Round 1 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World

Welcome to Cardiff and the world's greatest

Over the next six nights we will introduce you to 20

thrilling performers, exciting new talent drawn

Our singers arrived here just a few days ago,

all with one ambition to showcase their skills

and artistry on this biggest of international stages.

And at the end of this week, one of them will be named BBC

First held in 1983, BBC Cardiff Singer has been the launch

pad for some of the biggest names in opera.

This time nearly 400 singers entered from 64 countries and following live

auditions in cities around the world, 20

Their challenge now is to impress a formidable international jury.

This is sinking of the highest standard. Cardiff is probably the

most important competition. I'm looking forward to being moved.

For a competition with such a rich history of notable success stories,

the world is waiting to find out who will be the next

It seems like a matter of weeks since we were last

here but two years have passed - where's the time gone?

Once again lovers of opera and song along with agents, producers,

critics and directors are gathered here in Cardiff to identify

the classical singing stars of the future.

We are on here BBC4 every night now through to Sunday's final,

with some familiar faces to guide us through this great vocal tournament.

Including American soprano Angel Blue, who comes to Cardiff

straight from singing Mimi in La Boheme at the

There's a real sense of excitement building backstage as we wait

to hear our first five competitors this evening.

I look forward to speaking to you after we have heard our first

singer. Thanks Angel, the wait

is almost over. The BBC National Orchestra of Wales

on stage, to be joined tonight by singers from Italy,

Russia, the USA, Just time for a quick

word from my guests, British soprano Lucy Crowe,

who later this month will star in Mozart's 'Mitridate'

at the Royal Opera House, and the American Lawrence Brownlee,

currently singing the title-role in Charlie Parker's 'Yardbird'

at English National Opera, a "remarkable" performance

according to the Guardian. Lucy, what are you going to be

looking for this evening? Looking for star quality which is of

course hard to define but essentially it is charisma, someone

who can communicate the wonderful music they will be singing in a

unique way, showing us their personality in a compassionate way.

We also want them to show us, taking their heart out and laying it on the

table, here is my sole! You get at most four pieces of music to win

over the jury and make an impression is is the. Absolutely, the most

important thing is we have to do is artist is find something that shows

our strengths, what we do well and we present that with our hearts and

hopefully people enjoy it. A lot more from both of you as the evening

progresses. And you can share your thoughts

with us on our Facebook page or on Twitter throughout the week -

hashtag CardiffSinger ? but it's our impressive panel

of judges that the singers They will choose a winner

of each round, guaranteed a place in Sunday's final,

and on Friday we'll find out who they've have chosen

as their extra, wildcard selection. Let's introduce the

Cardiff Singer Jury. Grammy award-winning

Korean Soprano Sumi Jo. What impresses me most is embeddable

technique and in aid musicality which nobody can teach you. Make

people happy, that's your job. The renowned Austrian Baritone,

Wolfgang Holzmair. What I really look for is do they

tell me a story, that is more important for me than the voice

quality or the show quality. The voice I'm looking for is

expressive, catches my attention, something that is going to excite

me. Internationally

acclaimed Estonian conductor - There are some wonderful voices but

it is the whole package that matters.

And chairing the jury, Artistic Director

Technical excellence is important but they have liver a message from

one human being to another. The 2017 BBC Cardiff Singer

of the World jury. Singing for them tonight and vying

for a place in Sunday's final - Anthony Clark

Evans ? a Baritone from Mongolian tenor,

Batjargal Bayarsaikhan. Italian bass-baritone,

Roberto Lorenzi Born in Luke Gunn with the hometown

of Puccini, Roberto make his debut in Labyrinth in Milan when he was

just 22. Nowadays he is an established ensemble member at the

Zurich Opera house. To be here is unbelievable, you look around and

you see, and hear in the middle of a lot of professional singers. And you

say, yeah, OK, I can enjoy it and have fun and make the public have

fun as well I hope. In my life I always searched for a way to grow

and become better and better like an artist, like a man as well, and I

think this kind of experience are the most important to grow.

So to launch BBC Cardiff Singer of the World 2017,

The BBC National Orchestra of Wales accompany tonight's singers,

under the direction of its principal conductor, Thomas Sondergard.

A real competition favourite to begin -

the 'Catalogue Aria' from Mozart's Don Giovanni.

APPLAUSE Roberto Lorenzi launching the

competition this year, thinking from Mozart. Bellini next.

APPLAUSE 27-year-old Italian bass baritone,

Roberto Lorenzi, apparently based at the opera house in Zurich.

One down, 19 to go. Lucie and Lawrence are here. How was that for

you, as a start to a competition? It's quite a tough challenge to go

on first in an event like this? It's very scary to be the first one on.

