Part 5 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World

orchestra, no conductor, just a singer and piano. Pure and simple.

We'll be bringing you all the highlights of tonight's special

competition. And last night the hall was buzzing as we got the

announcement of who's made it through to Sunday's final. We'll

give you a chance to hear them all. Which one has the star quality to be

crowned BBC Cardiff Singer of the for our last programme of the week.

Through there in the main hall the final of the Song Prize is just

reaching its climax. We're being treated to a wonderful concert

tonight. The Song Prize is a very delicate and intimate art form - the

singers perform accompanied only by the piano, without the backing of an

orchestra. Joining us, Welsh baritone Neal Davies, who won the

Song Prize here in 1991. And soprano Catrin Wyn-Davies, who's been

enjoying the concerts here throughout the week. Neal, what did

winning this prize mean to you? Effectively, it launched my career.

I came, having been a student, and I left and became a professional

singer. Quite a beginning to a career. Catrin, you've been to all

the Song Prize rounds. Are we in for a high standard? A very high

standard. It will be a difficult choice tonight. How exciting. We'll

bring you highlights of all tonight's singers and we hope to

bring you the winner later in the programme. But first let's look

ahead to what promises to be a great final on Sunday night. We all have

our own favourites but it's the judges' decision that counts. So

what are the qualities that make an opera star? Who better to ask than

jury member and patron of the competition Dame Kiri Te Kanawa!

Welcome back to Cardiff. Do you think we have found a new

international opera star? I think we will. Device, the presentation, the

frock, you consider the whole package or is it just the voice?

whole package. If there is an amazing voice, you cannot go past

that, or an interpretation that is mind-boggling, the audience does not

even attempt to breathe. That is what you need to look for, that

magic bit of dust going over the performance. As a Welshman, I look

forward to this competition so much, and I relieve hope there will be a

sizzling final. Are you looking forward to it? Very much. I know it

will be a great evening because I have been looking forward to it for

two years. I hope so. Thank you for joining us. A fantastic final in

prospect, but who has that extra something to wow the judges? We

asked tenor Wynne Evans to cast his expert eye on the five singers

who've made it through. Last night, I could only manage forenames on my

list. I could not decide who might fifth person should be. In my

opinion, this man's voice is a bit Robert shows real potential of

becoming something special. He is one of the younger singers in the

competition, and has chosen some very challenging repertoire for the

final. If he can recreate some more of those magical moments from round

one, opera companies around the world will be calling him on Monday

place for the Italian contestant. What does not always come across is

the size of the singer's voice, and she filled the place with her

exciting voice, and had me pinned to my seat. On Sunday night she will

need to find a greater dynamic range in order to perform the more varied

programme she has chosen. One thing is for certain, she is not short on

expression or experience, having performed roles at one of the most

famous opera houses in the world, last gal, in Milan. -- La Scala.

Next into the final, the Argentina in -- Argentinian singer. At 31, she

already has a wealth of experience which shows as soon as she steps

audience particularly well. -- Daniela. She is not afraid to give

the drama Centre stage, even if it is sometimes ahead of her vocal

technique. That makes her an she possesses a rich and warm voice

which is totally even throughout her jovial. Will her ability to keep

calm at all times give her that extra edge to come out on top on

Sunday night? Mezzo sopranos sometimes struggle at the top of the

range, but she was hitting notes that some of the Sopranos in this

competition would have died for. The last singer through to Sunday

night's final is a Ukrainian. She has been an instant hit with the

audiences in Cardiff, and with a voice that seems to do anything she

asks of it. She had me melting in my of audience favourites, and if she

can replicate the performance she gave earlier this week, we are in

of steel to keep your composure singing in the final. I would not be

standing in the middle of this stage on Sunday night for all the money in

the world. Who will win? We will have to wait and see. I will be very

happy to be sat in that audience, watching what promises to be a

fantastic final. You can guarantee there will be some fantastic singing

and you can watch the whole final in full on BBC Four from 7:30 p.m. On

Sunday night. But there's also an award that you can vote for. It's

the Dame Joan Sutherland Audience Prize and it doesn't have to go to

one of the finalists. You can vote for your personal favourite

throughout the week. If you need a reminder, performances from all 20

singers are available for you to enjoy again on iPlayer and at the

you can vote, together with full terms and conditions. Now on to

tonight's Song Prize competition. First on stage tonight, soprano

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Neal, how did she perform? She is one of these singers who instantly

