CityLife

Bryn Terfel

Bryn Terfel
Bridgewater Hall
November 22, 2009

THE charismatic Welsh bass-baritone opera singer has, over the last 20 years, become one of the most recognisable voices in the genre.

With a reputation as being something of the Ray Winstone of opera, Terfel has just released Bad Boys, a collection of arias from the most renowned villains in the worlds of opera and musical: a fascinating concept and a perfect fit for Terfel’s ominous voice and commanding personality.

Tonight, Terfel brings the album to life, reprising songs from roles for which he is acclaimed. 

Accompanied by a choir and the young yet stylishly proficient Sinfonia Cymru orchestra - expertly led by conductor Gareth Jones (who Terfel describes as "the Luke Skywalker to my Darth Vader") - Terfel displays the qualities that have seen him welcomed by the mainstream without losing any of the edge that first got him recognised.

Sense of theatre

With his booming, unfailing voice ceaselessly at the forefront, Terfel slips in and out of various characters including Méphistophélès, Iago, Mack The Knife and Sweeny Todd, using props and an emphatic sense of theatre to enhance music that sweeps from the melodramatic to the sinister. 

That’s not to say the night is downbeat: in between pieces Terfel explains context, joking around in a manner the refined audience noticeably appreciate.

In fact, the only slight is Terfel spends a little too much time offstage, allowing the orchestra a couple too many intermezzos at the expense of the show’s main asset.

The Bad Boy repertoire ends with a rendition of Sportin’ Life’s It Ain’t Necessarily So before closing with Javert’s Stars from Les Miserables, a relatively light-hearted finale to a show big on show-stopping drama.

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