He did a great job. I think it was wise to start with Mozart. I think

it's not a challenging piece for singer or for the audience. That's

really important. However I really wanted a bit more cheekiness and

flirtiness. He's talking about the bedding of thousands of women. He

just needed to give us a bit more cheekiness of that. It's

interesting, he's clearly very patriotic as an Italian, but he only

sang in Italian. You take your strengths and if that's the

repertoire he's going to sing most of his career, if he's guided in

that direction, it's a safe thing. He can build doing those things that

he's going to be doing. What I found interesting is the fact he's an

Italian singer, I think he lacked some of the double consonants

occasionally. The wonderful thing I think we have as artists is to be

able to use those things to really enthuse what we do. So he has

everything in front of him to take advantage of that. We'll leave it

there for now. Thank you both very much indeed. Let's go back stage and

hear Roberto's opinion as to his performance. Angel will be talking

to each singer as they come off stage.

Roberto, complimente. Thank you so much. You started out the

competition this year, a very strong performance. So beautiful. Thank you

so much. It was like the hardest piece that I did, I think, maybe.

You know, if you think to Italy, and I think to Italy while I'm singing,

for this maybe. Full of feeling, maybe. Yes, definitely full of

feeling, great emotion. You've made Italy very proud today. Thank you.

Thank you very much. If you miss any of our singers this week, you can

catch up with our programmes on BBCi player. There's an aria from each

singer on our website. But now, let's move on with our competition.

Our next singer is Russian mezzo-soprano, Nadezhda Karyazina.

Originally from Moscow, 30-year-old Nadezhda Karyazina has performed

with the likes of Palace doe Domingo and Jose Careras. She was at the

Bolshoi theatre and now sings at the Hamburg state op ra. I'm following

this competition last ten years. It's like Olympic Games. Very

exciting, every two years about this. I was waiting when I will be

ready for this competition. Last year, I thought maybe it's time to

try myself. I was so happy when I have an e-mail that I got through

and I can come to Cardiff and sing. It's amazing feeling. I'm vibrating

with the music already. I'm sure that it's once in a life experience.

Nadezhda Karyazina begins her programme singing from La Favorita.

Leonara is to marry her beloved Fernando, but she knows he is going

to have to tell him the truth about her past, that she was the king's

mistress. CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Nadezhda Karyazina singing music by Donizetti from La Favorita. Nadezhda

will finish with an operatic favourite, Rossini with the barber

of Seville. APPLAUSE

Nadezhda Karyazina, trained in Moscow but spent two years in London

as part of the Royal Opera house young artists programme. It was

thrilling to be sitting alongside her heroes there she said. We can

straightway get a response from Lucy and Lawrence. La Favorita is an

opera that is rarely performed but that aria is a fantastic way of

showing off the smoky middle of her voice. Absolutely, it was stunning,

a great opener for her also as I said, she bared her soul for us. We

got a sense of the energy and pain and you could feel it. Absolutely.

She is a beautiful wild horse that needs taming a bit! Develop that

thought! What we look for is a refinement. And along the way we

learn from colleagues, you get a chance to share the stage with them,

they are doing wonderful things and things that are natural and things

that seem innate, something that comes out of you. And I think these

younger singers are learning along the way and hopefully they will get

a grasp of what it is to inhabit these characters. There is something

almost geographically specific to me about her voice, the Russians do

that special sound very well. It gets you, doesn't it. It is a

gorgeous voice. We can go straight stage because Nadezhda is with

Angel. That was a wonderful performance, how did you feel you

did? I am never happy with myself but I think it went quite well. The

public liked you a lot. The public is amazing, they were listening, so

open listening with heart. They were so welcoming and supporting it is an

amazing feeling. Bravo to you, you sang beautifully. Back to you,

Petroc. Thank you. Onto to singer number three in this

first round of Cardiff Singer of the World 2017,

an American baritone, 32-year-old Clark has sung rolled

all over America to stopping his career five years ago but it is a

career that had a slightly rocky start. I went to college and it did

not work out, did not graduate and I got a job selling cars and did that

for a while but kind of got an itch in my belly and I had to see if I

was going to be able to make it singing opera. And the way to do

that was to try some competitions so I did the Metropolitan Opera

competition in New York City and was one of the winners out of 1500 or so

people and that is how I got my first break in the business and it

went from there. Clarke says he came across Cardiff

Singer while researching great singers of the past online. I went

through the annals of history and saw who was there and there was an

American baritone who was the winner of the second competition I believed

and that gave me some inspiration. I did some more research and I was

like, we have at the American winners. It would be great to add my

name to that list but just to be here it is a wonderful experience.

Clark, as he likes to be known had described this role as one that felt

like $1 million right off the bat which is why he has chosen to sing

from it here in Cardiff. Anthony Clark Evans singing from

Wagner. He was a graduate of the Chicago Opera Young singer bowled

programme and is going to finish singing from the Calvo's Pagliacci.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE Well that's the loudest cheering

we've heard so far this evening for Anthony Clark Evans from the USA.

