A Conversation With SIR BRYN TERFEL

Fresh from four cycles of Wagner’s Ring at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, and a run of performances in one of his signature roles – Wagner’s Flying Dutchman – the great Welsh bass-baritone Bryn Terfel was not even close to running on empty. The critical consensus on his storming London concert performance of the Dutchman was that he was currently at the very top of his game. In this exclusive audio podcast originally for the sadly defunct Sinfini Music, Terfel talks to Edward Seckerson about this most powerful of all art forms where so many elements need to come together in complete accord. He talks about the excitement of rediscovering favourite roles in new stagings; he talks about the roles he’s let go and those he is looking to explore. Then there is the issue of what distinguishes a baritone from a bass-baritone or indeed a fully fledged bass and how that impacts upon who sings what and how successfully. The great German bass Hans Hotter – from Terfel’s pantheon of greats – once said  that no singer should ever give 100% of what they have vocally. In the beginning Terfel vehemently disagreed with that. How does he feel now? And might we one day see him turning out eight performances in one of his favourite musicals: Sweeney Todd or Camelot?

This podcast was originally created on behalf of Sinfini Music .

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