knife.
EVER HAVE PLASTIC SURGERY?
NO, I like to keep my Meat Loaf facial beauty.
TRIED ALTERNATIVE REMEDIES?
I’M A big advocate of ginger, boiling it and putting it in the fridge to drink as a tonic for my voice.
EVER BEEN DEPRESSED?
NO. What does get me down is when Manchester United lose or when Wales lose at the rugby.
LIKE TO LIVE FOR EVER?
ABSOLUTELY not.
■ Sir Bryn Terfel’s new album, Sea Songs, is out now on Deutsche Grammophon.