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<\/a><\/p>\nBut first Wynne faces a mad dash from Covent Garden where he’ll be performing in the Richard Strauss opera, Ariadne auf Naxos,<\/em> the night before at the Royal Opera House.<\/p>\n He’ll be joining Bryn and an all-Welsh cast in an English language production of the Sondheim classic on the opening night of the Llangollen Eisteddfod on Monday, July 7, that’s being sponsored by the Pendine Park care organisation.<\/p>\n According to Wynne, 42, Llangollen is one of his favourite places on the planet.<\/p>\n He explained: \u201cLlangollen is a very special place and one of the most special places on earth for a week.<\/p>\n \u201cI performed in a headline concert there a couple of years ago and also presenting BBC 2\u2019s coverage of the festival for the last two years.<\/p>\n \u201cLlangollen is a wonderful place to return to especially as I\u2019m going to be performing with my old mate Bryn Terfel.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m playing the role of Pirelli, Sweeney Todd\u2019s arch rival who is slain by the Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Luckily, Bryn and I are good friends or I might just take it personally!<\/p>\n \u201cWe both attended the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, although he was a few years ahead of me. So we have been good friends having know each other for a long time.”<\/p>\n Wynne, who was born in Carmarthen, was an established opera star long before he was picked to play Gio Compario for the Go Compare TV ads and has performed at many of the world\u2019s top venues including the Royal Albert Hall.<\/p>\n The TV exposure, he says, has been a bonus when it comes to concert ticket sales.<\/p>\n He added: \u201cIt\u2019s amazing really. Six years ago I was relatively unknown until of course Gio Compario came along. It doesn\u2019t bother me though, I know I was a successful opera singer before he came along and I will continue performing in the future.<\/p>\n \u201cI think about the attention I get as my being an ambassador for Wales actually. I have just been over to Dublin for the rugby international, I was working for a TV station, and, as usual, I got lots and lots of \u2018Go Compare\u2019 shouts from across the street.<\/p>\n \u201cHowever, I feel quite honoured really. I know some artists and performers who get quite precious and don\u2019t want to perform the very song that made them famous. I can never understand that, it just doesn\u2019t make sense to me.<\/p>\n “People expect you to perform what they know you best for. What\u2019s the point in disappointing people?<\/p>\n \u201cI know a lot of people come along to concerts or opera performances I\u2019m in as a direct result of seeing those TV ads so I am happy to celebrate that.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd I\u2019m filming a few more ads in the near future so you can expect to see Gio Compario back on your TV screens quite soon!\u201d<\/p>\n Sweeney Todd was the perfect introduction for anybody who hasn’t seen live opera before.<\/p>\n He said: \u201cIt\u2019s superb. Fast moving and menacing it’s got a bit of everything including murder and intrigue and the music is just sensational.”<\/p>\n This year\u2019s Eisteddfod will also feature concerts by Dutch jazz sensation Caro Emerald and veteran British rockers Status Quo as well as a world premiere of a new work, Adiemus Colores, by top composer Karl Jenkins.<\/p>\n He will conduct his Latin American themed work with American tenor Noah Stewart, Venezuelan trumpeter Pacho Flores and Latvian accordion player Ksenija Sidorova to the accompaniment of the Llangollen International Eisteddfod Orchestra.<\/p>\n The Friday night concert, Spirit of Unity, will feature the Cape Town Opera, Africa\u2019s premiere opera company, famed for their “vibrant vocalism and high-octane stage performances”.<\/p>\n Appearing with them will be Wales\u2019 representative in Cardiff Singer of the World, Gary Griffiths, the Wales Millennium Centre Only Kidz Aloud Chorus under the baton of celebrity conductor Tim Rhys Evans and British Sinfonietta, one of the UK’s leading independent professional orchestras.<\/p>\n The Choir of the World competition for the Pavarotti Trophy on the Saturday night is the blue riband event of the week-long festival which will close with a Sunday night concert by Status Quo.<\/p>\n To book tickets and for more details on the 2014 festival go to the website at www.international-eisteddfod.co.uk<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n