Round 1 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World

truly international. Over 400 singers entered with auditions in

cities across the globe. Only 20 singers have been invited to make

the journey to Cardiff. They're following winners include including

Karita Mattila, Dmitri Hvovostovsky and Nicole Cabel. They came to

Cardiff as srirual unknowns -- virtual unknowns. Now they're

superstars. It launched my career. It's where everything started. We

are still counting. Once here they face a daunting panel of judges

including the competition's patron, the soprano Dame Kiri Te Kanawai.

It's a big title. To have that name attached to yours, I wouldn't mind

it. For the winner it's a launchpad to the world of operatic stardom.

Two years ago the young Moldovan soprano Valentina Nafornita took the

Crown. My sister was calling me and asking me, what, you are the singer

of the world now? You are? ! I can in the believe it. Who will win this

wonderful hall that has become something of a sacred space in the

opera world. It was back in 1983 that Cardiff Singer made its first

stars in the 30 years since it's become the world's most high profile

singing competition. What an impressive roster of past winners

and this anniversary event promises to be another vintage year. Tonight

the first of four preliminary rounds. Joining me all week

distinguished guests including some of the competition's form Irwiners.

Mary King is back. The vocal coach singer and advocate of the voice

will be here throughout and tonight I am delighted to be joined by that

distinguished opera director, David Pountney. David will surely have

casting in the back of his mind, he is artistic director of Welsh

National Opera. Do you remember the first Cardiff Singer 30 years ago?

remember it taking place and who won it, the incomparable Mattila.

the best possible start. A golden occasion and it did a huge thing for

the name of Cardiff. At that point, you know, it seemed like an

important event taking place here. Mary, when it first come on to your

radar? Into then, because of her because she was extraordinary and

then singers then were following every time. It was like our

Eurovision Song Contest. Thank you both. To complete our team here in

Cardiff someone who's definitely too young to remember the first Cardiff

Singer, Josie D'Arby who is on stage with the orchestra.

I can just about remember it, I was at school. Some of our singers

weren't even born. I have been lucky enough to spend sometime with them

over the last few days and I will be waiting for them back stage to get

their reaction to their performances Our first singer this evening is

just about ready to go. They'll be performing in front of a daunting

ensemble - the jury. Director of Opera Europa and Chairman of the

Jury Nicolas Payne, English Mezzo-Soprano Dame Felicity Palmer,

renowned baritone Hakan Hagegard, Casting Manager /director Maren

Hofmeister, internationally acclaimed tenor Neil Schicoff,

Norwegian Opera Director and manager Per Boye Hansen and the

competition's Patron legendary soprano Dame Kiri Te Kanawa. I like

the singers to take risks. Go beyond They have to create around them a

world and they have to bring us into you say ah, they've just nailed it.

A tough bunch to impress. This year to ensure the best talent is on

display the select reports haven't had to restrict themselves to one

singer from each country. There are two competitors from Italy, England

and South Korea. Here's two is performing tonight. Katherine

Broderick, a soprano from England. Yi Li, a Chinese tenor. Jamie Barton

from the USA, a mezzo-soprano. Bass baritone, -- Marko Mimica from crow

atia and to start Kihwan Sim from Welcome to Cardiff Singer of the

World. Who are we looking at here? This is my baby. I had just four

weeks ago a baby boy. Wow. He's back home in Germany. You must really be

missing him? Yeah. I miss very much my baby. You are first on, opening

the competition here in Cardiff. How are you feeling about that prospect?

Oh, well, I think it's difficult to home to start tonight. The first

competitor in BBC Cardiff Singer of the World 2013, Kimwei from South

Korea joining the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, and the

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conductor Jun Markl to begin Figaro, to war. Bizet next putting Scotland

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with Rossini's Barber of Seville. Dr Bartolo is hatching up a plan to

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two contenders from South Korea. He is based in Frankfurt, where he is a

member of the ensemble of Frankfurt Opera. Well, David and Mary, let's

get a response to you. True basses always in great demand, aren't they?

