Bryn Terfel
Baritone Bryn Terfel has been one of the world's most beloved singers since the 1990s. In addition to opera, he has performed and recorded art song, popular music, and songs in the Welsh language with great success.
Terfel was born Bryn Terfel Jones in Pant Glas, Wales, on November 9, 1965. His father was a farmer, and he grew up speaking Welsh. Terfel gained stage experience as a child participating in singing contests, and by the time he entered the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, he was already a seasoned performer. Terfel began using his middle name to avoid confusion with singer Delme Bryn-Jones. Winning two major prizes at Guildhall, Terfel scored a breakthrough at the 1989 Cardiff Singer of the World Competition, which was widely broadcast and attracted the attention of star conductors such as Sir Georg Solti. He made his operatic debut at the Welsh National Opera the following year as Guglielmo in Mozart's Così fan tutte. Specializing in roles such as Figaro in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro, Terfel won the Young Singer of the Year award from Britain's Gramophone magazine. Terfel signed with the Deutsche Grammophon label in 1994 and released the Schubert song recital An die Musik. He quickly became a very prolific recording artist, issuing six albums in the year 2000 alone. In 2003, Terfel was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire; he had already been serving as the honorary monarch of the Welsh island of Bardsey.
Terfel has mostly remained with Deutsche Grammophon since then but has appeared on smaller labels, including Marquis, for several Welsh-language releases; he has spoken out in support of Welsh language and culture. His crossover albums, such as Homeward Bound, covering American hymnody and recorded with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, have been best-sellers. In 2018, Terfel released Dreams and Songs, which combined musical theater selections, Welsh songs, and other popular material. On stage, he has continued to perform opera, often taking on Wagnerian roles such as that of Hans Sachs in Die Meistersinger as his voice darkened in middle age. In 2016, he sang the title role in Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov at the Royal Opera House. His operatic repertory includes about 30 works, with Wagner, Mozart, and Puccini the most frequently occurring composers among them. He has also been an enthusiastic performer of oratorio (Mendelssohn's Elijah is one of his specialties) and of classical art song. By the time he released the album Sea Songs on Deutsche Grammophon in 2024, his recording catalog comprised more than 50 items. In 2023, he performed a Welsh-language work by Paul Mealor at the coronation of King Charles III.
© James Manheim /TiVo
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Tutto Mozart! (e-album bonus version)
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Wagner: Opera Arias
Bryn Terfel, Berliner Philharmoniker, Claudio Abbado
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 May 2001
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Don Giovanni
Bryn Terfel, Renée Fleming, Ann Murray, Michele Pertusi, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Georg Solti
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Art of Bryn Terfel
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
A Song in my Heart
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bad Boys
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon GmbH, Hamburg on 1 Jan 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Simple Gifts
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Renée & Bryn - Under The Stars
Renée Fleming, Bryn Terfel, Orchestra of the Welsh National Opera, Paul Gemignani
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 2003
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bryn Terfel - Something Wonderful
Bryn Terfel, The Orchestra Of Opera North, Paul Daniel
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Oct 1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Silent Noon
Bryn Terfel, Malcolm Martineau
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 2004
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Scarborough Fair - Chansons des Îles Britanniques
Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred) - Released by Deutsche Grammophon GmbH, Hamburg on 1 Jan 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schubert: An die Musik
Bryn Terfel, Malcolm Martineau
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 1994
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Berlioz: La Damnation de Faust
Anne Sofie von Otter, Bryn Terfel, Keith Lewis, Victor von Halem, Philharmonia Orchestra, Myung-Whun Chung
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bryn Terfel - If Ever I Would Leave You
Bryn Terfel, The Orchestra Of Opera North, Paul Daniel
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Best of Ralph Vaughan Williams
Classical - Released by UME - Global Clearing House on 9 Aug 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schubert: An die Musik - Favourite Schubert Songs
Bryn Terfel, Malcolm Martineau
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 1994
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Voices from Heaven
Cecilia Bartoli, Andrea Bocelli, Bryn Terfel, Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale Di Santa Cecilia, Myung-Whun Chung, Coro dell'Accademia Nazionale Di Santa Cecilia
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schumann: Liederkreis; Romances and Ballades
Bryn Terfel, Malcolm Martineau
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jul 1999
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Some Enchanted Evening. The Best Of The Musicals
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 2001
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
BRYN
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo