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Opera great Sir Bryn Terfel teamed up with the famous Fisherman’s Friends singers to transport the Pavilion audience on a roistering musical voyage last night (Sunday). 

The towering Welsh bass-baritone was making a long-awaited return to Llangollen International Eisteddfod, where he has performed so memorably on a number of previous occasions, to present Bryn Terfel: Sea Songs, a salty ocean-going selection of songs from his album of that name packed with the kind of lilting shanties that defined the era when mighty sailing ships plied the world’s oceans a century or two ago.  

Cornwall’s own Fisherman’s Friends had signed on to sail with him and added to the brine-filled atmosphere with the kind of haunting numbers which made them first recording stars and then the subject of two hit movies. 

The seven-strong outfit embarked with a programme which included the breezy likes of Nelson’s Blood, Deep Blue Swell, Cornwall My Home, God Moves on the Water and the rousing South Australia.   

Just before it was Bryn’s turn to take the helm he crept up on the evening’s presenter Siân Thomas to encourage the audience to join him in singing Happy Birthday to her. 

That done, his opening number just had to be the timeless Drunken Sailor which he followed with haunting Shetland-lyriced aire the Unst Boat Song and the flippant Fflat Huw Puw from his Welsh homeland.  

Joining him for the intricate Breton shanty Me zo Ganet was rising Welsh singer Eve Goodman whose voice perfectly spliced with that of her famous countryman. 

She dueted again with the vocal powerhouse on Ar Lan y Mor and he continued alone with the lovely Welsh piece Deryn y Bwn. 

 Fisherman’s Friends came back aboard the good ship Bryn for a couple more roistering pieces – Sloop John B and Bold Riley – which brought a hurricane of sound to the stage. 

Before he sailed away into the night we just had to have a reprise of Drunken Sailor before he finished up with the roistering Whiskey Johnny and he obliged.   

All this made for an extremely enjoyable trip on the ocean waves which came as the perfect finale to a week-long extravaganza of outstanding Pavilion concerts. 

Its famous Eisteddfod is something that puts Llangollen on the international map, according to the area’s MP Becky Gittins.

Member for Clwyd East visited the festival to look around the field, watch the competitions and meet some of the volunteers which make it possible each year.

She said: “I’ve been to the Eisteddfod many times before because people who grow up in North Wales as I did know it as an opportunity to experience a lot of things that they haven’t before. It’s a place where people from all over the world gather to share in our cultural and musical richness.

“But the Eisteddfod is crucially important not just to this area but the whole of Wales. It’s also a truly an international event, something that really puts us on the world map.”

Ms Gittins added: “The Eisteddfod not only has huge cultural capital but is also good for travel and tourism to this area. And North East Wales is always ready to rise to the occasion each year. Our restaurants, cafes and hotels are always ready to welcome people and, especially in Llangollen, they make sure that people are welcomed back again and again.

“People come on a personal pilgrimage each year to see beautiful Llangollen and its Eisteddfod.

“The team work very hard to put the festival on. There’s a huge amount of organisation that goes into it, so fundraising and sustainability is very important and I, along with Ken Skates the Senedd Member for this area, was happy to play my small part in helping to secure funding for the Eisteddfod from the Arts Council of Wales.”

The widow of the great Luciano Pavarotti had a fanfare arrival in Llangollen on Friday when she paid her first ever visit to the home of its iconic Eisteddfod.

And Nicoletta Mantovani says that she cried when she heard the world-famous Froncysyllte Male Voice Choir serenade her with a Welsh song so special to her late husband when she left Corwen station aboard a vintage steam train bound for Llangollen.

After travelling along the heritage railway line she was greeted on the platform by an Italian choir and watched a Bulgarian dance group go through their stylish paces.

She then walked to a vantage point close to the Eisteddfod field from where she had a clear view of a stunning 60 metre chalk sculpture of the Maestro in full voice which adorns a hillside overlooking the town.

