North Terrace

Boito : Mefistofele Chœur et Maîtrise de l'Opéra national du Capitole Orchestre national du Capitole Francesco Angelico

Main Prize - Grand Final BBC National Orchestra of Wales Michael Christie Ryan Bancroft

J.S. Bach (arr. Kurtág) : Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit Schubert : Fantasie in F minor Debussy : En bateau ( Petite suite ) Chaminade : Primavera ( Six pièces romantiques ) Fauré : Berceuse ( Dolly Suite ) Fauré : Mi-a-ou ( Dolly Suite ) Debussy : Ballet ( Petite suite ) Brahms : Hungarian Dances 1, 3 & 5 Simon Lepper, piano Llŷr Williams, piano

40th Anniversary Gala Concert : Verdi, Mascagni, Gounod, Bizet, Weber, Mozart, Rossini, Puccini Louise Alder, soprano Claire Barnett-Jones, mezzo-soprano Luis Gomes, tenor Roland Wood, baritone Welsh National Opera Orchestra Pietro Rizzo

Song Prize - Final Nombulelo Yende, soprano  (31, South Africa) - Simon Lepper, piano Strauss : "Befreit" Strauss : "Allerseelen" Barber : "Church bell at night" ( Hermit Songs ) Barber : "St. Ita's Vision" ( Hermit Songs ) Grieg : "Jeg elsker dig!" Quilter : "Love's Philosophy" Strauss : "Zueignung" The opposing ends of Yende's recital were above all, I think, mainly designed to show off the beauty of her voice, and there's no denying that beauty, it's a sumptuous instrument.  However, it's a mistake to think of Strauss's songs merely as vehicles for a gorgeous soprano voice; in fact, that's the bare minimum, and you need a good deal more baggage to put them across properly.  When "Befreit" began at a snail's pace, my heart sank.  Lots of wallowing, almost static, and absolutely none of the luminous spirituality of the song.  "Allerseelen" was not a great deal ...

Main Prize - Concert 4 BBC National Orchestra of Wales Ryan Bancroft Vasyl Solodkyy, tenor  (32, Ukraine) Donizetti : "Una furtiva lagrima" ( L'elisir d'amore ) Verdi : "Tutto parea sorridere... Si, di Corsari il fulmine" ( Il corsaro ) Dvorák : "Vidino divná presladká" ( Rusalka ) If any of this competition's tenors were going to go tenorissimo  (see the entry for Concert 1), based on his Song Prize round, I had expected it to be Solodkyy.  However, apart from "Una furtiva lagrima", his other choices were not nearly as standard as might have been expected.  His darker timbre was quite rewarding in the Donizetti, but there were a couple of slight technical hitches that marred a smooth delivery, and they recurred in the Verdi aria and cabaletta.  It was, however, nice to hear his voice really switch gear for the Verdi, taking on a firmer, meatier quality.  The Rusalka  extract, from the end of Act 1, was also a nice choice, except that...

Main Prize - Concert 3 WNO Orchestra Michael Christie Beomjin Angelo Kim, tenor  (32, South Korea) Mozart : "Dies Bildnis ist bezaubernd schön" ( Die Zauberflöte ) Cilea : "È la solita storia... Anch'io vorrei" ( L'arlesiana ) Donizetti : "Povero Ernesto... Cercherò lontana terra" ( Don Pasquale ) Both of the South Korean tenors competing this year opened with Tamino's aria, and both provided stylish readings of it, but this Kim is a bit more restrained in style than his compatriot (also Kim).  The Cilea showed some nice dynamic control, but I will never approve of that extraneous top note thrown in at the end.  By the time he had started on the aria from Don Pasquale , the problem was clear, the whole programme was much of a muchness, lacking in diversity, and limited in expression.  Nice singing, but by the end of his twenty minutes, a little boring. Johanna Wallroth, soprano  (29, Sweden) Rameau : "Aux langueurs d'Apollon" ( Pl...

Main Prize - Concert 2 BBC National Orchestra of Wales Ryan Bancroft Meigui Zhang, soprano  (29, China) Donizetti : "Quel guardo il cavaliere" ( Don Pasquale ) Bizet : "Me voilà seule... Comme autrefois" ( Les pêcheurs de perles ) Lehár : "Meine Lippen sie küssen so heiß" ( Giuditta ) It's hard to know what to say about a programme and performance like this.  The singer has an attractive voice, it's generally well deployed, she's visually appealing, but there's not a lot more to it than that.  That's surely enough, you say, and yes, in normal life, and outside the major houses, yes, it is.  But this is an international and prestigious competition, and here, it's not enough.  It's a little like my problem with Sungho Kim's programme last night, we've heard it all done a thousand times before, and Zhang brought nothing new to it.  As usual with me, it's the French repertoire that ruffled my feathers the most, I felt sh...

