Artist Biography

Sir Bryn Terfel

Bass-Baritone

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Artist Manager: Sioned Jones sioned.jones@harlequin-agency.co.uk

Website: http://www.deutschegrammophon.com/gb/artist/terfel/whatsnew

Welsh bass-baritone Sir Bryn Terfel has established an extraordinary career, performing regularly on the prestigious concert stages and opera houses of the World, including the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden; the Metropolitan Opera, New York; Opéra National de Paris; Teatro Alla Scala and Zürich Opera. Roles for which he is most noted include FalstaffDulcamaraWotan and Holländer. Recent additions to his repertoire include Reb TevyeBoris Godunov, Sweeney Todd and Don Pasquale.

A Grammy, Classical Brit and Gramophone Award winner, Sir Bryn was made a Commander of the British Empire (CBE) for his services to Opera in 2003, was awarded the Queen’s Medal for Music in 2006 and received a knighthood for his service to music in 2017. He was the last recipient of the Shakespeare Prize by the Alfred Toepfer Foundation and in 2015; he was given The Freedom of the City of London.

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, Sir Bryn made his professional operatic debut in 1990 as Guglielmo in Così fan tutte with 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 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 Four Villains in Les contes d’Hoffmann.

Sir Bryn marked his 50th birthday and twenty-five years in the profession with a special one-off Gala Concert at the Royal Albert Hall, presented by Hollywood star Michael Sheen. The celebrations continued at Cardiff’s Wales Millennium Centre, where he sang Scarpia in a special concert performance of Tosca with Welsh National Opera.

Recent performances include Don Basilio in The Barber of Seville for Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Balstrode for Wiener Staatsoper and Royal Opera House, Holländer in Der fliegende Holländer for Grange Park Opera, Falstaff for Zürich Opera and Bayerische Staatsoper, Münich, Scarpia for Zürich Opera and Opera National de Paris, Don Pizarro in Fidelio at the Schloßberg, Graz, Don Pasquale at the Royal Opera House and Boris Godunov for Deutsche Oper Berlin and the Royal Opera House.

Other operatic highlights to date include his debut in the role of Hans Sachs in the critically acclaimed production of Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg for Welsh National Opera, Wotan in The Ring Cycle at the Royal Opera House and the Metropolitan Opera, New York, his debut in the role of Reb Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof for Grange Park Opera, Sweeney Todd for English National Opera and hosting a four day festival, Brynfest, at the Southbank Centre, London as part of the Southbank Centre’s Festival of the World.

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 years, he hosted his own festival in Faenol, North Wales. Recent performances include a 9-date recital and concert tour of the UK, orchestral concerts in Antwerp and Belgrade, and voice, harp and piano recitals in Stockholm and Geneva.

Sir Bryn 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.

Bryn was made a Commander of the British Empire (CBE) for his services to Opera in 2003, was awarded the Queen’s Medal for Music in 2006, received a knighthood for his services to music in 2017, was honoured with the title of Austrian Kammersänger for his services to the Wiener Staatsoper and awarded an European Cultural Award at the Tonhalle, Zurich, in recognition of his extraordinary music career in 2022. He was the last recipient of the Shakespeare Prize by the Alfred Toepfer Foundation and in 2015, he was given The Freedom of the City of London.

Artist biographies are updated frequently, so please contact us for the latest version. This biography should not be reproduced or altered without permission.

