ALTHOUGH the Welsh bass baritone opera singer is best known for singing the works of Mozart (Don Giovanni, Cosi Fan Tutte) and Wagner (The FlyingDutchman) in concert halls from Covent Garden to New York, as a teenager he was no different to any of his peers.

"When I was growing up I'd be listening to Pink Floyd, Dire Straits and Queen," says Bryn Terfel.

"If I hadn't gone down to London when my voice matured to study at The Guildhall, I would probably have ended up in a rock band."

You mean a sort of Welsh Meat Loaf?

"You couldn't have ruled it out," he laughs.

His five years at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama was the launch pad to his career. When he graduated in 1989, Terfel promptly entered the BBC Singer Of The World Competition, coming second behind Dmitri Hvorostovsky.

His current tour finds Terfel taking on a devilish persona.

"The concept for Bad Boys first came to me a few years ago after listening to an album by George London called Gods and Demons. Only I left the gods behind and concentrated on the demons."

And what demons they are. Over the course of the evening, he'll be playing a drug dealer (Sporting Life in Gershwin's Porgy and Bess), a prison governor (Pizzaro in Beethoven's Fidelio) and a demon barber (Sweeney Todd in Stephen Sondheim's classic adaptation).

Was Todd the ultimate bad boy?

"Playing the role in New York was fantastic – especially as Sondheim was in the audience most nights and he would come backstage to make sure I was getting into the spirit of the character," he says.

"But some, like Dulcamara (in Donizetti's L'Elisir D'Amore – the Elixur Of Love) are just devilish rogues. He's a quack doctor who passes off an old bottle of Bordeaux for libido purposes."

Despite being one of opera's greats, Terfel's repertoire often crosses over into the mainstream. He's sung Rodgers and Hammerstein (You'll Never walk Alone) and Hoagy Carmichael (Lazybones) and even a duet with Ronan Keating (Danny Boy). What's the criteria for choosing selections?

"I look for pieces of music that stand on their own. Whether it be a full blown aria, a traditional Welsh song with an orchestral backing, or, for example, a collaboration with jazz guitarist Martin Taylor (the pair recently recorded a version of Bridge Over Troubled Water).

"I like a challenge."

Every year Terfel hosts his own outdoor festival – Brynfest. A way to making classical music more accessible, perhaps?

"I want to ignite a passion in young people for them to really get into the music. Our festival, which is held over four days, displays talent not just from Wales, but all over the world. Last year, we had the soprano Diana Damrau and the South African tenor Johan Botha – we took a gap year this year and it's just as well we did with all the rain we had."

I couldn't resist asking the hardy perennial: How do you get to Carnegie Hall?

"I know it's a cliché – but practise! Practise and dedication. If you really want something, then you've got to strive for it, and don't be blown off-course."

Reading through Terfel's many achievements I put it to him that he can't possibly have room left on his mantelpiece for any more awards – but which one means the most?

"Well, although I was awarded the CBE in 2003, I would have to say the one I was most proud to receive was the Queen's Medal for Music (received in 2006). That was a real honour – in life I've always tried to do my best and for my music to be recognised like that was fantastic."

What will also be fantastic is a return to Nottingham.

"It really is a superb venue," he says.

"The acoustics are perfect. When I step on to the stage in Nottingham it makes my job much easier."

Should an opera ever be written about Brian Clough, would he like to play the part?

"I thought Martin Sheen played him really well (in The Damned Utd), but yes, if I lost a couple of stone, why not? Clough – The Opera!"