draws you into her singing. She started the programme are

beautiful, soft song. Instantly we were with her. That wonderful

contrast at the end, how wonderful to hear a Hungarian singer singing

in her native language. They are not songs we hear very often, and I

think she is an enchanting performer. She has got absolutely

everything. She is one of the youngest singers, do you think she

is the finished article? Not yet. If she could can her eyes down, it has

been said before. -- calm. I absolutely adore this singer, I

adored her when she opened her mouth. What a package. If Dame Kiri

Te Kanawa was talking about a package, that is it. Audrey Hepburn

with a beautiful voice. I thought she was brilliant. Next on stage

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tonight, tenor Yuri Gorodetski from did Yuri Gorodetski impress you

tonight? He is a mesmerising performer. He focuses the

concentration from the moment the song begins until the end. Some

songs were not quite there tonight that he has huge charisma,

intelligence, musicality, and I find him enthralling. What did you make

of him? I found him slightly on the melancholic side. I would have liked

to have seen more of his young happy side. Even some of the Strauss songs

and veered into getting rather slow. They did not have the underlying

energy underneath that they need to bring them off. His first round was

full of what was lacking tonight. I was in floods of tears. I was

laughing, crying, smiling. Interesting, because the other night

in the open prize he seems to miss those big note is on the night.

did the same thing today as well. He has a wonderful soft quality in the

top of the voice. Sometimes when he really goes for. Notes it loses some

of the beauty. Our next singer is also one of the finalists. She is

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class act. Do you agree? For me this is the standout voice of the whole

competition. It is an extraordinary, burnished sound. It

is such an exciting noise to hear. Why is everyone talking about Jamie

Barton? She has a fabulous voice. She really came to life in the

Rachmaninov. Can she get more? When she reaches those top notes they are

just fantastic. Really exciting singer. I watched in rehearsal today

and it seemed to pour out of her. It's just pours out of her. It is

honest. You were saying about how she prepares in rehearsals. It is

about making sure that you are going to become portable for the 18

minutes that you stand there. have so much to think about. Not

only the Song Prize, but also the main prize on Sunday. She is a

lovely person as well. She is just normal. That comes over in her

singing. There is a directness about her singing. She is one of those

singers who draws you into her performance. Even when she is really

going for it with those big-raisers, you never feel as if you are being

just assaulted by a big sound. It is a generous, giving voice. And all

the time you want more. Next a singer who perhaps did not do

himself justice in the name last night. Ben Johnson. C if you can

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# Because I don't suffer now I must # Forlorn yet the unit -- yet the

imminent, grief has been the effect Song Prize final. You can see more

of it tomorrow night on BBC Four. That was ten Ben Johnson from

England. He is a lovely singer. The deeper format is best tonight?

is clear from the performances that he has an established partnership

with the youngest. -- with the piano player. He chose an intelligent and

well thought out programme. A top-class programme. It must be very

difficult. Last night he had not the best night on stage and to come back

tonight and give a performance in the Song Prize final, how did he

find that? If you are a professional you do it. He has Habitat week. He

has rehearsed on Monday. He performed on Tuesday. Healy Hurst on

Wednesday. He sang last night. He has been practising this afternoon

and sang tonight. Sometimes you have to do that as a singer. I think he

is a fabulous artist. Taking it in his stride. I must say tonight is

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also through to the grand final. It glorious voice. She has got it all.

She is ravishing. She looks great. She has got a fantastic technique

and she uses her voice beautifully. The colours she brings leaves me

speechless. She is a very special artist. How important is it to be

the whole package in this competition? In the opera

competition it is more important than in the song competition. It

will not do her any harm that she looked as beautiful as she does. I

can see the record producers lining up to get her face on the front of

CDs. It is the complete package. There is the dichotomy between the

little person and the big voice. uses it with such sensitivity. She

knows when she had to open out. She is one of those singers that draws

you into this very intimate world. Who do you think deserves to win the

Song Prize final? It will be between the Ukrainian soprano and Jenny

Barton of the US. Can you decide?I would choose Jamie Barton. I agree.

I cannot decide. If I go with my heart it is Olena Tokar. I love

Jamie Barton. If you were a judge who would you choose? For me it is

Jamie Barton, but it does not matter about us. But we can go to Nicholas

Payne on the cheer of the judges. And very elated Jamie Barton. That

was not Nicholas Payne announcing the winner, that was Dame Kiri Te

Kanawa. A fantastic performance from Jamie Barton.

What is your reaction to that? thrilled because I thought she

should win. That is the standout voice for me in the competition. If

she sings well on Sunday she could scoop the double. I knew please?

Yes, very pleased. That is it for tonight. We have had a brilliant

time. We hope you have too. Banks to our guests. -- thanks to our guests.

You can still have your say in the audience prize. Details are on our

website. You can see the final in its entirety on Sunday night. I