BBC Cardiff Singer of the World, 14/06/2023

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 it confirmed what was already suspected, that Solodkyy doesn't have that 'ping' at the top of the range that you really want to hear.

Julieth Lozano Rolong, soprano (31, Colombia)

Janáček : "Kradla jsem!" (The Cunning Little Vixen)

Massenet : "Je suis encore toute étourdie" (Manon)

Puccini : "Donde lieta uscì" (La bohème)

Roig : Salida de Cecilia (Cecilia Valdés)

In the brief interview snippet, that we in the hall got to see for each contestant, Rolong said she performed barefoot because she hadn't yet found a pair of heels that let her move as she wished on stage.  And move she certainly does, only her Mimì was comparatively static.  The Janáček was an interesting choice, but a difficult one - Janáček is not a particularly grateful writer for the voice, no matter how glorious the finished product is, and the Vixen's monologue, when she's presenting her prospective suitor with her colourful c.v., can come across as very bitty, something Rolong did not manage to avoid.  It was also evident now that the voice, though very attractive, is small.  The personality for Manon was pretty much on the nail, at least for this early aria, but I don't see her pulling off the St. Sulpice scene nearly as effectively, while the Bohème aria never quite hit the mark.  It was a bit startling to read that the zarzuela heard next dates from 1965; this was pretty much the height of the avant-garde in European music, but Roig remained firmly and confidently rooted in a turn of the century idiom, vibrantly spiced with Cuban dance rhythms, which Rolong revelled in, both vocally and physically, because she certainly can dance!

Adolfo Corrado, bass (29, Italy)

Mozart : "Madamina, il catalogo è questo" (Don Giovanni)

Rossini : "Deh! ti ferma... Quei numi furenti" (Semiramide)

Gounod : "Le eau d'or" (Faust)

Corrado was the second singer not to take part in the Song Prize, and so another voice we had not yet heard.  The moment he started on the Catalogue Aria, his personality leaped off the stage.  First of all, there was the Italian language, completely natural, of course, but then there was the sense of narrative.  Compared to Ogulcan Yilmaz, the Turkish bass-baritone of two days ago, this was a living, breathing Leporello.  Corrado took liberties with the score, but it was completely at the service of the portrayal.  The Rossini was a bold choice, Assur's "mad scene" from Act 2 of Semiramide, an extraordinary number  that prefigures the young Verdi.  I could have wished that the bel canto ornamentation was a little crisper, but again, he was drawing us through a story with him, we could feel his torment, see the ghost that haunts his bad conscience, and feel the shame that fires his belligerent cabaletta.  The voice is sumptuous, rich and powerful, and for someone with only six years of training behind him, the technique is truly impressive.  Finally a "Song of the Golden Calf" from Faust, where his French was about as good as most Italian singers - which is to say, not very - but the demonic presence burned clearly.  This was an outstanding performance from a true storyteller, and suddenly we were at a completely different level of competition.

Beth Taylor, mezzo-soprano (29, Scotland)

Rossini : "Alma ben mio... Tu non sai" (Bianca e Falliero)

Mahler : "Urlicht" (Symphony No. 2 "Resurrection")

Handel : "Vorrei vendicarmi" (Alcina)

It was pretty obvious that Corrado had made a huge impact on the audience, and following him was going to be a challenge.  Taylor met that head-on, as bold and confident as Corrado himself.  Her first number, a scena (double aria and cabaletta) from a lesser-known Rossini opera, immediately set out her credentials in the bel canto repertory, and her stated personal preference for trouser-roles, which seems suitable for this bitter chocolate-dark mezzo.  Taylor was utterly invested in this betrayed character, throwing herself into the massive tour de force vocally and emotionally.  To go from that to the stillness of Mahler's "Urlicht" was an extraordinary transition which she negotiated faultlessly, and became an oasis of serenity and spiritual fervour, the voice smooth and even, with shades of Kathleen Ferrier about it.  Finally, another display of vocal pyrotechnics in a Handel aria from Alcina, with a character who, although female, spends most of the opera disguised as her own brother, and at this point appears to be throwing a massive tantrum, full of sound and fury, which Taylor pulled off with aplomb and real fire.  

There was absolutely no question that the decision of the evening would be between Corrado and Taylor, they were quite clearly head and shoulders above the other two competitors.   Both were outstanding, perhaps the two most convincing performances of the entire competition to this point.  With three female singers already selected, the odds were heavily in Corrado's favour.  There also, however, remained the question of the wildcard, the fifth finalist, who could be selected from any of the previously unchosen singers, and I know I was not the only person present who was fervently hoping that Taylor would win that place.  Or, if perchance Taylor was selected as the round winner, then Corrado would be the wildcard.  And so it proved to be, Corrado as the winner, and Taylor as the wildcard.  

I'm not going to speculate on the ultimate winner.  I will say that the two finalists from tonight truly provided the 'wow' factor that I have been waiting for all week.  

[Next : 15th June]