Bryn Terfel is sitting at home in Caernarfon, Gwynedd, in north Wales.
Just down the road is the imposing Castell Caernarfon (Caernarfon Castle), which was built by King Edward I of England after his conquest of Gwynedd in 1283.
Terfel (43) bellows out to someone at home in the background in a Celtic tongue.
Instantly, you understand why his voice is adored the world over.
It is deep and resonant and fairly sings along the telephone line between New Zealand and Wales.
The bass baritone is excited about his first national tour of New Zealand, which opens in the Dunedin Town Hall tonight.
"There are places in the world that you think: `If I didn't live in my homeland, where would I want to live?' and New Zealand definitely fits the bill," he says.
"You've produced some wonderful singers here, too. You have had someone each decade of importance. You need those kind of personalities and you need that kind of success. You have to look up to people like Kiri [Te Kanawa] and what she's achieved."
Terfel tells me a story about Te Kanawa, who is a keen clay pigeon shooter, and the commotion she created when she once accidentally left a shotgun behind in a fancy English hotel in which she had been staying.
"I thought that was just great," he chuckles.
He enjoys a laugh at his own expense, too, launching into a story about the shifting sands of fame.
"I'm mistaken for Gérard Depardieu in Paris - and for Meat Loaf in New York.
"Some people came up to me in New York once and were convinced I was Meat Loaf.
"I talked to them for about five minutes before I put them out of their misery," he laughs.
Jim Steinman, who wrote many of the songs on the three Meat Loaf Bat out of Hell albums, is a friend of Terfel's and, the singer says, "a big opera fan".
Terfel's parents, retired Welsh sheep farmers John and Nesta Hefi, are as excited about the tour as he is.
The singer says he plans to bring them with him - he subsequently does so.
"It's been a dream of my father's to visit New Zealand for a long time," Terfel chuckles. "So, it's a nice thing to do. He's having his 70th birthday while we're over there.
"It will be especially nice to see Dunedin, because I've never been there before, either," he says.
"I love golf and wine and music. I'm really looking forward to tasting some of your Central Otago pinot noirs."
Terfel attributes his voice to the Lleyn Peninsula, in north Wales, where he was born (as Bryn Terfel Jones) in 1965.
"Being born in north Wales was quite a good start. And having grandparents and parents who loved music and prodded me in the right direction," he says.
He received a scholarship to the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, before making his stage debut with Welsh National Opera in 1990.
By 2003, just 13 years later, he had won a Grammy and been awarded a CBE for services to opera.
But the life of an international opera star is not all golf and wine and music.
"For the first 10 years you sacrifice absolutely everything.
You have about a decade of Mozart singing and then more of a different fach [a system used mainly in Europe to classify opera singers], or repertoire," he says.
"I think I'm going into the torrential waters of Wagner now, which takes over your calendar, because it takes weeks of rehearsals.
"Singing a lot of opera takes you away from your family for long periods of time. You're away from home and your loved ones.
"I missed the births of my first two children. I have three young boys and I don't want to miss them growing up. I'm now at the stage of my career where thankfully I can pick and choose engagements a little more and put my family first.
"I prefer consecutive concerts and try to structure my calendar. I do less opera and more concerts now.
"I would miss not performing any opera, but the plan for the future is that I have only one transatlantic operatic engagement and two or three opera engagements in cities in Europe, where it is relatively easy to fly home for a weekend.
"Living in hotels isn't exciting, even if it's a 20-star hotel in Dubai."
Terfel will be accompanied on tour by University of Otago William Evans Executant Professor in Piano Prof Terence Dennis, as they perform a selection of popular songs and classical favourites.
"They're songs I've selected from the songs I've been singing in recitals around Europe in the past couple of months. They're all very descriptive, so it's great for audiences. I usually have a cross-section of composers in my concerts."
New Zealand Opera is delighted at the coup.
"Right now, Bryn's at the peak of his musical powers. He's up there with the best of them and many believe him to be No 1," New Zealand Opera director Aidan Lang says.
"This is a marvellous opportunity for all New Zealanders to experience what critics and audiences are raving about.
"A live recital with Bryn Terfel is something to behold. He's spellbinding."
Terfel will soon release his latest album, Bad Boy Bryn, which he recorded in Stockholm last month.
Hear him
Bryn Terfel performs in recital with Terence Dennis at 8pm tonight in the Dunedin Town Hall.
Tickets are still available
The programme
Bryn Terfel's programme is: Sea-Fever (E flat), Vagabond, The bells of San Marie (John Ireland), Captain Stratton's Fancy (Peter Warlock), Port of many ships, Trade Winds, Mother Carey (Frederick Keel), Now sleeps the crimson petal Op.3 No.2, Weep you no more, sad fountains Op.12 No.1, Go, lovely rose Op.24 No.3, Fair house of joy op.12 no.7 (Roger Quilter), Die beiden grenadiere Op.49.
No.1 (G minor), Widmung Op.25 No.1, bist wie eine blume Op.25 No.24 (G flat), Mein wagen rollet langsam Op.142.
No.4 (B flat) (Schumann), (Auf dem wasser zu singen Op.72 (F major/minor), Litanei D343 (D flat), Die Forelle D550 (Schubert).
Traditional (arranged Hazell) songs: Loch Lomond, Passing by, Danny Boy, Ar hyd y nos, Molly Malone.
Encores: Big Brown Bear (Zuccaman), If I can Help Somebody (Androzzo), Suo Gân (trad.), I'll Walk Beside You (Murray), Sleep (Gurney), Whither Must I Wander? (Vaughan Williams) The Foggy, Foggy Dew (Britten).
