Welsh bass-baritone BRYN TERFEL will be bringing his very special Christmas show, BRYN’S CHRISTMAS to Swansea Arena on Tuesday 17th December. He will be joined by special guest soprano PUMENZA MATSHIKIZA and the WELSH NATIONAL OPERA ORCHESTRA, conducted by PAUL BATEMAN.
Bryn’s Christmas will include festive carols in English and Welsh, as well as popular Christmas songs and orchestral pieces.
Bryn has established an extraordinary career since winning the 1989 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Song Prize, performing regularly on the stages of the world’s most prestigious concert halls and opera houses. His repertory ranges from Mozart to Sondheim and his performances from intimate recitals to the BBC Last Night of the Proms. His award-winning discography encompasses operas by Mozart, Wagner and Strauss and more than 15 solo discs including Lieder, American musical theatre, Welsh songs and sacred repertory. His latest album Sea Songs, featuring sea shanties and folk music, was released on the Deutsche Grammophon label.
Equally at home on the concert platform, Bryn’s highlights range from the opening ceremony of the Wales Millennium Centre, BBC Last Night of the Proms and the Royal Variety Show to a Gala Concert with Andrea Bocelli in New York’s Central Park and curating a special Christmas concert and live international stream for the Metropolitan Opera’s ‘Met Stars Live in Concert’ series from Brecon Cathedral, Wales. He has given recitals all around the world and, for nine years, he hosted his own festival in Faenol, North Wales.
Bryn was made a CBE in 2003, was awarded the Queen’s Medal for Music in 2006, received a knighthood in 2017 and was honoured with the title of Austrian Kammersänger by the Vienna State Opera and, in 2022, was awarded a European Cultural Award at the Tonhalle, Zurich, in recognition of his extraordinary music career. In 2023, he sang Paul Mealor’s new Welsh-language Kyrie at the Coronation of King Charles III and has recently concluded the ‘Bryn Double’ of operas at Grange Park, enjoying five-star reviews.
Talking about his Christmas show, Bryn told us…..
“It’s the most wonderful time of the year, especially for a father of five. I am thrilled to kick off the festive season with concerts in London and Manchester and two new venues for me in Swansea and Bristol. I can’t wait to share the stage with the sensational South African soprano, Pumeza Matshikiza, and the magnificent Orchestra of Welsh National Opera conducted by Paul Bateman on this Christmas tour.
Get ready to have your festive spirits awakened with beloved Christmas classics, some old favourites and a few delightful surprises, maybe an aria here and a shanty there!”
South African soprano Pumeza Matshikiza has been an exclusive Decca Artist since 2014 and has performed at many of the leading opera houses across Europe and the United States and released two solo recordings with Decca: Voice of Hope, her debut album combining well-known arias with traditional and popular African songs, and Arias. Throughout her career Pumeza has championed numerous contemporary operatic works.
In recent seasons, Pumeza has won critical acclaim in the title role of Aida at the Staatsoper Hannover, as Mařenka in Smetana’s The Bartered Bride at Garsington Opera and as the Fox in Janáček’s The Cunning Little Vixen at the English National Opera.
Pumeza said of joining Bryn Terfel in Bryn’s Christmas…..
“I’m looking forward to celebrating this holiday season with songs and duets in the spirit of Christmas.”
Conductor Paul Bateman started his conducting career with the West End shows Singin’ In The Rain, Barnum, Charlie Girl, Ziegfeld, The Phantom of the Opera and Carmen Jones. He has since recorded and given concerts with Bryn Terfel, José Carreras, Sumi Jo, Jessye Norman, Barbara Hendricks, Lesley Garrett, Tito Beltran, Jason Howard, Sarah Brightman and Paul McCartney.
Paul has conducted with the City of Prague Philharmonic, the BBC Concert Orchestra, the Philharmonia, Royal Philharmonic, London Symphony, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Royal Scottish National, Ulster Orchestras, the Malmö Symphony, Seville Symphony, Munich Symphony, Vienna Symphony, Dallas Symphony and Pacific Symphony (Los Angeles), Russian National and Tokyo Symphony Orchestras.
In addition to its substantial operatic remit for Welsh National Opera (WNO), the Orchestra’s stature and reputation as a world-class ensemble is demonstrated by its distinguished involvement over the years in the St Davids’s Hall Cardiff Classical Concerts, the Welsh Proms and as one of the two National orchestras from Wales featured in the BBC Cardiff Singer of the WorldCompetition. On the concert platform, the Orchestra is regularly active at many high profile and festival engagements in the UK and abroad, covering an extremely wide range of styles, from large symphonic works through to lighter orchestral and popular music, together with a regular portfolio of community work, family and school concerts and chamber music engagements.
For PRESALE on Thursday 15 August at 10am. Sign up to the Swansea Arena Mailing List HERE.
Tickets on GENERAL SALE Friday 16 August at 10am HERE.