Bach Magnificat
Bach Mass in B minor
Bach St John Passion
Bach St Matthew Passion
Bach Ich Habe Genug
Beethoven Choral Symphony
Beethoven Mass in C Major
Beethoven Missa Solemnis
Berlioz La Damnation de Faust
Brahms Fier Ernste Gesang
Brahms Deutches Requiem
Britten War Requiem
Coleridge Taylor Hiawatha
Delius Sea Drift
Delius Songs of Sunset
Duruflé Requiem
Dvořák Stabat Mater
Dvořák Te Deum
Elgar The Apostles
Elgar Starlight Express
Elgar The Kingdom
Elgar The Dream of Gerontius
Fauré Requiem
Finzi Let Us Garlands Bring
Handel Messiah
Handel Samson
Handel Saul
Haydn Nelson Mass
Ireland These Things Shall Be
Ireland Greater Love Hath No Man
Ireland Vexilla Regis
Kodaly Missa Brevis
Liszt Christus
Mahler Kindertotenlieder
Mahler Ruckert Lieder
Mahler Symphony No. 8
Mendelssohn Elijah
Monteverdi Magnificat
Monteverdi Vespers 1610
Mozart Mass in C minor
Mozart Requiem
Schumann Faust Szenen
Vaughan Williams Shepherds of the Delectable Mountains
Vaughan Williams Dona Nobis Pacem
Vaughan Williams Sancta Civitas
Verdi Requiem
Walton Belshazzar's Feast
Zemlinsky Lyrisches Symphonie
Zemlinsky Eine Fiorentinische Tragodie
Bach
Magnificat
Bach
Mass in B minor
Bach
St John Passion
Bach
St Matthew Passion
Bach
Ich Habe Genug
Beethoven
Choral Symphony
Beethoven
Mass in C Major
Beethoven
Missa Solemnis
Berlioz
La Damnation de Faust
Brahms
Fier Ernste Gesang
Brahms
Deutches Requiem
Britten
War Requiem
Coleridge Taylor
Hiawatha
Delius
Sea Drift
Delius
Songs of Sunset
Duruflé
Requiem
Dvořák
Stabat Mater
Dvořák
Te Deum
Elgar
The Apostles
Elgar
Starlight Express
Elgar
The Kingdom
Elgar
The Dream of Gerontius
Fauré
Requiem
Finzi
Let Us Garlands Bring
Handel
Messiah
Handel
Samson
Handel
Saul
Haydn
Nelson Mass
Ireland
These Things Shall Be
Ireland
Greater Love Hath No Man
Ireland
Vexilla Regis
Kodaly
Missa Brevis
Liszt
Christus
Mahler
Kindertotenlieder
Mahler
Ruckert Lieder
Mahler
Symphony No. 8
Mendelssohn
Elijah
Monteverdi
Magnificat
Monteverdi
Vespers 1610
Mozart
Mass in C minor
Mozart
Requiem
Schumann
Faust Szenen
Vaughan Williams
Shepherds of the Delectable Mountains
Vaughan Williams
Dona Nobis Pacem
Vaughan Williams
Sancta Civitas
Verdi
Requiem
Walton
Belshazzar's Feast
Zemlinsky
Lyrisches Symphonie
Zemlinsky
Eine Fiorentinische Tragodie
Bock Fiddler on the RoofTevye
Britten Peter GrimesBalstrode
Donizetti L'Elisir d'AmoreDulcamara
Donizetti Don PasqualeTitle Role
Gounod FaustMephistopheles
Mozart Così fan tutte Guglielmo
Mozart Le nozze di FigaroFigaro
Mozart Die ZauberflöteSprecher
Mozart Don GiovanniTitle Role, Leporello, Masetto
Mussorgsky Boris GodunovTitle Role
Offenbach Les Contes d'HoffmannFour Male Roles
Puccini Madama ButterflySharpless
Puccini ToscaScarpia
Puccini Gianni SchicchiGianni Schicchi
Richard Strauss Die Frau ohne SchattenSpirit Messenger
Richard Strauss SalomeJochanaan
Sondheim Sweeney ToddTitle Role
Stravinsky The Rake's ProgressNick Shadow
Stravinsky Oedipus RexCreon
Verdi FalstaffTitle Role, Ford
Wagner Das RheingoldDonner, Wotan
Wagner TannhäuserWolfram
Wagner Die WalküreWotan
Wagner Der Fliegende HolländerTitle Role
Wagner Die Meistersinger von NurnbergHans Sachs
Bock
Fiddler on the Roof
Tevye
Britten
Peter Grimes
Balstrode
Donizetti
L'Elisir d'Amore
Dulcamara
Donizetti
Don Pasquale
Title Role
Gounod
Faust
Mephistopheles
Mozart
Così fan tutte
Guglielmo
Mozart
Le nozze di Figaro
Figaro
Mozart
Die Zauberflöte
Sprecher
Mozart
Don Giovanni
Title Role, Leporello, Masetto
Mussorgsky
Boris Godunov
Title Role
Offenbach
Les Contes d'Hoffmann
Four Male Roles
Puccini
Madama Butterfly
Sharpless
Puccini
Tosca
Scarpia
Puccini
Gianni Schicchi
Gianni Schicchi
Richard Strauss
Die Frau ohne Schatten
Spirit Messenger
Richard Strauss
Salome
Jochanaan
Sondheim
Sweeney Todd
Title Role
Stravinsky
The Rake's Progress
Nick Shadow
Stravinsky
Oedipus Rex
Creon
Verdi
Falstaff
Title Role, Ford
Wagner
Das Rheingold
Donner, Wotan
Wagner
Tannhäuser
Wolfram
Wagner
Die Walküre
Wotan
Wagner
Der Fliegende Holländer
Title Role
Wagner
Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg
Hans Sachs

