Terfel as Sweeney Todd

from Bloomberg.com

Terfel’s own career is moving with increasing momentum toward the great Wagnerian roles. He was applauded for his Wotan at the Royal Opera recently and will be singing the role again in a full cycle later this year. He will soon add Hans Sachs (“Die Meistersinger”) to his repertoire at Welsh National Opera.

Is Wagner a particularly daunting challenge?

“I’ll certainly be giving John Tomlinson a few calls to get tips,” he says, referring to another great bass-baritone.

I suggest that I can’t imagine many sopranos sharing tips and ask why it is different for baritones.

“As a baritone, you usually start your career with Mozart, and both `Don Giovanni’ and `Figaro’ have great roles for two baritones,” Terfel explains. “So you get to meet and work with all the singers of your generation early on. So yes, lots of us are good friends. It’s like there’s a club of us.”