It's the fifth and final concert in the competition! Some thoughts:
Mezzo-soprano Maria Isabel Vera
Wow! A voice to make one sit up and listen. Without doubt, the mose complete performance of the week. Azucena's aria was absolutely stunning. Dazzling Dalila. Hail to the Cardiff Singer of the World 2007??! My favourite so far.
Bulgarian baritone Ivo Yordanov
Onegin was a good choice for his talents. Some suspect intonation/tuning spoiled it however. Herod's Aria from Massenet's Herodiade was similarly well-acted and had its beautiful moments, but here his Russian-sounding instrument and accent seemed wrong for the music. A bit immature.
Finnish soprano Helena Juntunen
Mimi's aria was OK but a wayward vibrato, tuning problems and a general lack of legato and tone undermined the performance. She does have a certain attack about her, however, that was briefly compelling. Marguerite's aria is extremely difficult and one must admire the energy she threw at it. But there's not enough tone in her portamenti, which are frequent.
Jacques Imbrailo: baritone from South Africa
The aria from Handel's Rinaldo was approached with enormous attack and demonstrated
terrific coloratura. Dynamic contrasts were frequent and expressive; he acted the aria vividly.
The Serenade from Don Giovanni was very nicely done indeed, Imbrailo's elegant tone and facial expression working a treat. Perhaps it was a strange choice, though - not really a showpiece.
to end, Yeletsky's aria from the Queen of Spades was more ambitious and hugely effective. I agree with Edward Seckerson that one might want more at the bottom, but I nevertheless felt moved and engaged by his performance.
Miranda Keys - Australian Soprano
Ripping performance of Elisabeth's aria from Tannhauser. Tremendous energy and power. The Berg Early Song had a bad mistuning in one high note but the voice was still impressive. The big aria from Attila was also given a formidable performance, but again some defective notes.
The winner: Maria Isabel Vera
A just choice.
But I'm less happy about the choice of finalists:
Miranda Keys (Concert 5)
Maria Isabel Vera (Concert 5)
Elizabeth Watts (Concert 1)
Levente Molnar (Concert 1)
Shen Yang (Concert 3)
For me, Molnar and Keys were not the equals of others in the competition. I'd have put Imbrailo through, and I think the Japanese soprano from last night deserved the chance to go through, even though she's not my favourite. Ah well.
Friday, 15 June 2007
Main Competition - Fourth Round
I decided on a shorter entry for this heat, largely because it's quite tiring to blog
through the whole 1.5 hours of the TV programme!
The soprano Ida Falk Winland was great stuff, as far as I'm concerned. Her bearing, her vocal production in the Handel aria and her physical glamour were all marvellous, and I'd have been happy to see her win the heat.
Irish baritone Owen Gilhooly has lots of charm and is a great actor, but Largo al factotum from The Barber of Seville was several bridges too far.
For me, Anna Viktorova, the mezzo from Russia, was by far the weakest entrant in the whole competition. She has a great voice but this is was too early for her (she's still at university!). A disaster from start to finish - I cringed through Dalila's aria particularly.
The darling of the night, coloratura soprano Mari Moriya from Japan won the heat with renditions of Gilda's aria, The Queen of the Night's aria and the mad scene from I Puritani. And yet, I wasn't convinced. The top notes weren't there in the Mozart; the style was all wrong in the Verdi; and the phrasing was bad in the Bellini. I was not surprised when she won, but I was disappointed. I didn't enjoy her very much, even though I did admire her attack of the Queen of the Night, which was sexy, seductive and powerful.
American baritone Ryan McKinny had much to offer and, in my opinion, was no better or worse than Moriya. The Rake's Progress was given an interesting interpretation; the style, if not the squillo, was there in the Mozart; and the rare aria from Rachmaninov's Aleko was imaginative and darkly powerful.
But Moriya does at least have a professional sheen to her presentation, and I understand the judges' decision (which, incidentally, took a long time!)
through the whole 1.5 hours of the TV programme!
The soprano Ida Falk Winland was great stuff, as far as I'm concerned. Her bearing, her vocal production in the Handel aria and her physical glamour were all marvellous, and I'd have been happy to see her win the heat.
Irish baritone Owen Gilhooly has lots of charm and is a great actor, but Largo al factotum from The Barber of Seville was several bridges too far.
For me, Anna Viktorova, the mezzo from Russia, was by far the weakest entrant in the whole competition. She has a great voice but this is was too early for her (she's still at university!). A disaster from start to finish - I cringed through Dalila's aria particularly.
The darling of the night, coloratura soprano Mari Moriya from Japan won the heat with renditions of Gilda's aria, The Queen of the Night's aria and the mad scene from I Puritani. And yet, I wasn't convinced. The top notes weren't there in the Mozart; the style was all wrong in the Verdi; and the phrasing was bad in the Bellini. I was not surprised when she won, but I was disappointed. I didn't enjoy her very much, even though I did admire her attack of the Queen of the Night, which was sexy, seductive and powerful.
American baritone Ryan McKinny had much to offer and, in my opinion, was no better or worse than Moriya. The Rake's Progress was given an interesting interpretation; the style, if not the squillo, was there in the Mozart; and the rare aria from Rachmaninov's Aleko was imaginative and darkly powerful.
But Moriya does at least have a professional sheen to her presentation, and I understand the judges' decision (which, incidentally, took a long time!)
Wednesday, 13 June 2007
Main Prize - Third Round
Wiard Witholt (Dutch baritone) 6/10
See the raging flames from Handel's Joshua
Accurate and nicely paced. Yet the physical performance seemed not to tally with the lyrics.
Mein Sehnen from Korngold's Die todte Stadt
A sumptuous piece, sumptuously sung. However, I don't feel the voice is quite full enough for this
repertoire.
Sarah-Jane Davies (Welsh Soprano) from ENO's Young Singers Programme 6/10
E gelosia from Handel's Serse
An admirable full tone and feisty attack. Occasionally tuning was undermined by excessive vibrato, which did not seem well-suited to the baroque style of the piece. Nevertheless, it was a vivid performance.
Beim Schlafengehen from Strauss' Four Last Songs
A glorious Lied of course, and hard to interpret satisfactorily.
She makes a beautiful sound; I'm not sure that the poignancy was
there in the face or expression.
The violin solo was immaculate. Shame more was not made of the words and there was a loss of tuning in the famous line: 'Und die Seele...'.
Per pieta from Mozart's Cosi fan tutte
One of the hardest arias in the soprano repertoire - Mozart in a neo-baroque style.
Slightly tentative at the start, and not comfortable in the chest voice, but very courageous and dignified.
Some exquisite singing, carefully phrased and articulated. I wish she would watch the use of vibrato more, and I don't think her physical stance helps either voice or
interpretation, but otherwise I liked her very much.
Juhan Tralla (Estonian tenor) 7/10
At this juncture I'd like to object to all these silly introductions by Mary King. Much as I respect her opinion, I don't need to hear her humming a Mozart tenor aria, and I don't know what's with the silly close-ups and shakey camera movements. We can do without, methinks, especially as they always result in the omission of parts of most singers' programmes.
Ottavio's Dalla sua pace from Don Giovanni
This was an extraordinary performance as far as I'm concerned. What a remarkably full, clear, beautiful sound! He doesn't look compelling, but then Ottavio isn't exactly the most compelling character in opera. An utter joy to hear. I'm surprised by the negative comments - perhaps it felt different in person.
Lensky's Kuda, kuda from Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin
A wonderful aria and quite a different challenge to the Mozart. However, the same problem of the physical performance was apparent: his odd hairstyle, his eyes cast downwards and sparse hand movements didn't conjure up Lensky for me. But once more I was dazzled by a naturally full and lyrical voice being controlled so well.
