BRYN IT ON...
OPERA STAR SIR BRYN TERFEL HAS PLENTY TO SING ABOUT. MARION MCMULLEN FINDS OUT ABOUT HIS 30TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR
“SCRATCH a Welshman and he’ll sing for you!” laughs Sir Bryn Terfel.
The much-loved bass-baritone is touring the UK next month on his Songs and Arias tour, celebrating 30 years with the Royal Opera House.
“The name of the tour is a little nod towards comedian Max Boyce’s Hymns and Arias but these concerts represent my life,” he explains.
“I got started by performing the songs that my parents sang while cradling me as a baby.
“These songs are special in Wales. They are a part of the household.
“This tour is also a great way to showcase what I’ve been doing professionally for the last 30 years.
“The tour will be a trip down memory lane of repertoire, the opportunity to sing the songs that I love, and many of the wonderful arias that I’ve performed on the operatic stage.”
Sir Bryn has brought his own stamp to bear on so many of the classics, and performed with many of the greats along the way.
“One of the first duets I did was with Tom Jones. I did Green Green Grass Of Home – a song I’ve sung forever in my car!
“I performed opera Ca Ira with Roger Waters of Pink Floyd and sang Roxanne at Sting’s 60th birthday celebrations. I was on in between Lady Gaga and Billy Joel.”
The 30-year anniversary has quickly crept up on Sir Bryn.
“It’s incredible really, three decades at the Royal Opera House. My record label Deutsche Grammophon told me that next year is their 125th anniversary and, again, my 30th with them.
“They are going to bring out some of my albums on vinyl, which I’m very excited about because as a student I had such a collection, and I bought myself a turntable for Christmas.”
Sir Bryn has performed on the prestigious concert stages and opera houses of the world and is a Grammy, Classical
Brit and Gramophone Award winner with a discography encompassing operas of Mozart, Wagner and Strauss and more than 15 solo albums.
The farmer’s son says he began singing songs at his mother’s knee, but worried at the start of his career if he was good enough.
“Even after five years in the Guildhall I wasn’t sure if I was good enough, until I won the last competition there, the Gold Medal,” he says. “That was the pivotal point that led me to go ahead with this career and not go back to being a farmer with the sheep and cows!”
After the Gold Medal, it was his showing at the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition (coming second to baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky) that opened the floodgates.
It was astounding for me to think, ‘Wow, I’ve done enough in my career to be given such an honour Sir Bryn on receiving his knighthood in 2017
“From that moment I was off, constantly learning repertoire, trying to be that good colleague whenever I was in one of the world’s great concert halls.
“I’ve climbed lots of personal Everests.
“Singing at the Royal Opera House is always very special, as is the Metropolitan in New York and the Scala in Milan.”
Career highlights also include the opening ceremony of the Wales Millennium Centre and a Gala Concert with Andrea Bocelli in New York’s Central Park and, of course, his knighthood.
He says: “It was astounding for me to think, ‘Wow, I’ve done enough in my career to be given such an honour’”.
Returning to live performance post-pandemic has been an incredible experience for Sir Bryn. He says: “The tragedy and the turmoil of lockdown was hard, but we [he and his professional Welsh harpist wife Hannah Stone, 35] had some light at the end of the tunnel, as [their son] Alffi was born.
“And we had to look after [fiveyear-old daughter] Lili and homeschool her ... but dad was home for a change!”
The 56-year-old says his focus is now on the UK tour. “I’ve just done a run of Peter Grimes at the Royal Opera House with every ticket sold and to see that theatre full again, well, it was something that maybe before we took for granted.
“To be back performing now it is a totally different feeling, the enjoyment now is tenfold and that zeal is going to stay with me on this October tour.”
He adds: “In the classical world, it’s important to constantly add to your repertoire. I can’t just sing the hits every night. It is all about performance, and diction and singing in tune. Those rudiments are still the essentials.
“It’s kind of daunting. I never take anything for granted. That is why I am always delighted to be asked back to any concert hall or to do something like this tour.”
These concerts will bring together a selection of his opera roles and some famous tunes from musical theatre and the music hall.
“The set is already locked down in my mind,” says the singing star.
“We’re mixing it up a little on this tour. Some concerts will be piano, harp, voice and others will be with an orchestra and conductor Gareth Jones. We know each other well and we have some great orchestrations, so I’m ready to go. I’m certainly going to put in some uplifting Ivor Novello songs and some of my favourite operatic arias.
“We’ll have a guest young singer too so that I can do some duets.
“Welsh folk song will also feature of course. Some of these songs are melancholic but also filled with such hope – pieces like Ar Hyd y Nos (All Through the Night) just implores us all to share the light together. It’s a dream come true to put together a set like this.”
The Songs and Arias Tour runs from October 1. Visit premier. ticketek.co.uk for further details