Opera

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.

Der Fliegende Hollander

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.

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.

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.

Der Fliegende Hollander

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.

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.

Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg

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

Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg

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.

Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg

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.

Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg

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

Der Fliegende Hollander

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.

Der Fliegende Hollander

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.

Der Fliegende Hollander

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.

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.

Sweeney Todd

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.

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.

Tosca

Scarpia in Tosca for the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden
The Telegraph
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.

Wagner's Ring

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.

Tosca

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.

Falstaff

Title Role in Falstaff at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, July 2018
Express
The celebrated Welsh bass-baritone has the height, girth (thanks to a fat suit), resonant tone and sheer bravura of acting. His is a Falstaff of boundless chutzpah, greedy and self-deluding, yet with an underlying twinkle.

Falstaff

Title Role in Falstaff at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, July 2018
The Guardian
The plum was Bryn Terfel, magnificent in the title role, the patina of nearly two decades’ experience giving a salty wisdom to his “Fat Knight”. Whether required to boom or play at coy falsetto or drop to fairy-light pianissimo, Terfel can do it.

Falstaff

Title Role in Falstaff at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, July 2018
Standard
Central to the revival’s success is the larger-than-life Falstaff of Terfel. He conveys the anger and pomposity of the man, full of his sense of entitlement, but also his world-weariness. We may not exactly warm to his conviction that he’s God’s gift to women, but we recognise it. And Terfel captures all this not only in his saucer-like eyes but in an impressive repertoire of tonal registers.

Die Walküre

Concert Performance of Die Walküre at the Edinburgh International Festival, August 2017
Opera
The star casting was Sir Bryn Terfel as Wotan, and he did not disappoint. He sounded fresh, comfortable, imperious, stamping his presence in physique and temperament.

Die Walküre

Concert Performance of Die Walküre at the Edinburgh International Festival, August 2017
The Spectator
Terfel’s voice is leaner than it used to be; his commitment to every word and note of this role more passionate than ever.

Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg

Hans Sachs in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg for the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. March 2017
The Stage
Bryn Terfel is superb in Kasper Holten’s final production for the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden

Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg

Hans Sachs in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg for the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. March 2017
The Guardian
Bryn Terfel is charismatic as ever as Sachs, and touching in later scenes as he realises Eva is going her own way.

Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg

Hans Sachs in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg for the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. March 2017
Classical Source
Bryn Terfel, a Sachs of many years’ standing, sounded at ease with the higher-written music. He delivered a lovely, interior ‘Wahn’ monologue and underpinned the rapture of the Quintet. You can’t help feelings of affection towards him and his Sachs.

Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg

Hans Sachs in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg for the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. March 2017
Seen and Heard International
Bryn Terfel's plainspoken, larger-than-life, slightly gruff Hans Sachs is more like his predecessor at Covent Garden, John Tomlinson, than the warm, expressive and sympathetic paterfamilias Hans Sachs of Norman Bailey. Throughout, Terfel downplays the more philosophical side of his character, whilst in typical fashion, he delivers the text masterfully and retains sufficient stamina to get right through to the end of his clarion closing ‘Verachtet mir die Meister nicht’ without running out of steam; something Tomlinson never quite could in my experience.

Falstaff

Concert performance of Falstaff with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, January 2017
Bachtrack
Bryn Terfel gelang der trinkfreudige und schlitzohrige Lebemann, der von einer Erniedrigung zur nächsten eilt, in einer furiosen Interpretation, die seinem Ruf als aktuell einem der besten Falstaff-Interpreten gerecht wurde. Terfel verlieh seinem Falstaff ein raues Timbre, das er gerne mit markanten Fortes und deutlichen Akzenten ausstattete. Er scheute sich nicht, seine Vorstellung auch mal mit unschönen Tönen zu würzen – ein übertriebenes Falsett, um Alice Ford zu imitieren, oder ein tief gegrummelter Fluch geben seiner Vorstellung den komödiantischen Charakter. Taucherbrille und Schnorchel, die Terfel nach Falstaffs Fenstersturz in die Themse aufsetzt, runden die Vorstellung ab.

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.

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.

Boris Godunov

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.

Tosca

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.

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.

Fiddler on the Roof

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.

Fiddler on the Roof

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.

Fiddler on the Roof

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.

Fiddler on the Roof

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.

Sweeney Todd

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.

Sweeney Todd

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.

Sweeney Todd

Title Role in Sweeney Todd for English National Opera at the London Coliseum, March 2015
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.

Sweeney Todd

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.

L'Elisir d'Amore

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.

L'Elisir d'Amore

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.

Sweeney Todd

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.

Concerts & Recitals

'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.
Concert with the Orchestra Gulbenkian Lisboa at Palau de la Música Catalana, April 2018
Cultural Resuena
Terfel demostró una gran capacidad de conexión, además de elocuencia y sentido del humor en las diversas ocasiones en las que se dirigió al público, ya fuera para presentarnos alguna obra o para contarnos las circunstancias de su debut en la península, hace ya más de un cuarto de siglo. El galés lo dio todo en cada una de sus intervenciones, pasando sin problemas de las escenas más trágicas a las más cómicas. La muerte de Boris fue posiblemente la más impactante de ellas, con una conmovedora actuación tanto escénica como vocal que nos mostró a un tsar atormentado y arrepentido de su pasado.
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.