Yang Shen (Chinese Bass-baritone) 8/10
The youngest singer in the competition (23 - same age as me!)
Tito's se il cor from Vivaldi's Tito Manlio
Nice full sound, well controlled. Naturally big voice. Good but not perfect coloratura. But I don't really like watching him I'm afraid. I'd like more to be going on - more storytelling.
Sachs' monologue from Wagner's Die Meistersinger
Again, the physical performance didn't live up to the vocal one. Great to hear - indeed, a remarkable sound. But Hans Sachs is such a mature character and this guy is 23. And I don't see him ever being physically convincing in the part.
Mephistopheles' Serenade from Gounod's Faust
Rather slow, but I appreciated the greater effort to act the part. Not sardonic enough, perhaps, but a good stab. Vocally one or two stumbles, but again pleasant to listen to.
Evelina Dobraceva - German soprano from Russia 6/10
Doretta's Aria from Puccini's La rondine
Her sound is rather too far back in the throat for me. She looks pretty and makes some ravishing sounds but I'd like her to punch the sound forward more. A nice attempt at acting.
Agathe's aria from Weber's Der Freischutz
Very nicely controlled sound and stylistically correct, though again the voice is a bit too far back down her throat for my taste. Some nice floating sounds near the end of the slow part. Good linguistic skills, though perhaps that's inevitable given her nationality. Good stab, if not perfect.
Result:
Yang Shen
Good choice. Clearly the best voice. But I don't like him physically.
See the raging flames from Handel's Joshua
Accurate and nicely paced. Yet the physical performance seemed not to tally with the lyrics.
Mein Sehnen from Korngold's Die todte Stadt
A sumptuous piece, sumptuously sung. However, I don't feel the voice is quite full enough for this
repertoire.
Sarah-Jane Davies (Welsh Soprano) from ENO's Young Singers Programme 6/10
E gelosia from Handel's Serse
An admirable full tone and feisty attack. Occasionally tuning was undermined by excessive vibrato, which did not seem well-suited to the baroque style of the piece. Nevertheless, it was a vivid performance.
Beim Schlafengehen from Strauss' Four Last Songs
A glorious Lied of course, and hard to interpret satisfactorily.
She makes a beautiful sound; I'm not sure that the poignancy was
there in the face or expression.
The violin solo was immaculate. Shame more was not made of the words and there was a loss of tuning in the famous line: 'Und die Seele...'.
Per pieta from Mozart's Cosi fan tutte
One of the hardest arias in the soprano repertoire - Mozart in a neo-baroque style.
Slightly tentative at the start, and not comfortable in the chest voice, but very courageous and dignified.
Some exquisite singing, carefully phrased and articulated. I wish she would watch the use of vibrato more, and I don't think her physical stance helps either voice or
interpretation, but otherwise I liked her very much.
Juhan Tralla (Estonian tenor) 7/10
At this juncture I'd like to object to all these silly introductions by Mary King. Much as I respect her opinion, I don't need to hear her humming a Mozart tenor aria, and I don't know what's with the silly close-ups and shakey camera movements. We can do without, methinks, especially as they always result in the omission of parts of most singers' programmes.
Ottavio's Dalla sua pace from Don Giovanni
This was an extraordinary performance as far as I'm concerned. What a remarkably full, clear, beautiful sound! He doesn't look compelling, but then Ottavio isn't exactly the most compelling character in opera. An utter joy to hear. I'm surprised by the negative comments - perhaps it felt different in person.
Lensky's Kuda, kuda from Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin
A wonderful aria and quite a different challenge to the Mozart. However, the same problem of the physical performance was apparent: his odd hairstyle, his eyes cast downwards and sparse hand movements didn't conjure up Lensky for me. But once more I was dazzled by a naturally full and lyrical voice being controlled so well.
Yang Shen (Chinese Bass-baritone) 8/10
The youngest singer in the competition (23 - same age as me!)