They are. It's wonderful to hear such a fantastic instrument. He's

got a huge range and it's marvellously equal throughout that

range. Interesting enough, it sort of also demonstrates the problems of

having a very beautiful voice. A beautiful voice is not the first

requirement of any of these arias. That's a paradox, isn't it?

there enough characterisation, enough interest in his depiction for

you? Not for me. Figara has to be all the things he was vocally but

much more playful and teasing and difficult. In a character sort of

way. The same is true of Bartolo, as well. There is a problem here I

think. If anything it was too smooth. And too equalised out.

doubt he pleased the audience here at the start of this 2013 Cardiff

Singer of the World. Let's go back stage and join I dose.

-- Josie. You were first on, how was it? Yeah, I just tried to... My best

on the stage and I just tried to enjoy on the stage. Thank you very

much. Thank you. Your views are very welcome. Get in touch via Facebook

or Twitter. Lots more about our singers and the xe competition on

our website. We journey all the way up the vocal spectrum next to a

soprano and the first of two English singers this year. Katherine

Win Winning an award in 2007. Music has always been in her blood.

dad's a wonderful musician and he was always singing folk music, he

was in a folk band, he plays guitar. He's also a classically trained

tenor and we grew up singing and playing Irish folk music and I sing

all the songs that my dad taught me when I was a kid. - when I was a kid

to my son and it's a joy to be able to pass them on. We can't have you

here and you tell us you sing Irish folk songs and not give us a blast

of one. OK, I will try. # Sings a lullaby, there grows a lily fair. #

Beautiful. Thank you. Gorgeous folk song from Katherine

Broderick. She begins her operatic programme on a bigger scale, Wagner.

Katherine is Eva in the Mastersingers, pouring out her heart

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Tchaikovsky next and u -- Eugene English singers, singing the letter

scene. She told me she learned it in Russian for the competition. I

wonder if the fact she does know it so well in English helped hir

interpretation there of the letter scene. She seems absolutely on top

of the words. I think the thing she has in her huge favour is that she

is in every second. All these long complex interludes, she clearly has

a thought process and it's going through the whole time. It's one of

the great things about her. She's totally watchable. Absolutely.

is a wonderful radiance about her personality and about her singing,

particularly the way the voice blossoms towards the top. If one's

slightly picky, you might say she misses for Tatyana, some of that

lower Reg ister -- - that comes out at some moments How happy are you

with the performance? Really happy, I wanted to convey these two young

women that I feel so much for. They're fantastic. I wanted to go

out with joy and communicate to the audience and I really hope I

achieved that. I think you did achieve that. How was it sing

singing that, of someone who knows the role so well? I have to be me

and as much as I admire Kiri, I could never be here so I was trying

to do my version and tsdz the first time I have sung that in Russians,

it's fantastic to sing it in the original language. You can be very

proud of yourself. Hopefully.Thank you. You may have gathered by now

that we are rather proud of the fact that 30 years after its birth, BBC

Cardiff Singer of the World is still going strong. It struck gold in the

first year when a 22-year-old Finnish soprano took to the stage

and won. Karita Mattila is now one of the world's most celebrated opera

singers. I considered myself so lucky to be invited. I was like

Alice in Wonderland, I was very innocent and excited about

everything. Karita Mattila from Finland with Richard Armstrong, who

will conduct the orchestra. When the TV is there the pressure is double,

triple, whatever. It's not only to be in front of the audience, at the

same time it's extra pressure and it's also an extra award. If you

There are still people from Cardiff who say that they were there when

you won and you know, it's really - moves me. It moves me now. Beautiful

audience. They carry you like that. It was like a lottery win for a

young sippinger. Better than that. -- singer. Better than that.

Everybody talks about how supportive the Cardiff audience is here in St

David's Hall, all these years on it still means a lot to Karita Mattila

who I am delighted to say will be joining me here for Sunday's final

with the acclaimed tenor Joseph Calleja. Keep Sunday night free.

