Bryn Terfel in a more accustomed role as the lecherous Sir John Falstaff

Bryn has won an army of female admirers since his latest album hit the top ten of the pop charts.

The 6ft 4in bass-baritone said: "A woman described me as the 'thinking woman's Tom Jones' on a television programme. My ego is growing by the minute now.

"If I'm in the same boat as Tom Jones, I'll take it any day."

Famous at the top opera houses around the world, Bryn admits he is also a fan of Pop Idol.

He said: "Pop Idol is a wonderful stage to find and nurture talent, but Pete Waterman can be quite cruel and cutting.

I have got a kind of ambassadorial role within music in Wales and it's something I'm very proud of Bryn Terfel

"Sometimes I think Waterman's musical ear is not quite up to scratch.

"He'll tell the young singers they weren't singing in tune and I'll be sitting there thinking they were in tune".

Bryn's appearance leading the singing of the Welsh national anthem before the Wales-Russia Euro 2004 play-off match boosted his female fan club.

A proud Welshman Bryn, 37, said: "I have got a kind of ambassadorial role within music in Wales and it's something I'm very proud of."

And he revealed he was wished good luck by Welsh hero John Hartson just moments before he sang to 73,000 passionate fans.

He said: "When you've got someone like John Hartson running past you, saying 'Good luck, Bryn', that's just fantastic."

His latest album brings together popular classics from operas such as Carmen and The Pearlfishers, as well as recordings of Hoagy Carmichael's Lazy Bones and My Heart Will Go On from Titanic.

Tom Jones in action - still wowing the women

It also features a duet with Andrea Bocelli following their performance together at the Classical Brit awards earlier this year.

Terfel is widely considered the finest baritone singer of his generation.

Chart expert Gennaro Castaldo, of retailer HMV said: "The appeal of classical music is broadening and we are now seeing far more crossover artists.

"Bryn Terfel looks as though he is able to successfully straddle both worlds."