Tito's se il cor from Vivaldi's Tito Manlio
Nice full sound, well controlled. Naturally big voice. Good but not perfect coloratura. But I don't really like watching him I'm afraid. I'd like more to be going on - more storytelling.
Sachs' monologue from Wagner's Die Meistersinger
Again, the physical performance didn't live up to the vocal one. Great to hear - indeed, a remarkable sound. But Hans Sachs is such a mature character and this guy is 23. And I don't see him ever being physically convincing in the part.
Mephistopheles' Serenade from Gounod's Faust
Rather slow, but I appreciated the greater effort to act the part. Not sardonic enough, perhaps, but a good stab. Vocally one or two stumbles, but again pleasant to listen to.
Evelina Dobraceva - German soprano from Russia 6/10
Doretta's Aria from Puccini's La rondine
Her sound is rather too far back in the throat for me. She looks pretty and makes some ravishing sounds but I'd like her to punch the sound forward more. A nice attempt at acting.
Agathe's aria from Weber's Der Freischutz
Very nicely controlled sound and stylistically correct, though again the voice is a bit too far back down her throat for my taste. Some nice floating sounds near the end of the slow part. Good linguistic skills, though perhaps that's inevitable given her nationality. Good stab, if not perfect.
Result:
Yang Shen
Good choice. Clearly the best voice. But I don't like him physically.
Tuesday, 12 June 2007
Main Prize: Evening 2
Norwegian baritone: Johannes Weisser 5/10
Almaviva's Aria: Vedro mentr'io sospiro (Le nozze di Figaro) - Mozart
Lacks the gravitas and aristocratic edge for the role. Too light a voice. More of a Leporello type. Totally wrong bearing. Has the notes but not the vocal or physical character. Apparently, the most-performed aria in the entire history of the competition!
Wolfram's Aria: O du mein holder Abendstern (Tannhauser) - Wagner
Again, a questionable choice of repertoire. Good accent. Lyrical. But gormless expression odd, and not spiritual enough. Too slow. A total lack of fireworks.
Lithuanian soprano: Sandra Janusaite 6/10
Sieglinde's Aria: Du bust der Lenz (Die Walkure) - Wagner
Not an obvious choice for a competition, the fact that this aria is so deeply embedded in the context of the opera - not to mention its brevity - made it a surprise.
Yet the voice was secure at the top and the general attack was so committed that
the result was exciting to say the least.
Mimi's Aria: Donde lieta (La boheme) - Puccini
Slight intonationtuning issues at some points, but a full-blooded sound and detailed reaction to the text made this a convincing performance. A little more vulnerability might have made the character come to life even more vividly.
Santuzza's Aria: Voi lo sapete (Cavalleria rusticana) - Mascagni
A nice choice of a verismo aria. Again, the Italian style suited her and the passion of the character was vividly conveyed.
Dmitri Vargin: baritone from Uzbekistan 6/10
Valentin's Avant de quitter ces lieux (Faust) - Gounod
A nice voice, lyrical and unforced with an almost old-fashioned beauty. But rather uninvolving physically. It's rather difficult to think of anyone else singing this after having seen Simon Keenlyside do it so excitingly at the ROH! A touch boring really.
Guglielmo's Rivolgete a lui lo sguardo (Cosi fan tutte) - Mozart
Better suited to this vocally and acted far more convincingly. The aria is well within his capabilities and this was a highly engaging account. However, not the most flashy aria in the world.
Interval feature
A nice glimpse of Jacques Imbrailo of the ROH Young Artists scheme, plus other competitors.
Canadian countertenor: David DQ Lee 7/10
Cesare's Va tacito e nascosto (Giulio Cesare) - Handel
A very confident and precise account of this technically challenging aria. His physical performance is equally engaging. Some inaccuracies and imbalances with the orchestra were forgivable.
L'ile inconnue from Les nuits d'ete - Berlioz
A surprisingly full tone for this ravishing mezzo-soprano song.
A Route to the Sky (The Paper Wings, No 4) - Jake Heggie
Bizarre, jazzy piece.
