Superstars
in Faenol line-up
By Alec Doyle, Wrexham Mail
BRYN Terfel has announced that the fifth annual Faenol
Festival will go ahead as planned and tickets for the
three-day event are on sale now.
Organisers
have confirmed that the much-vaunted young Maltese tenor
Joseph Calleja and critically-acclaimed baritone
Simon Keenlyside will appear alongside superstars
Jamie Cullum and Jools Holland.
They
will be joined on the bill by an array of internationally-renowned
young artists making their festival debuts this August Bank
Holiday.
Jools
Holland and Jamie Cullum will headline on Saturday, August
28, the opening night of the festival. It's the first time
the two stars have appeared on the same stage and fans are
sure of a night to remember from two of the UK's biggest-selling
artists - Cullum, the current king of swing, and Holland,
one of the best boogie-woogie pianists in the world.
Twenty-six-year-old
Joseph Calleja is recognised as one of the most exciting
young tenors in the world today and stars with Bryn in the
Gala Opera Night on Bank Holiday Sunday.
His
fabulous belcanto technique won the Caruso Award in 1998
and he attracted rave reviews when he stood in for Jose
Cura in a production of Il Trovatore at the Royal Opera
House two years ago.
Last
year's Gala Opera Night was widely recognised as being the
launch pad for Hayley Westenra's incredible success story
- she's sold more than 800,000 records since - and Bryn
maintains that commitment to younger talent again this year,
performing with some of the world's top young stars in classical
music.
Bryn
and his friend, star baritone Simon Keenlyside, will share
the stage with the young Swedish mezzo-soprano Malena Emman,
26-year-old Italian soprano Desiree
Rancatore
and 17-year-old Chloe Hanslip, who at five years
old was invited to the exclusive Yehudi Menuhin school by
the master himself. Gareth Jones will conduct the Sinfonia
Cymru.
Bank
Holiday Monday's Dragon's Fire programme presents another
fabulous evening of Welsh pop and rock. A host of top Welsh
artists, including Dafydd Iwan and his band and 70s favourites
Hergest, from Aberystwyth, are booked to appear.
There
will also be a special appearance of the original cast from
the 1974 production of the rock opera Nia Ben Aur.
Bryn
Terfel said: 'I'm delighted the festival is able to go ahead
again this year. It's our fifth year and a tremendous weekend
for music-lovers, so I'm very grateful for all the local
support we received to make it happen.'
The
Faenol Festival, voted the Greatest Show In Wales 2001 at
the Welsh Tourism Awards, now regularly attracts more than
20,000 people to the Faenol Estate at the foot of Mount
Snowdon in Gwynedd.
Visitors
are encouraged to arrive well in advance of the main concerts
and enjo7y a variety of entertainment.
Concert-goers
can picnic in the extensive grounds and there are bar and
catering facilities available throughout the evening.
Each
day concludes with a spectacular firework display.
Last
year's event was almost completely sold out with organisers
and police requesting at one point that people without tickets
should not come to the site.
This
year organisers are once more advising festival-goers to
get their tickets early to avoid disappointment.
Ticket
prices are as follows: Saturday, August 28 - Jools Holland/Jamie
Cullum, seats £35, promenade £25. Sunday, August
29 - The Gala Opera Evening, seats £38, promenade
£21.50. Monday, August 30 - promenade £17.50,
under-16's £10.50. Tickets are available from North
Wales Theatre on 01492 872000, Theatr Gwynedd on 01248 351708
and Silver Star Holidays on 01286 672 333.
Article
link thanks to Jon Voslo
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