On the music front there’s not much that international singing star Bryn Terfel hasn’t turned his hand to: opera, folk, show tunes, oratorio. The Caernarfon-born star won the 1989 Cardiff Singer of the World Lieder prize, and made his stage debut with Welsh National Opera in 1990.

But Bryn, who has appeared in every major opera house in the world, and recorded many an award-winning album, remains ever true to his Welsh roots. He continues to perform and record Welsh folk songs, and his annual Faenol Festival near Bangor has become Wales’ hottest ticket. The very first was in 2000 and these days it attracts more than 30,000 local, national and international visitors. It’s an outdoor event with performances from big names in classical music, opera, Broadway, rock and pop. With previous performances by artists including Van Morrison, Katherine Jenkins, Andrea Bocelli, Aled Jones, Jools Holland, Jamie Cullum, José Carreras, Shirley Bassey and, of course, Bryn himself. Today, the Festival is a permanent fixture on the music events calendar (every August bank holiday weekend) – and continues to sell out each year.

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