Sad note as opera singer loses voice

A leading opera singer has been forced to cancel a concert at the Edinburgh International Festival after losing his voice.

Bryn Terfel, the celebrated Welsh bass-baritone, was due to sing at Usher Hall in the Scottish capital last night but was forced to abandon the sold-out concert when his voice gave out.

A spokeswoman for the festival said last night: "Bryn is a very successful singer and has appeared at the festival in the past but, unfortunately, due to the fact that he has lost his voice, tonight's concert has had to be cancelled."

She added that everyone who had bought tickets for the concert would be given a full refund.

Terfel, who has performed in New York, Milan, Vienna and Paris, recently won a Grammy Award for Best Classical Vocal performance for his recording of opera arias.

His other awards include the Lieder Prize at the Cardiff Singer of the World Competition, as well as the 1992 Gramophone Magazine Young Singer of the Year and the 1993 Newcomer of the Year in the International Classical Music Awards.

He was also voted the People's Award by listeners of Classic FM at the Gramophone Awards for his recording of The Vagabond.

Terfel's future engagements include Figaro for the San Francisco Opera, Wolfram in Richard Wagner's Parsifal at the Metropolitan Opera, New York, and the title role in Elijah with the New York Philharmonic.