BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Fringe, 16/06/2023

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

To celebrate 40 years of the Cardiff Singer of the World competition, the orchestra of Welsh National Opera put on a gala concert of operatic bits and bobs with four alumni of the competition.  Given that three of the four soloists were English, a stranger to the proceedings might be inclined to wonder if the competition truly had the international credentials it claims, however, there was only really one major niggle.  Claire Barnett-Jones, appearing, literally, in between rehearsals at the Bayreuth Festival, where she is singing in both Die Walküre and Götterdämmerung, was feeling the effects of international jet-setting, and increasingly as the evening progressed chose to husband her vocal resources, so that by the end of the evening, she was barely audible.  Not an ideal situation, if understandable.  That aside, however, this was a quartet that was thoroughly entertaining, and if the repertory was fairly familiar, it was not nearly as hackneyed as it might have been, with more ensemble numbers than solos, and plenty of work for the orchestra alone.

The evening began, naturally, with an overture, Verdi's finest, that of La forza del destino.  If you've read any of my reports of the concert rounds of this year's competition, you may have noticed that I haven't talked about the orchestras, and that's unusual for me.  The reason is because I've found the orchestral contribution this year very poor, and particularly from the WNO orchestra.  To be frank, it was only in Concert 4, and in the latter half at that, that any of the orchestral playing finally felt like the true supportive force it's meant to be.  Earlier in the week, there were sounds coming from the WNO orchestra especially that had no place in a professional concert.  Both of these orchestras have been accompanying this competition from the start, and I've heard many examples of extremely fine playing from both over the years, so I'm laying the blame squarely on the shoulders of the conductors, and especially Michael Christie.  The proof lay in tonight's pudding; under the baton of Pietro Rizzo, this was a completely different band, alert and sensitive, not flawless, but with a real presence, both in their solo work, and as partner to the singers, in short, exactly what one would want and expect from them.  

The vocal component began with the opening scene of Act 1 of Simon Boccanegra, Amelia's aria, with its lovely, burbling accompaniment, immediately followed by her duet with Gabriele.  Louise Alder's fresh, bright timbre sounded perfect here, and Luis Gomes was a suitably ardent Gabriele.  I don't recall Gomes in his Cardiff appearance in 2019, but before that he sang in one of the Scottish Opera concert performances, and I recall liking his voice, but not his French.  That has improved notably in the interim,  as he demonstrated a little later with "Salut, demeure chaste et pure" from Faust, and partnering Barnett-Jones in the Seguidilla from Carmen - although like most strongly Italianate singers, he couldn't manage the voix mixte required for the top note of the Gounod aria, and belted it out, confidently, but rather jarringly.  

In between the Verdi and the Gounod, Barnett-Jones joined forces with Roland Wood for the Santuzza/Alfio duet from Cavalleria rusticana, followed by the Intermezzo from the same opera.  I don't recall Wood's appearance at Cardiff (in 2003) either, but he's become something of a regular at Scottish Opera, and one whom I have come to appreciate increasingly over the years, after a slow start.  He was certainly on very fine form tonight, with ringing high notes and an easy and commanding stage presence, and was convincing both as the angry Alfio, and the swaggering Escamillo.  Barnett-Jones, on the other hand, didn't seem too good a fit for Santuzza, though this may partly have been because she wasn't giving full voice.  The only place she did really sing out was in the Carmen extract, which presented her in a much stronger light.  

The second half began with the Overture to Der Freischütz, atmospherically delivered, and then delved into Mozart, first with an excellent "Soave sia il vento" (Così fan tutte), then with "Là ci darem la mano" (Don Giovanni), which was nicely delivered, but maybe a little rushed.  Rizzo certainly wasn't lollygagging around with that number.  Barnett-Jones performed no solo, so we did not get "Mon coeur s'ouvre à ta voix" (Samson et Dalila), but went straight on to the overture to Rossini's La scala di seta.  Although it's a piece I know well, I don't think I've ever seen it played before, and hadn't realised there are two snare drums in operation in the overture.  I don't know if this is usual, but they were placed stereophonically, to considerable effect.  

Wood returned with an excellent "Alzati!... Eri tu" (Un ballo in maschera), then Alder with a piece that gives me toothache, Doretta's Dream from Le rondine by Puccini, but which she delivered very nicely.  Gomes produced a suitably bold "La donna è mobile" (Rigoletto), and then was joined by the other three for the quartet "Bella figlia dell'amore" which immediately follows his aria.  It was here that the absence of Barnett-Jones's full voice was most felt, the quartet was imbalanced, but the other three were a pleasure to hear.  The encore was an adaptation of the Merry Widow Waltz for the quartet and orchestra, which brought the enjoyable evening to a close.

[Next : 17th June]