Music Monday - Bryn Terfel

I think out of all the vocal ranges, the bass-baritone voice is my favourite. I love the depth it has and how that depth can be used to express so many different emotions. This is certainly true in Bryn Terfel’s case who conveys such a variety of emotions in the various songs he has performed over the years.

Bryn Terfel Jones was born in Pant Glas, North Wales, the son of a farmer. He developed an interest in and talent for music from a very young age and was taught to sing by a family friend, starting with traditional Welsh songs. After winning numerous competitions for his singing, Terfel moved to London in 1984 and entered the Guildhall School of Music and Drama where he studied under Rudolf Piernay.

In 1992, he made his Royal Opera House, Covent Garden début as Masetto in Don Giovanni, with Thomas Allen in the title role. He has since gone on to perform in over 30 operas at venues all over the world including Carnegie Hall, The Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, The Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels and La Scala.

Terfel has not shied away from popular music either and has recorded CDs of songs by Lerner and Loewe and Rodgers and Hammerstein. In 2001 he commissioned and performed Atgof o'r Ser ('The Memory of Stars') in the National Eisteddfod with the composer Robat Arwyn. In 2010 he released a double CD Carols & Christmas Songs which featured one disc of carols sung entirely in Welsh.

What I particularly enjoy about Bryn’s singing is his diction. Every word he sings is sung and finished so articulately that it adds to the richness of the piece. I’m not sure if he learnt this as part of his operatic training or just as part of learning different languages but the results are truly incredible in every song.

I have only seen Bryn perform live once which was at the Classical Brit Awards 2010 at The Royal Albert Hall in London. He sang Tre Sbiri from Puccini’s Tosca (a song which also features on his album bad Boys of Opera) and the sound was truly remarkable. It seems that bass-baritones are often cast as the villains in operas and their characters usually meet an untimely death near the end but in the meantime they also get to perform some of the best songs.

One of my favourite songs from his Christmas album was the duet he sang with tenor Rolando Villazon El Nacimiento (The Birth). Their two voices compliment each so perfectly and create such a gentle and calming sound they really bring out the meaning and emotion in the lyrics.

My other favourite duet of Bryn’s is when he performs the Pearl Fishers Duet. I have seen him perform this on TV with Andrea Bocelli which was incredibly beautiful and more recently at The South Bank Show Awards with one of my favourite tenors, Alfie Boe. On this occasion they were accompanied by only a piano which whilst lacking the grandeur and richness it has when accompanied by a full orchestra, you got to hear and appreciate the voices in their raw form and appreciate how well their two voices blended together.