Nicoletta Mantovani, who was married to the singing legend until his death in 2007, journeyed from her home in Italy to celebrate three major milestones of the Maestro’s close association with the Eisteddfod.

Pavarotti was just 19 and a trainee teacher when he came to the Llangollen in 1955 with his father, Fernando, as part of Chorus Rossini, with their choir from their home city of Modena. He returned as a global star in 1995 to perform a sell-out concert. This year would also have been his 90^th birthday.

On Saturday, she will be on the world-famous Pavilion stage to present the Pavarotti Trophy, named in honour of her late husband, to the winners of the Choir of the World Competition alongside festival Chair John Gambles and Artistic Director Dave Danford.

In another coup for the festival, on Sunday evening Nicoletta will hand over the coveted Pendine Trophy to the winner of the International Voice of the Future competition, sharing the presentation with Mario and Gill Kreft, owners of the arts-loving Pendine Park care organisation which is once again sponsoring the award, and another megastar of the opera world, Sir Bryn Terfel.

On Friday Nicoletta made her first visit to Llangollen and its Eisteddfod, setting off on the train from Corwen station.

She was sent on her way to the accompaniment of songs from the award-winning Froncysyllte Male Voice Choir, who appropriately included We’ll Keep a Welcome in the Hillside, which Pavarotti loved.

After a trip through the sun-drenched Dee Valley the train steamed into Llangollen station to be entertained by two international groups competing at the festival – the CRUC choir from Cagliari in Italy and the Folklore Dance Formation from Bulgaria – both in their colourful national costumes.

After a brief walk through the Eisteddfod field – surrounded by photographers and TV crews – Nicoletta walked up the Donkey Hill pathway to a point where she had a commanding view of the Pavarotti sculpture inscribed on the hillside, depicting Pavarotti in his heyday and arranged by his Decca recording company.

Later there was time for Eisteddfod chairman John Gambles to give her a guided tour of the busy festival field where she met a number of volunteers and enjoyed viewing a special exhibition of Pavarotti’s long association with the Eisteddfod prepared by the archive committee.

She also signed the visitors’ book and was shown an original programme from the 1955 Eisteddfod where the Maestro competed with his choir and which sparked his lifelong love affair with the festival.

Nicoletta said: “My arrival was incredible. It was exactly the way Luciano told me how the people of Wales are so warm and friendly. And to hear the Fron Choir perform – especially the welcome song that was a favourite of his – I cried.

“Travelling on the train was also very special, seeing the countryside and when we arrived at Llangollen station I enjoyed the choir and the dancers who greeted us. I knew one of the songs and mimed along to it.

“At the Eisteddfod it was fantastic to meet the volunteers who have a passion for what they do. It is really important and so precious for people from all different countries to come together in the name of culture and music.”

Nicoletta added: “I thought the sculpture on the hillside was really great and it is good that it is there for people to see someone who was so closely connected to the festival.

“I am looking forward very much to making the presentations on Saturday and Sunday at the Eisteddfod, which was a such a great starting point for Luciano’s career.”

“This has turned my long held dream into reality.”

Scottish singer songwriter, KT Tunstall, played a one-time only concert at a packed Llangollen International Eisteddfod on Thursday and her delight was plain to see.

With her first album Eye to the Telescope reaching its 20th anniversary, she played it in full, not only with her band but also the Absolute Orchestra, conducted by Eisteddfod musical director, Dave Danford.

“It has been my long standing dream to see this album played with an orchestra and I lucked out being able to do it here at the Eisteddfod,” she told the packed audience.

KT opened as the album does with one of its best known tracks – Other Side of the World – and the evening then followed the track list.

The orchestra blended seamlessly with the singer and her band – who included Razorlight’s drummer, Andy Burrows. It took the album to a new level.

And KT took the audience to a new level when she got them on their feet for the fabulous, Suddenly I see.

Listening to the album with the orchestra was a delight.

Silent Sea was a magical example with the woodwind section bring the sound of the sea to the track.

“What Dave has done with this song is absolutely exquisite,” KT said.

