On Saturday, June 13 at 12:30 p.m. PDT, the School of Music will welcome internationally-renowned vocalist and performer Sir Bryn Terfel for a public discussion and Q&A with opera and voice students. The Welsh bass-baritone, who appears regularly on prestigious concert stages and with opera companies across the globe, has received countless honors for his work including a Grammy, Classical Brit and Gramaphone Award.
In 2003, Terfel was made a Commander of the British Empire (CBE) for his services to Opera. He was awarded the Queen’s Medal for Music in 2006, and received a knighthood for his services to music in 2017. He was also the last recipient of the Shakespeare Prize by the Alfred Toepfer Foundation.
Sir Bryn made his operatic debut in 1990 as Guglielmo in Così fan tutte with Welsh National Opera and made his international operatic debut in 1991 as Speaker in Die Zauberflöte at Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels. Later that year, he made his American debut with Santa Fe Opera as Figaro. Since then, he has performed in the title role in several prominent productions including Don Giovanni and Gianni Schicchi. He is regularly in demand at the Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Vienna State Opera, La Scala Milan, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Bayerische Staatsoper Munich.
Terfel has also given recitals in prominent venues around the world. Performance highlights include the opening ceremony of the Wales Millennium Centre, BBC Last Night of the Proms, the Royal Variety Show, and a gala concert with Andrea Bocelli in New York’s Central Park. For nine years, he has also hosted his own festival in Faenol Wales.
“When Bryn Terfel enters the room, he is inevitably the center of attention, but it’s not because he seeks the spotlight,” said Rakefet Hak, Music Director of UCLA Opera Studio. “He is always inclusive, warm and personable, qualities that were immediately apparent to me when I first worked with him at the Metropolitan Opera in 1998. What you see on stage is who he is in real life.”
Sir Bryn Terfel in Conversation will be offered virtually through Zoom. Attendees may register here.