That performance really put Cardiff on the map. She was so young, it 22

and such poise and sophistication and ravishing tone and I am such a

big fan. Fantastic. Back to the young singers of today and the next

competitor, hoping to follow in her foot-steps, Chinese tenor Yi Li. Yi

Li began his studies and then moved to the United States in 2010. He is

a student in Cinncitti. Welcome to the competition. Can you tell me

what do you like doing outside of opera? I love playing basketball,

cooking and eating. Right now I am busy helping my wife to get ready

for our first baby. Congratulations! Are you having a boy or girl?

soprano. How big is opera in China? It's getting big bigger. The economy

of China grows. Most large cities have an Opera House. Only one tenor

has won Cardiff Singer of the World in the whole of our 30-year history.

Is it time for another one? Let's hope so. Yi Li to perform what's

been called the Mount Everest for tenors. Tonio tells his regiment he

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he will be disappointed by that. He was spot on with the nine Cs in

rehearsal. More than once, in fact but didn't happen on the night. He's

not been well and we are off to French farming country next. He is

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in miserable mood, his hearts had David and Mary, well, David, what an

illustration on how not to put together a programme for an opera

competition. Yes, the Donizetti is a stupid piece of music and the only

conceivable reason for doing it is if you can bang out nine effortless

top Cs. And suddenly he was in his comfort zone. Yes, it's much lower

and Italian repertoire that suits him well. What about what he

finished with? The demons had not gone away and that one phrase that

rises up and it was not convincing and you could see again that he was

now worried because of what he had done before, that it was not going

to work. I think it has to be totally abandoned, the character has

to be completely abandoned and then it has to be so secure vocally that

you can be dramatically abandoned. Let's go back stage. A brave

performance from you there. Did you enjoy yourself? Yes, I am very enjoy

the concert. Are you happy with how it went? Yes. But because I got re

reflex, so some notes is not good. OK. Well, we enjoyed your

performance. Thank you very much. If you have just joined us, welcome to

Cardiff Singer. If you love great music, BBC4 is the only place to be

this week. We are here every night through until Sunday. Round one this

evening. Three singers down, two to go. We have heard sippingers from

South Korea so far -- singers from South Korea and China and England.

When Cardiff Singer started 30 years ago the vast majority of competitors

came from western Europe. Now it has a more global reach. Mary's been

looking at how the opera map has changed over the years. BBC Cardiff

Singer travels the globe in search of the best young opera talent.

There are auditions held in places as far-flung as Buenos Aires and New

York and the cast list of competing countries keeps growing. This year

Egypt is taking part for the first time. In 1983 BBC Cardiff Singer's

first year, the world of opera was very different. The iron curtain was

firmly drawn. In a famous final Dimitry was representing 15

Republics of the Soviet Union, not just Russia. In the months following

his victory, the Berlin Wall fell. And the countries of a new Eastern

Europe emerged. Now we see exciting young artists from Ukraine, Belarus

and Estonia competing and two years ago soprano Valentina Nafornita

clinched the title for Moldova. The cultural boycott during the

apartheid era prevented South Africa from entering and then in 1997 a

young man from the north-west province reached the final. At the

same time as the first appearance of South Africa, the countries of the

Far East were coming to the fore. As in business and in finance, the

biggest change in recent years in classical music has been in the

emergence of Asia. Two Chinese singers have been crowned Singer of

the World, in 1997 and ten years later the. So, who will be next?

Could it be South Korea? As with China, the passion for western

classical music there is growing stronger and stronger and more

students from the country are moving to the West to study. In BBC Cardiff

Singer of the World this year we have two competitors from South

Korea. Maybe when we look back in another 30 years that's what we will

be talking about. Cardiff Singer's own foreign affairs correspondent,

Mary King. It's true the net is cast wider these days. It's wider but

look at the fascinating imbalances. The country with the most Opera

Houses in the world, Germany, is not represented this evening. But we

have China, we have Korea represented. And this raises another

big challenge because it means that people are coming from Asia having

to deliver four arias in different languages. How can they be expected

to have those different cultures at their finger tips? It's not just a

question of language. Thank you, David. We are going to turn from the

Far East to the deep south of the United States of America for our

of Georgia and is already making a name for herself in the US. Recently

singing in Carnegie Hall. Appearing at Cardiff Singer has been a

long-held ambition. When did you first hear about this competition,

Jamie? Years ago, probably in university. It's the kind of

competition that you know of, if you are an opera singer, you know of BBC

Cardiff Singer of the World, it's just part of the heritage of it now.

