Toronto – We welcome Bryn back to Toronto! One of the most acclaimed opera singers of our time, superstar Welsh bass-baritone Bryn Terfel returns to Roy Thomson Hall on Tuesday, April 15, 2008 at 8:00 p.m. after an absence of nearly nine years. He is joined by the esteemed British pianist Malcolm Martineau for a diverse and thrilling program of art songs by Schubert, Vaughan Williams, Quilter, Ireland, Warlock, Keel, six songs from Poulenc’s Chanson gauillardes, and a collection of songs from the Celtic Isles, including Danny Boy and Loch Lomond.

Bryn Terfel’s thrillingly robust voice, rare interpretive artistry and charismatic stage presence have won him worldwide fame. He regularly performs at the Metropolitan Opera, La Scala, Vienna State Opera, Covent Garden, Chicago Lyric Opera and San Francisco Opera. He is especially recognized for his portrayals of Figaro, Falstaff, Wotan, Mephistopheles, Don Giovanni and Scarpia. In 2007, Terfel added the title roles of Gianni Schicchi and Sweeney Todd to his repertoire.

New York Daily News recently raved about Terfel’s sold-out recital at Carnegie Hall calling him "a deeply thoughtful artist who is blessed with the popular touch: whenever he sings, whatever he sings, audiences warm to him…I expect him to become the Luciano Pavarotti for the 21^st century – a classical musician whose singing is known and loved by people who know nothing else about classical music. He’s that good."

His critically acclaimed recordings range from opera (Salome, Le Nozze di Figaro and Don Giovanni) and concert works (Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, Brahms’s German Requiem) to several solo discs including Schubert Lieder, English Songs, Opera Arias, Handel Arias, Rodgers and Hammerstein and a duet album with mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli. His CD "Opera Arias" won the 1996 Grammy for Best Classical Vocal Performance and his CD "Simple Gifts" won the 2007 Grammy for Best Classical Crossover Recording.

On graduating from the Guildhall School of Music in London in 1989, Terfel represented Wales in the "Singer of the World" competition in Cardiff, winning the Lieder Prize. In 1990 he began his meteoric rise to superstardom making his opera debut at the Welsh National Opera as Guglielmo in Cosí fan tutte and in the title role in Le Nozze di Figaro. A string of major awards followed including the 1992 Gramophone Magazine’s "Young Singer of the Year" and "Newcomer of the Year" in the inaugural International Classical Music Awards in 1993. His Metropolitan Opera debut in 1994 as Mozart’s Figaro made front-page news in the New York Times, which heralded him as "the baritone of the ’90s and the next millennium." He continues to rack up honours and awards, including the Queen’s Medal for Music, Gramophone Magazine’s Singer of the Year, the Classical Brit Male Artist of the Year and he was named a Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in 2003.

"Whether it's opera, art song, folk song, oratorio or popular song, live or recorded, Bryn Terfel is a towering presence in the international music world." – BBC News