Song Prize - Recital 4 12) William Thomas, bass  (28, England) - Simon Lepper, piano Brahms : Denn es gehet dem Menschen Poulenc : Mazurka Mussorgsky : The He-Goat Stephen Adams : The Holy City All three of this afternoon's recitalists were in last night's concert round, so the qualities of the voices were known and expected.  First up was William Thomas, the youngest competitor, and one already promised to a fine career, even without his exposure here, which is why yesterday I said I would not be happy to see him in the Grand Final.  The Song Prize, though, is a slightly different matter, because the art of the recital is an infinitely subtle one, far less likely to get bogged down in stereotypes.  In opera, audiences tend to want to hear you sing the same thing, if they've liked it.  In recital, they always want something new.  Thomas began with one of Brahms's Four Serious Songs , wonderful material for a bass voice, and he brought warmth and solemnity t...

Main Prize - Concert 1 Welsh National Opera Orchestra Michael Christie Sungho Kim, tenor  (32, South Korea) Mozart : "Die Bildnis ist bezaubernd schön" ( Die Zauberflöte ) Puccini : "Che gelida manina" ( La bohème ) Donizetti : "Una furtiva lagrima" ( L"elisir d'amore ) Massenet : "Pourquoi me réveiller" ( Werther ) When there are enough tenors in the competition (and there are three this year, two of them from South Korea) there is always one who produces a tenorissimo  programme, all the staples of the repertory, and inviting the most invidious comparisons with legendary names like Pavarotti.  It has to be said that Kim acquitted himself well.  The voice is bright and fresh, the sentiment sincere, the diction in all three languages clear.  The Werther  extract began shakily, tenor and conductor not quite in accord with their tempi, but although he brought nothing new to this music, I'd certainly be more than happy if my local compa...

Song Prize - Recital 3 8) Siphokazi Molteno, mezzo-soprano  (31, South Africa) - Llŷr Williams, piano Mahler : Um Mitternacht Mahler : Liebst du um Schönheit Mahler : Blicke mir nicht in die Lieder! Mahler : Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen The brief is normally to show as much variety as possible, so to choose a programme not only of one composer, but from one song cycle by that one composer, is a very bold choice.  Molteno is clearly not afraid of bold choices, she strode on stage in a hot pink trouser suit with a black, lace-trimmed, camisole top.  It would have been nice if she could have met that promise.  The voice is fine, warm and nicely shaped, but all the competitors so far have been fine singers, this year looks like a particularly good crop.  "Um Mitternacht" failed to flow, there seemed to be no through-thought to the piece, just episodes.  "Liebst du um Schönheit" was nicely delivered, and "Blicke mir..." even better, but "Ich bin den ...

Song Prize - Recital 2 5) Meugui Zhang, soprano  (29, China) - Simon Lepper, piano Dell'Acqua : Villanelle Debussy : Apparition Wolf : Die Kleine Berg : Nacht Yi Zhou : The Phoenix Hairpin Meigui Zhang is a coloratura soprano, and accordingly began her recital with a twittering romance popular as a showcase for that type of voice, before getting down to more serious stuff with Debussy's  exquisite "Apparition" from the Four Early Songs.  Both songs, setting French texts, suffered from the same problem; although Zhang produces the right overall sound in French, her consonants are barely audible, rendering the text mushy.  This was not a fault which reappeared in the two German-language songs (I think it's probably impossible to sing in German without consonants!) which were, consequently, rather more satisfying, with winsome charm enlivening the Wolf, and a heady sensuality infusing the Berg.  Finally, a composition whose date I cannot trace, but which would appe...

Song Prize - Recital 1 1) Johanna Wallroth,  soprano ( 29, Sweden) - Magnus Svensson, piano Schubert : Die junge Nonne Ullmann : Claire Vénus Ives : Memories Liszt :   Pace non trovo The Song Prize branch of the Cardiff Singer of the World competition got off to a good start with this bright, clear and poised Swedish soprano, physically a little stiff, but vocally expressive.  Schubert's "Die junge Nonne" made for an imposing start in quite an interesting programme, but the Ullmann was less successful.  The programme - already a hefty book - does not include lyrics, and Wallroth's French was not clear enough to distinguish the text, so the sense of the song was lost.  The Ives, on the other hand, was an unqualified success, breathlessly excited in the first part, and sweetly sentimental, without being mawkish, in the second.  The Petrarch Sonnet that closed her programme exploited the range of the voice, and the very top was just a shade short, but I think ...