Recordings

Wagner Arias Recording for Deutsche Grammophon
Opera
Terfel brings a more beautiful voice to this repertory than anyone currently singing it. The sound is full and rich, vibrant throughout its range. Terfel demonstrates that Wagner benefits from attention to beauty of tone as much as Mozart does. And he shows a lieder singer’s concern with details and diction…Terfel is able to apply pressure on the voice without compromising its quality; he combines intensity of utterance with lustrous tone.
Falstaff Recording for Deutsche Grammophon
The Sunday Times
Bryn Terfel may be young (ish) for “Old Jack”, but vocally, he is in his prime, and he glides through the treacherous passages with effortless ease. This is the most charismatic and beautifully sung Falstaff on disc since Tito Gobbi’s classic performance for Karajan in the mid-1950s. As “international” Falstaffs go, this is as good as it gets today.
Homeward Bound Album for Deutsche Grammophon, September 2013
Limelight Magazine
Terfel’s hale, resonant bass-baritone is at its most electrifying at the bottom of his range, as when he dips down in the simple melody of the title track.
Homeward Bound Album for Deutsche Grammophon, September 2013
Opera News
I would be lying if I said Terfel’s “What a Wonderful World” didn’t bring a broad smile to my face and a tear to my eye. It was mainly the wonder of Terfel’s voice and its way with words, music and meaning. So impressive is Terfel’s caressing of every word of “What a Wonderful World” – every vowel-sound, every meaning, every mood – so un-contrived is his placing of its consonants, that I immediately linked the little ditty to one of Schubert’s. Terfel bought his honest (dare I say transcendent) musicality to bear. In “What a Wonderful World”, he elevates the songwriters… but he elevates himself and his remarkable instrument, too.
Homeward Bound Album for Deutsche Grammophon, September 2013
Classic FM
He’s an eloquent actor as well as a singer, and you swallow every word he utters in “Homeward Bound”, a relaxed, warming collection…upholstered with the soft-grained voices of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir…Terfel, most importantly, never sounds like a tonsil superstar standing at a mike. Singing about buffalos or Jehovah, the great Bryn still has power to make us believe..
Bad Boys Album for Deutsche Grammophon, October 2009
The Independent
As a bass-baritone, Bryn Terfel regularly has to wear the metaphorical black hat in the standard operatic value-system, so this anthology of great bad-guy roles, from Iago and Mephistopheles to Sweeney Todd and Mack The Knife, is custom-built to showcase his dark, brooding qualities. It includes two Satans and a taunting title presence redolent with sinister insouciance in Boito's Mefistofele. Elsewhere, evil ranges from Donizetti's wheedling snake-oil salesman Dulcamara and Gershwin's drug-dealer Sportin' Life, to the blackly nihilistic Sweeney Todd and Iago. It culminates in Terfel's bravura performance of an excerpt from Don Giovanni in which he plays Il Commendatore, Leporello and Don Giovanni.
Bad Boys Album for Deutsche Grammophon, October 2009
The Star – Ledger NJ
Terfel is peerlessly thrilling as Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd, and he sings the daylights out of Gershwin’s ‘It Ain’t Necessarily So’
Bad Boys Album for Deutsche Grammophon, October 2009
MusicWeb International
Terfel convincingly pulls off this challenging recital of opera and musical ‘Bad Boy’ characters. Marvelously sung and characterised with great affection, it’s not surprising that the bass-baritone has achieved such elevated heights of popularity. I found this disc wonderful entertainment from start to finish.
Scarborough Fair/First Love Album for Deutsche Grammophon, August 2008
The Times
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
Scarborough Fair/First Love Album for Deutsche Grammophon, August 2008
BBC Music Magazine
The mastery with which he blends words and notes is much in evidence. There’s a wide range of dynamics in his performaces……the results are lovely.
Scarborough Fair/First Love Album for Deutsche Grammophon, August 2008
Gramophone
Characteristically he lavishes as much care on illuminating the poetry as he does on shaping the melodic line
Tutto Mozart Album for Deutsche Grammophon
Western Mail
As always, he inhabits the characters with absolute authority, integrity and strength, while duets with soprano Miah Persson and mezzo-soprano Christine Rice sparkle with chemistry.
Tutto Mozart Album for Deutsche Grammophon
The Star Ledger
Terfel sings with his usual mix of power, subtlety and likeability.
Wagner Arias Album for Deutsche Grammophon
Opera
Terfel brings a more beautiful voice to this repertory than anyone currently singing it. The sound is full and rich, vibrant throughout its range. Terfel demonstrates that Wagner benefits from attention to beauty of tone as much as Mozart does. And he shows a lieder singer’s concern with details and diction…Terfel is able to apply pressure on the voice without compromising its quality; he combines intensity of utterance with lustrous tone.

This Artist Biography was last updated on 31 July 2023. It is our policy to update biographies every six months. If this information is to be used after 31 January 2024 please contact us and we shall be delighted to supply you with the latest version by return.