Even though it's only 30 years old, it's already part of the hopeful

part of your career, if you are lucky enough you get to be invited

to try your hand at it. The thing that always moves me when I see

somebody performing on stage isn't if their vocal technique is perfect

or something like that, it's if they in their character or in the text of

their songs can convey something to me that gets me on the edge of my

seat. That's the thing I always go for and something that I think I've

got good experience with. So, I'm Giconga, a love quad rangle, Laura

about to elone with Enzo and praying from protection from the forces that

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would keep them apart, her husband # Where keep the saints

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# Oft drop their eyelids well. Elgar's Sea Pictures, she made

her UK debut at the Barbican Centre. To close her programme Donizetti's

La Favourite. Another love triangle. Leonore realising explaining her

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past to her new love may not be singing from Donizetti's La

Favourite. An opera usually performed in Italian, but originally

written in French, that was the language Jamie choose to sing in.

Jun Markl conducting the National Orchestra of Wales in this first

round of BBC Cardiff Singer of the World, 2013. Well, certainly getting

the biggest response of the evening from the audience. She's the real

deal. She's absolutely the real thing. The voice is splendid. It's a

brilliant - she's a marvellous rich bottom, it's right there all the way

through and she's an imperious character and performer. She says

that The Sea Pictures fit her voice like a glove. A great choice I can't

remember anybody singing those in the competition before and if they

did, they would be English, I am sure, and it did fit her very well.

I think this is the key. She knew that every single note in every

single piece was totally safe and secure. Absolute confidence.She

therefore could be generous with it. What's convincing about her is her

whole demeanour and the scale of her voice is in scale with the scale of

her person. She's a large lady but she has an imperious voice, an

imperious presence and you don't feel there is a dichotomy there.

tremendous display of control, did you feel fantastic and in control?

Maybe not in control at all times!s thrilling, absolutely thrilling. It

felt good. Felt very, very good. think the audience appreciated it.

How did that feel? Overwhelming. To look up and see the rafters of

people sitting up there and then to hear them cheer like that, I am

grateful to Wales and to all the people in the audience, truly

grateful. Well, Jamie and Katherine and Marko Mimica, who's about to

sing, are also all this week taking part in the Cardiff Singer Song

Prize where they perform with accompaniment from piano. The heats

finished today. On to tonight, Marko Mimica, the last competitor here at

St David's Hall. He is a bass before turning to singing. He now

lives in ber minute where he work -- Berlin where he works for the opera.

It's not just music that inspireses his performance. -- inspires his

performance. Lights, camera action. Welcome to Cardiff. Thank you.You

love the movies, we all love movies, but for you it helps you with the

acting side of your career. When I watch movies I pay attention to

acting and how people move, behave, why do they underline this or that.

Yeah, it's fun. I see in your repertoire we have a couple of good

guys and a villain. Which is easier for you to portray? I think it's

much easier to portray bad guy because, especially in theatre, you

can fool yourself to be theatrical. How are you enjoying the Cardiff

Singer experience? They're treating us like stars and it's really nice.

Treating you like a movie star? a movie star, yeah. A villain to

come. He starts in English. A Handel Oratorio to begin with, maybe a

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APPLAUSE AND CHEERING Marko Mimica singing from Verdi's

Nabucco David? Well, that was a great relief after the Handel, which

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was a big moment of cultural APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

Marko Mimica singing from Rossini's Semiramade. One of the youngest

contenders here at the Cardiff Singer of the World 2013. There are

three 25-year-olds taking part this year. Well, I did wonder if singing

that was a brave thing to do. think it was a terrible mistake. I

suppose the British feel we have a particular kind of right to sing

that music, we have led the way in baroque singing for a long time. It

was outdated and lumpy. The runs weren't there, it was a mistake.

moved on to Verdi then. This is a fantastic voice. This is a very

robust - it's a kind of Balkan voice. I wouldn't mind that in my

ensemble. He looks great. He has a great presence on stage. This voice,

I mean, it's huge. We should say in the hall, it's a huge, huge voice.