As with the previous items (and all countertenors) I found it
bizarre to hear
such a feminine sound coming out of a man,
and the sound is a bit too artificial.
But an extraordinary performance and a remarkable choice.
Ukrainian mezzo-soprano: Julia Griniuk 7/10
Sesto's Parto, parto (La clemenza di Tito) - Mozart
Nice voice but rather tentative and not acted very convincingly. Slightly too slow for my taste. I like the quality of her
voice for Mozart
but I don't like the way she uses it.
Still, it's a fiend to sing, and her performance was credible.
Joan of Arc's Da, chas nastal (The Maid of Orleans) - Tchaikovsky
Staggering aria to sing - but how did she do?
Well she didn't convince me for a moment that she was Joan of Arc
but she gave an emotional performance
and I thought most of it lay rather nicely for her voice.
Quite an achievement in fact - and this really is a natural voice.
The winner: David DQ Lee
Well not a surprise. He has personality. But I prefered Griniuk because the voice is far superior and she's not about artificial flashiness.
Almaviva's Aria: Vedro mentr'io sospiro (Le nozze di Figaro) - Mozart
Lacks the gravitas and aristocratic edge for the role. Too light a voice. More of a Leporello type. Totally wrong bearing. Has the notes but not the vocal or physical character. Apparently, the most-performed aria in the entire history of the competition!
Wolfram's Aria: O du mein holder Abendstern (Tannhauser) - Wagner
Again, a questionable choice of repertoire. Good accent. Lyrical. But gormless expression odd, and not spiritual enough. Too slow. A total lack of fireworks.
Lithuanian soprano: Sandra Janusaite 6/10
Sieglinde's Aria: Du bust der Lenz (Die Walkure) - Wagner
Not an obvious choice for a competition, the fact that this aria is so deeply embedded in the context of the opera - not to mention its brevity - made it a surprise.
Yet the voice was secure at the top and the general attack was so committed that
the result was exciting to say the least.
Mimi's Aria: Donde lieta (La boheme) - Puccini
Slight intonationtuning issues at some points, but a full-blooded sound and detailed reaction to the text made this a convincing performance. A little more vulnerability might have made the character come to life even more vividly.
Santuzza's Aria: Voi lo sapete (Cavalleria rusticana) - Mascagni
A nice choice of a verismo aria. Again, the Italian style suited her and the passion of the character was vividly conveyed.
Dmitri Vargin: baritone from Uzbekistan 6/10
Valentin's Avant de quitter ces lieux (Faust) - Gounod
A nice voice, lyrical and unforced with an almost old-fashioned beauty. But rather uninvolving physically. It's rather difficult to think of anyone else singing this after having seen Simon Keenlyside do it so excitingly at the ROH! A touch boring really.
Guglielmo's Rivolgete a lui lo sguardo (Cosi fan tutte) - Mozart
Better suited to this vocally and acted far more convincingly. The aria is well within his capabilities and this was a highly engaging account. However, not the most flashy aria in the world.
Interval feature
A nice glimpse of Jacques Imbrailo of the ROH Young Artists scheme, plus other competitors.
Canadian countertenor: David DQ Lee 7/10
Cesare's Va tacito e nascosto (Giulio Cesare) - Handel
A very confident and precise account of this technically challenging aria. His physical performance is equally engaging. Some inaccuracies and imbalances with the orchestra were forgivable.
L'ile inconnue from Les nuits d'ete - Berlioz
A surprisingly full tone for this ravishing mezzo-soprano song.
A Route to the Sky (The Paper Wings, No 4) - Jake Heggie
Bizarre, jazzy piece.
As with the previous items (and all countertenors) I found it
bizarre to hear
such a feminine sound coming out of a man,
and the sound is a bit too artificial.
But an extraordinary performance and a remarkable choice.
