Few opera singers are as internationally celebrated as Sir Bryn Terfel, yet he still describes himself as "the son of a sheep farmer".
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he → describe → farmer
The Welsh bass-baritone says his love of singing is inseparable from his upbringing and cultural heritage.
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love → say → upbringing
Ahead of his Australian tour, Terfel reflects on what makes Wales so unique, recalls receiving his knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II, and explains why he remains hopeful about opera's future.
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he → reflect → future
What does it mean to grow up in "the land of singers"?
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it → mean → singers
I was born in 1965 in Wales.
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I → bear → Wales
They were constantly learning words.
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They → learn → words
There were words on the kitchen cupboards, and whilst they were making breakfast, tea and dinner, they were learning them.
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they → be → them
Per chance, I started singing at a very early age.
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I → start → age
As a teenager I competed in Eisteddfods and, if I won, I would get some money, so there was a reward for missing out on a weekend of soccer or rugby.
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I → compete → soccer
It brought people together from different villages.
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It → bring → villages
The congregation would always sing wonderful hymns, loud and proud and in harmony.
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congregation → sing → harmony
The Welsh do have these male voice choirs.
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Welsh → have → choirs
To hear 80 choristers sing together is a tremendous sound.
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choristers → hear → ?
It makes the hairs on your hands stand up to attention.
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hairs → make → attention
Do you remember the moment opera truly captured your imagination?
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opera → remember → imagination
When I was studying at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, BBC Wales Radio asked me to review a performance of Otello at the Royal Opera House and discuss it on air the following morning.
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Radio → study → air
Sir Colin Davis was conducting, Plácido Domingo sang Otello, Katia Ricciarelli was Desdemona and Justino Díaz was Iago.
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Díaz → conduct → Otello
Here was this little son of a sheep farmer sitting in the stalls of the Royal Opera House, about to be entertained by the best singers in the world and the most incredible musicians in the orchestra and chorus.
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son → sit → orchestra
I sang in his 60th birthday concert in New York, and he sang in my 50th birthday concert a couple of years later at the Royal Albert Hall.
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he → sing → Hall
I also remember recording an opera written by Roger Waters from Pink Floyd, who wrote a piece called Ça Ira, about the French Revolution.
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who → remember → Revolution
And I have to name Sir Tom Jones and Dame Shirley Bassey, who I also worked with as well.
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I → have → who
It's just an honour to even rub shoulders with these kinds of people.
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It → rub → people
What does Wales mean to you?
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Wales → mean → you
Wales comes first for me every time.
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Wales → come → me
We are punching above our weight, this little nation, especially in the operatic realm.
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We → punch → realm
People like Sir Geraint Evans, Dame Gwyneth Jones, Dame Margaret Price and Sir Stuart Burrows blazed a trail before my generation.
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People → blaze → generation
There's a reason these people are Sirs and Dames.
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people → be → ?
The hard work they did in the 1950s and 60s brought opera to incredible heights.
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they → do → heights
Geraint Evans was instrumental in the beginning of my career, helping me secure auditions with people like Sir Georg Solti and other magnificent conductors.
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me → help → Solti
I was very fortunate to follow a path already laid by those great Welsh singers.
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I → follow → singers
Then, just before Christmas in 2017, I got that glorious letter saying I was going to be knighted.
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I → get → letter
I couldn't tell anybody.
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I → tell → anybody
I stood in my kitchen with a face like a piece of white paper and an envelope shaking in my hands.
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I → stand → hands
My wife pretty much guessed what was happening.
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what → guess → ?
Recognition like that isn't just about what you've done on stage.
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you → do → stage
The denouement was singing Arglwydd, trugarhâ [Lord, have mercy] at King Charles's coronation.
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denouement → sing → coronation
The piece was only a minute and 40 seconds long, but it meant Welsh was heard for the first time at a coronation.
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Welsh → mean → coronation
And now I'm handing on the baton to the Welsh singers coming through.
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I → hand → singers
How do you feel about the future of opera?
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you → feel → opera
We've seen dwindling ticket sales in opera houses, but we go through different phases.
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we → see → phases
…and 6 more, not listed.
The Aporia