Bottom to top. Fat sound. They're rare. We don't find these voices. We

can't find them in this country at all. He should calm down and stop

trying to prove he has a loud voice. He doesn't need to do that. A quick

word with Jun Markl who's been conducting the orchestra this

evening and has developed a wonderful relationship with the

singers, they feel they can trust him. Absolutely. He is clearly

absolutely on their side, very sensitive to their desires. Watching

every moment, only one or two moments have there been slip

stitches and that's a phenomenally difficult thing. In a moment Dame

Kiri Te Kanawai is going to take David's seat. First, let's go back

stage and join Josie. It's been a long night for you

waiting to the bitter end to go on. How was your performance for you?

don't know, I feel like this was - warming up, I should do it again.

You guys wait a long time to get on stage, it takes months to prepare.

Now, 15, 20 minutes and that's it. Do you feel that you made the most

of it and impressed the jury? It's such a shame to see you so

disappointed. You did better than you think, I am sure of it. Thank

you very much. Thank you. Thank you, Josie. I am delighted to

say that Mary and I have been joined by the competition's patron, Dame

Kiri Te Kanawai. Welcome back to Cardiff Thank you.Are you having a

great time, second time around? really very much. Great amount of

wonderful colleagues and the jurors and they're very excited. You said

in an interview in the Radio Times this week you are fed up with all

these talent competitions that cast people to fame incredibly quickly. I

suppose this event is the antithesis of those shows: This is long-term.

These people are going to have a career. What's nicer than that? It's

nothing worse than having a career that's finished in a blip. I know

you won't give away anything about your opinion of tonight's singers

and about what the jury talked about and have been discussing as they sit

at their bench here in the stalls at St David's Hall. Has it been a good

night? A very good night, yes and I would like to say the orchestra's

been wonderful. The conductor's been just a gem. I am so thrilled that

he's - he accompanied so beautifully and gave the young people such a

wonderful opportunity to sing very, very well. He was very considerate.

Thank you for being with us, we will let you join the rest of the jury.

Meantime, Mary and I are just going to recap on all the competitors we

have heard this evening. Let us start with Kihwan Sim from South

Korea. Great, well organised. Totally secure technically. I felt

that he lacked something of drama and difference between pieces, it's

a wonderful voice. Second up, England's own, Katherine Broderick.

She was all heart and soul. I wasn't entirely sure her two choices really

got to the bottom of what she does best. Yi Li from China, who had a

tough night. Yeah, just goes to show howtives to to choose programmes

that are completely safe, but will stretch you and show what you are

going to be able to do in a few years' time, as well. Jamie Barton

from the United States. I think she's great and she's the complete

performer in the round that we have seen tonight in the sense that she

is well in command of her repertoire and projecting it to the audience

with generosity. Lastly, Marko Mimica from Croatia. I think he is a

dark horse, in a few years' time he is going to be fantastic, that's a

very unusual and beautiful voice. It just needs more variety, I suppose.

I asked David to call it as he sped off a few minutes back. He said

absolutely Jamie Barton his winner tonight. Your choice as well?

would be my choice, although the others have lots of wonderful things

you can say about them. Let us see if the jury agree. Remember it's the

five best singers overall who make it through to the final, not

necessarily the winner of each round and the jury are now about to come

on the platform with the name of tonight's concert but there has to

be a winner That winner of this first concert is Jamie Barton.

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING Well, Mary, no surprise there.

most accomplished performer on the night, without question. Sang a

repertoire that really suited her, in command of it. It's the right

person. Look at that expression on her face. She's been working towards

getting here to Cardiff. Will she be in the final? Will there be more

from one singer in the final from tonight's round? We are here every

night this week with coverage of Cardiff Singer of the World.