Sir Bryn Terfel Jones (Welsh pronunciation: [ˈbrɨn ˈtɛrvɛl]; born November 9, 1965) is a Welsh deep-voiced singer who performs in operas and concerts. Terfel first became known for singing roles written by Mozart, including Figaro, Leporello, and Don Giovanni. Later, he focused on singing more powerful and challenging roles, especially those created by Puccini and Wagner.

Biography

Bryn Terfel was born in Pant Glas, Caernarfonshire, Wales, to a farmer. His first language is Welsh. He chose the name Bryn Terfel for his career to avoid confusion with another Welsh baritone, Delme Bryn-Jones. He showed an interest in music and had a talent for singing from a young age. A family friend taught him to sing, beginning with traditional Welsh songs.

After winning many singing competitions, Terfel moved to London in 1984 and studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama under Rudolf Piernay. In 1988, he won the Morriston Orpheus Choir Supporters' Association Young Welsh Singer of the Year Competition. He graduated in 1989, earning the Kathleen Ferrier Memorial Award and the Gold Medal. That same year, he came second in the Cardiff Singer of the World competition, winning the Lieder Prize.

In 1990, Terfel made his operatic debut as Guglielmo in Così fan tutte with the Welsh National Opera. Later that season, he performed the title role in The Marriage of Figaro, a role he later debuted with the English National Opera in 1991.

His international operatic career began in 1990 when he sang the Speaker in The Magic Flute at the Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels and made his U.S. debut as Figaro at the Santa Fe Opera.

In 1992, Terfel made his debut at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, as Masetto in Don Giovanni, with Thomas Allen in the title role. That same year, he performed the role of the Spirit Messenger in Die Frau ohne Schatten at the Salzburg Easter Festival. He later sang Jochanaan in Salome at the main Salzburg Festival and made his debut as Figaro at the Vienna State Opera.

On 19 June 1992, Terfel gave his U.S. concert debut singing in Mahler’s Eighth Symphony with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at the Ravinia Festival under James Levine. At the same festival, he performed Schumann’s Liederkreis and Schubert’s Schwanengesang with Levine at the piano, and sang Abimélech in Samson and Delilah with Plácido Domingo and Denyce Graves. In 1993, he sang Donner in Das Rheingold at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, conducted by Zubin Mehta.

In 1992, Terfel 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 in Paris.

In 1994, Terfel performed Figaro at Covent Garden and made his debuts as Figaro at the Metropolitan Opera and Teatro Nacional de São Carlos. However, back surgery in 1994 (and again in 2000) limited his ability to perform in some events.

In 1996, Terfel expanded his repertoire to include more Wagner, singing Wolfram in Tannhäuser at the Metropolitan Opera and Nick Shadow in The Rake’s Progress at the Welsh National Opera. These performances earned him the Royal Philharmonic Society Award for Singer of the Year.

In 1997, Terfel made his debut at La Scala as Figaro. In 1998, he performed a recital at Carnegie Hall featuring works by Wolf, Fauré, Brahms, Schumann, Schubert, and others. In 1999, he performed the title role of Don Giovanni in Paris for the first time and sang his first Falstaff at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. He later reprised Falstaff in the newly renovated Royal Opera House.

In 1999, Terfel performed the Rugby World Cup anthem “World in Union” with Shirley Bassey at the Millennium Stadium before the 1999 Rugby World Cup Final.

In 2000, Terfel expressed an interest in recording an album of Gilbert and Sullivan arias.

In 2003, Terfel hosted and performed with opera tenor José Carreras and soprano Hayley Westenra at the Faenol Festival in Wales.

In 2007, Terfel performed at the opening gala for the re-dedication of the Salt Lake Tabernacle with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. He also performed the title role in a concert version of Sweeney Todd at London’s Royal Festival Hall. This idea came from Terfel and his friend, Dermot Malone.

Terfel has also recorded songs by Lerner and Loewe and Rodgers and Hammerstein. In 2001, he commissioned and performed Atgof o'r Sêr (“Memory of the Stars”) at the National Eisteddfod with composer Robat Arwyn.

In September 2007, Terfel withdrew from Covent Garden’s Der Ring des Nibelungen due to his son’s medical needs, but returned to the Metropolitan Opera in November 2007 to sing Figaro. He later sang the role of Wotan in Covent Garden’s revival of Der Ring from 2012.

Terfel planned to take 2008 as a break from opera but returned to perform the title role in Falstaff with the Welsh National Opera. In 2009, he sang Scarpia and the Dutchman for the Royal Opera House.

In 2010, Terfel debuted as Hans Sachs in Die Meistersinger with the Welsh National Opera. The cast performed a concert staging at the Royal Albert Hall as part of the BBC Proms. He also performed in a concert celebrating Stephen Sondheim’s 80th birthday.

Terfel took the role of Wotan in Robert Lepage’s new production of Wagner’s Der Ring at the Metropolitan Opera from 2010 to 2012. He sang the role in Das Rheingold, Die Walküre, and Siegfried.

In September 2013, Terfel collaborated with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir on the album Homeward Bound, which reached No. 58 on the Official UK Charts.

In September 2014, Terfel reprised his role as Sweeney Todd in a Live from Lincoln Center

Partial solo discography

• Sain (Recordings) Ltd: 1988
• Sain (Recordings) Ltd: 1990
• Sain (Recordings) Ltd: 1990
• Sain (Recordings) Ltd: 1993
• Sain (Recordings) Ltd: 1995
• Sain (Recordings) Ltd: 2003
• Sain (Recordings) Ltd: 2005

Videography

• James Levine's 25th Anniversary Metropolitan Opera Gala (1996), Deutsche Grammophon DVD, B0004602-09

Honours and awards

Terfel continues to support the Welsh language and Welsh culture, areas of his life that are not well known outside Wales. He was given the honor of becoming a member of the Gorsedd of Bards by the National Eisteddfod. The Gorsedd was started in 1792 to celebrate Welsh heritage, and people who join are recognized for their contributions to Welsh culture.

• Morriston Orpheus Choir Supporters' Association (MOCSA) Young Welsh Singer of the Year (1988)
• Commander of the Order of the British Empire (2003)
• Queen's Medal for Music (2006)
• Honorary Fellow of Jesus College, Oxford (2008)
• Honorary Doctorate in Music, Bangor University (2012)
• Honorary Doctorate in Music, Royal College of Music (2012)
• Austrian Kammersänger (2022)

In 2006, the Hamburg-based Alfred Toepfer Foundation gave Terfel its annual Shakespeare Prize for his work over his lifetime.

Terfel was knighted in the 2017 New Year Honours for his contributions to music.

Terfel is also the president of the Welsh homelessness charity Shelter Cymru. He is a supporter of Bobath Children's Therapy Centre Wales, a charity in Cardiff that provides special therapy for children with cerebral palsy from across Wales.

Terfel is a vice president of the Dunvant Male Choir in Swansea, the oldest Welsh choir that has been singing continuously since 1895. The choir performed at Terfel's wedding in 2019.

Faenol Festival

In 2000, Terfel started the Faenol Festival, also called "Gŵyl y Faenol" in Welsh, at the Faenol Estate near Snowdonia, Wales. The event, known as "Bryn Terfel's Faenol Festival" or "BrynFest," became an annual music festival that included well-known opera singers and popular Welsh musicians. That same year, Terfel released We'll Keep a Welcome – The Welsh Album, a collection of traditional Welsh songs. The festival received a £250,000 grant from the Welsh Assembly but did not happen in 2009 or 2010 and ended by 2010. Later, the 2012 Faenol Festival was held in London.