Then came Universe and I which starred the brass section.

The singer herself alternated between acoustic and electric guitars and took to a grand piano for one song. Between the music KT told anecdotes many linked with Wales and even the Eisteddfod.

“This isn’t the first time I have been to the Eisteddfod, I came down here in the 90s driving a white van to sell merchandise from my friend’s shop,” said.

Her parents met at Bangor University. “Dad was president of the climbing club and mum decided to start climbing.”

And she spoke affectionately of holidays on the Welsh coast, where she said it was always sunny.

While the evening was one of nostalgia the singer revealed that a new version of the title track will be released later this year.

“It has taken me 20 years to finally finish the song and it will be released in October,” she said.

“Three days ago, I received a very special string arrangement from Nashville for the finished song and an incredible flute solo.

“We managed to get a PDF of them – and Dave Danford sorted it out this morning so we could present it to you tonight.”

The hugely successful night began with support artist, Edie Bens.

The 23-year-old singer songwriter from Swansea now based in Brighton took to the stage in Welsh plaid and celebrated her home country including singing her song Mwfanwy.

Combing folk and country influences she plays her self-penned songs which stemmed from moments in her life. One told of crashing her boyfriend’s car on Christmas Eve, another told of a former boyfriend, which she told the audience, brought an angry complaint from his father.

Edie was thrilled to be at the Eisteddfod.

“I was performing on one of the outdoor stages last year whilst Tom Jones was playing in the pavilion. Now I am standing on the Pavilion stage,” she said.

The Eisteddfod evening concerts continue with Choir of the World with Lucie Jones on July 12 and Bryn Terfel and Fisherman’s Friends on July 13.

The “special” thing about Llangollen International Eisteddfod for one of its most respected judges is the high standard of the choirs who compete there.

What also mightily impresses Brian Hughes, Chorus Manchester at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester for 25 years, has been a regular adjudicator at the festival for the past decade or more and is a composer of renown in his own right, is its strong international flavour.

All this brings him to admit that he’s very much looking forward to giving his valued opinions on the 2025 competitions which are now playing out in earnest in and around the world-famous Pavilion between now and Sunday July 13.

Brian is considered to be one of the most important choral composers living in Wales today.

The highly charged rhythmic energy of his music coupled with his knowledge of vocal technique produces a fresh, contemporary style that is both readily singable and stimulating for both audiences and performers alike.

His works are regularly performed by both amateur choral groups and professional singers throughout the world. A recognition of his choral expertise is the fact that the Llangollen International Eisteddfod commissioned him to write a test piece for the 2007 Male Voice Choir competition. This was a setting of William Blake’s ‘Tyger! Tyger! Burning Bright’.

Brian, who comes from Ponciau near Wrexham just up the road from Llangollen, says he was a regular at the Eisteddfod years before he became an adjudicator there, going along to sing with his own local choir.

“I remember coming here to compete with them and that was many years ago. But even before that I learned a lot by listening to the adjudicators and applied what I’d learned from them to my own choir,” he said.

Brian’s has written extensively for choir and orchestra.

“With the choral work my main interest is in the voice. The first thing I want to hear from choirs is a healthy resonant sound. I find that some choirs don’t work enough on tone – the actual quality of the voice doesn’t come through. The choirs who concentrate on the sound are best ones.”

The two things that impress him most about the Eisteddfod from his unique musical standpoint are the standard of the choirs and the festival international character.

He explains: “The standard of choirs at Llangollen is world class in some cases, and the international flavour is amazing. The ones from America, particularly the universities like Yale and Michigan, is very high. They are a huge force to be reckoned with. Their standard is very high, almost professional.

“The best of the Philippines choirs are of immense quality. In the past we had choirs competing from Bulgaria and they were also very fine.”

Brian will be adjudicating throughout Eisteddfod week and he says the one he is particularly looking forward to is the Solo Under 17 competition.

“That’s always a very interesting one as it is packed with enthusiastic parents and supporters of the Eisteddfod.”