Ukrainian mezzo-soprano: Julia Griniuk 7/10
Sesto's Parto, parto (La clemenza di Tito) - Mozart
Nice voice but rather tentative and not acted very convincingly. Slightly too slow for my taste. I like the quality of her
voice for Mozart
but I don't like the way she uses it.
Still, it's a fiend to sing, and her performance was credible.
Joan of Arc's Da, chas nastal (The Maid of Orleans) - Tchaikovsky
Staggering aria to sing - but how did she do?
Well she didn't convince me for a moment that she was Joan of Arc
but she gave an emotional performance
and I thought most of it lay rather nicely for her voice.
Quite an achievement in fact - and this really is a natural voice.
The winner: David DQ Lee
Well not a surprise. He has personality. But I prefered Griniuk because the voice is far superior and she's not about artificial flashiness.
Saturday, 9 June 2007
Cardiff Singer of the World 2007: The Jury
As is traditional, this year's competition features an outstanding line-up of renowned figures from the world of opera.
Making his first appearance on the Cardiff Jury, Chairman of both the Main Prize and Song Prize panels John Fisher is the General Director of Welsh National Opera. His experience in both the administrative and musical aspects of the running of the Met, La Scala,
the Rossini Festival at Pesaro, La Fenice and La Monnaie in
Brussels gives him an ideal
vantage point for assessing new talent. His job with WNO also means he'll no doubt be on the lookout for talent for the company's future productions.
Joining him on the Main Prize Jury are veteran singers Rober Lloyd, Siegfried Jerusalem, Gundula Janowitz, and Brigitte Fassbaender, who also serves on the Song Prize Jury. Other members of the panel are Lenore Rosenberg, who casts understudies and second casts at the Met; and Sir Brian MacMaster, who has served on all thirteen juries since the inception of the
Cardiff Singer of the World in 1983.
Meanwhile, the other members of the Song Prize jury are Adam Gatehouse, founder of the BBC Young Generation Artists scheme; accompanist Helmut Deutsch; and singer Hakan Hagegard.
Making his first appearance on the Cardiff Jury, Chairman of both the Main Prize and Song Prize panels John Fisher is the General Director of Welsh National Opera. His experience in both the administrative and musical aspects of the running of the Met, La Scala,
the Rossini Festival at Pesaro, La Fenice and La Monnaie in
Brussels gives him an ideal
vantage point for assessing new talent. His job with WNO also means he'll no doubt be on the lookout for talent for the company's future productions.
Joining him on the Main Prize Jury are veteran singers Rober Lloyd, Siegfried Jerusalem, Gundula Janowitz, and Brigitte Fassbaender, who also serves on the Song Prize Jury. Other members of the panel are Lenore Rosenberg, who casts understudies and second casts at the Met; and Sir Brian MacMaster, who has served on all thirteen juries since the inception of the
Cardiff Singer of the World in 1983.
Meanwhile, the other members of the Song Prize jury are Adam Gatehouse, founder of the BBC Young Generation Artists scheme; accompanist Helmut Deutsch; and singer Hakan Hagegard.
In all, the entrants are sure to be under expert scrutiny.
Sunday, 3 June 2007
Welcome to MusicalCriticism @ Cardiff
Welcome to this special weblog, where we'll be talking about the BBC Singer of the World at Cardiff 2007 competition from 11June.
This blog is an outpost of our sister blog, http://musicalcriticism.blogspot.com/, which in itself serves as an online
diary for our main site, www.musicalcriticism.com.
Keep checking back here from 11 June to get the lowdown on the 2007 competition! (N.B. I may not be able to cover the opening heat as I'm at Don Giovanni at Covent Garden but should manage the others!)
This blog is an outpost of our sister blog, http://musicalcriticism.blogspot.com/, which in itself serves as an online
diary for our main site, www.musicalcriticism.com.
Keep checking back here from 11 June to get the lowdown on the 2007 competition! (N.B. I may not be able to cover the opening heat as I'm at Don Giovanni at Covent Garden but should manage the others!)
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