Famed Welsh singer Bryn Terfel breaks ankle in three places

CHICAGO – Bryn Terfel broke an ankle in three places and will have surgery this week, causing him to cancel what would have been his first performances at the Metropolitan Opera since 2012.

The 54-year-old Welsh bass-baritone had been scheduled to star in a new production of Wagner’s “Die Fliegende Hollaender (The Flying Dutchman)” that opens March 2. No replacement for the title role has been announced.

The Lyric Opera of Chicago announced Wednesday that he had cancelled a scheduled recital on Sunday, which was to have been his first appearance in Chicago since October 2005. New York’s Carnegie Hall cancelled his recital on Feb. 9.

Terfel cancelled his final appearance in a run of “Die Fliegende Hollaender” in Bilbao, Spain, on Monday after what the Lyric Opera called “a severe injury from a fall.”

“According to Sir Bryn’s physician, he has fractured the three prominences of his ankle, causing the ankle to partly dislocate and requiring a surgery scheduled for later this week,” the Lyric Opera said in a statement.