Is it true you'd like the festival to run for a whole week in the future?
At first, we aimed to have the festival run for three years. But it's been such a success and now we're in our seventh year.
It's only been over a weekend so far, but it's brought a lot of money into the local economy.
I know the festival's limitations. We're only successful because people buy the tickets.
Without tickets sales, we can't bring high calibre artists here - and we started with a cracking line-up, including Michael Ball. That set the standard and I think we've managed to maintain it.
So we may extend the festival to a week. I don't want it to become something like the Eisteddfod, but I would like to make the most of all the estate here. Many people in the area don't know the history of the Faenol and I'd love to open it up during the festival.
I'd love to use the old buildings as venues for chamber music, folk, jazz, blues and have people mingling from one place to another.
I'd like the festival to embrace two weekends, maybe get a massive star to perform on the first weekend. I'd love Elton John, Rod Stewart and Tom Jones to come here, they'd be my top three.
I'd like Tom to come and perform on the Tân y Ddraig (Dragon's Fire) evening and then have a synopsis of all seven years of great Welsh music, including artists like Geraint Jarman and Caryl Parry Jones - create a fantastic stage for the rock scene in Wales.
My other dream would be to have Dame Edna Everage as a compere. I met Barry Humphries in New York recently when he was doing A Night with Dame Edna - what a character! I'm a real fan.
How do you think opera could be made more
popular?
From the very beginning, I wanted a stage where I could show off my own bread and butter - opera. I was sceptical about this night to begin with, so it's surprised me in a way. Last year, when we had Andrea Bocelli perform here, we had about 12,000 people come to the opera night yet you could have heard a pin drop. It was amazing.
Opera is open to everyone, maybe with a bit of homework.
If I could create something groundbreaking like the Three Tenors, by getting people to come to the Faenol and enjoy opera, then I'd be happy.
What do you say to those who hum and sing during the opera night?
People react differently to music - if it really annoys you, place your chair somewhere different or say nicely 'I've come to hear someone else sing, not you!'
But I can't really answer as I'm never in the audience during the opera night! Although I will be out there for Westlife and might hum along to their stuff.
Do you ever get any other opportunities to sit with the audience?
Always for the Tân y Ddraig night. I sit with my family, have some wine, nice food and meet old friends - it's great. It's definitely a time to enjoy myself at the end of the festival.
How would you like to see the Faenol Festival develop and who would you like to see perform there? Let us know using the form below.
your comments
Jodie Roberts, Bangor
Do they sell tickets at the gates on the night?
Wed Aug 20 09:28:20 2008
G Jones, Bangor
I attend many festivals throughout the country and Faenol is the only Festival where you have to queue to get into a field! Why o why don’t they open the gates at 2pm like all other festivals so that people can relax, drink and eat and listen to the rehearsals. This is the main reason why I won’t go again.
Mon Mar 31 10:06:30 2008
Dewi Morgan from Swansea
Can you tell me the forthcoming festival dates?
Mon Oct 22 10:12:51 2007
Emyr Phillips
S4C do a fine job to condense 3 hours into a 50 min. programme. My thoughts also of the 100 passengers in my annual group say why do we not have someone (on stage would be an added bonus)to say who the next artist is, as the TV programme does and a little of their background. It was even out of the question on the FAB Hills are Alive night at 19.30 to purchase a programme to TRY and find out who the artists were.
Mon Sep 10 09:47:44 2007
margaret broughton, Warminster, wiltshire
I would like to see the whole audience arena opened up for sitting in the afternoon for picnics strolling etc - as most other openair concerts/picnic events do in the rest of the country.
Mon Sep 3 10:23:12 2007
Veronica Beck from Cornwall
Please may I request that the Welsh national anthem is played or sung after each of the four concerts over the weekend? The festival is a wonderful showcase for Wales, and as such the national anthem should be promoted. It was such a disappointment that it was not sung after The Hills Are Alive concert, especially as most of the performers were Welsh or had Welsh connections. I remember last year after the Westlife concert the Welsh national anthem was played on electric guitar over the loudspeakers, and it went down really well in the "pop" atmosphere.
Mon Sep 3 10:18:34 2007
Ann Smith, Radyr, Cardiff
Wonderful concert - superb artists and well done to the Korean soprano, who stepped in at such short notice and to Fabio Armiliato, who continued to delight us with his singing, despite feeling unwell. Now comes the 'but'- what happpened to the Bryn Croeso? No words of welcome to his guests or to the audience, some of whom had come from abroad. Not even an encore!The Gala concert is something special, not just a concert from a concert hall. What makes it different is a little magic ingredient called the Bryn touch. So many people made their way out of the ground feeling flat and commenting on that missing ingredient this year. Please, Bryn, remember your Croeso next year.
Thu Aug 30 09:30:08 2007
Irma Tremonte from Zurich
My friend and I were at the opera night - absolutely amazing, we did like it, but missed the name of the young soprano. If changes to the programme would be shown on the screens that would be such a help. By the way who is she?
Web team: Ha-Young Lee from Korea was the soprano who stepped in at the last minute to replace Rebecca Evans. More info here.
Wed Aug 29 09:33:22 2007
Martin Müller - Vienna/ Austria
I have read in the Austrian Newspaper "Kurier", that Maestro Bryn Terfel is looking for a composer to write an opera on the script from "Citizen Kane". I would like to do it. I write in a "New Romantic" stile. I live in Vienna and I would like to show some of my work to Maestro Terfel.
Wed Jan 24 11:22:26 2007