Thomas Sondergard conducting the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. Well,

you know, this trip to Cardiff is the first time that Clark has ever

left the United States of America. Lawrence, I think he made the right

decision to book that ticket. I think so too. What an exciting

performance. You just understand that he enjoyed every moment that he

was on stage and I think he really raised the level tonight. So much

colour, so much character, so much variation in his sound and

everything. For me, so much ease. Here was someone who was completely

at home with himself and his skill. He seemed to be out there just

enjoying himself. Absolutely, the most amazing stage presence,

charisma, which is what we were hoping for. He was the first artist

to use a broad spectrum of colour. The dynamics. And to go straight

from doing something with the emotional power of the Wagner we

heard, into a piece of such brilliant comedy, which he made

funny. So many things. You saw so much the care of the funny, the

humour, of course, the pain, so much. It was a wonderful

performance. There's an amazing buzz and excitement in the hall. Everyone

is like, my goodness, what have we just seen. What a heart warming

story. He decided he couldn't afford singing. He went off and sold cars.

He came back five years ago and walked onto that stage and wins our

hearts. I think he's meant to do this. Thank you both. Let's hear

what Clark thought of his performance. I hope he's pleased.

Well, that was awesome. How do you feel like you were received tonight?

Well, I think they liked the prologue. That's a thing, I guess.

That's a nice thing. This has to feel like a triumph for you being

this is your first time outside the United States singing. I don't know

about triumph, maybe this coming weekend. If that happens. So if I'm

so lucky to get there, that would be the real triumph. But I feel really

good about that performance. That's about all I can really say. You

should feel really good about. It you did a wonderful job. Thank you

for representing the United States very well. Thank you. Petroc, back

to you. More Wagner promised if he makes it to Sunday's final. We will

find out who is the winner of this round at the end of this evening's

programme. Nicole Cabell and Jamie Barton both American winners of this

competition in the past. We've another American singer for you to

hear this year in round three. Our next singer in tonight's round one

is a Norwegian mezzo-soprano, Lilly Jorstad.

31-year-old mezzo-soprano Lilly was born into a musical family in

Russia, before moving to Norway in her teens. After training at La

Scala's opera academy in Milan, she enjoys a busy performing schedule

around Europe. I'm here, I'm in Cardiff. I can't believe. It's most

famous competition in the world. When I watch on the TV, this

competition, I think wow. It was like another planet, another world,

absolutely. I would like the people and audience remember me, just it,

not more. Because if they have something inside after my perform,

so it's absolutely amazing. Lilly Jorstad is going to open her

programme with an aria from Gluck's Orpheus and Euridice. Orpheus

determined to rescue Euridice from Hades and calls on love to

strengthen his soul. APPLAUSE

An opera about an opera to finish her selection, from Richard Strauss.

The composite declares his passionate belief, the great art of

music immediately before the opera begins. -- composer.

APPLAUSE Lilly Jorstad performing here in the

first round of BBC Cardiff Singer of the World 2017. Russian born Naveed

King the music in the blood, her grandmother directed a quiet and her

mother was a pianist and opera singer. Let's find out straightaway

what Lucy and Lawrence made of that. And starting with the Gluck, a

pretty brave choice to begin a programme with all those bars of

very brave choice and if you are going to do that you have got to

nail it. One thing she did nail was those bars unaccompanied and she was

bang in June. -- tune. So much of these competitions are repertoire

Joseph and I think she came most to life in her last piece and with the

in companies like this you should start with those so you can get your

feet and need you and feel confident and go to the more exposed bit

later. Backstage Lilly is with Angel. A great performance, what was

your most exciting moment? When I come onto the stage and when I

finished! Did you have a favourite aria this evening? All of them are

my favourites. I love Strauss, and I tried to sing the most technical

repertoire like Rossini and Gluck, Vivaldi, I am very careful with my

repertoire. A wonderful job, congratulations. Thank you. It is

hard to believe but we are at our final singer. Last but certainly not

least is Mongolian tenor Batjargal Bayarsaikhan.

27-year-old Batjargal is the first of two singers representing Mongolia

this week. He is a printable soloist at the country's State academic

Theatre of opera and ballet where he has sung leading roles by Puccini,

Bizet and Verdi. Batjargal Bayarsaikhan opened his

programme singing from Puccini Butt La boheme. --

A real audience pleaser to start from Batjargal Bayarsaikhan and

another show stopper next, Donizetti's Ah mes amis from the

Daughter of the Regiment. APPLAUSE

He said that he included the Donizetti knowing it was a risk but

as he says, you have to face the risk to succeed. More Donizetti to

finish. The Scottish Opera. Lucia di Lammermoor.

APPLAUSE APPLAUSE

There we have it, Batjargal Bayarsaikhan, the 27-year-old

Mongolian tenor bringing to a close this first round of BBC Cardiff

Singer of the World 2017. The BBC National Orchestra of Wales, leader,

Lesley Hatfield, conductor, Thomas Sondergard.

I love this moment of Cardiff Singer of the World 2017, when one of my

guests gets to comments on a singer of the same voice type. You were

very straight backed during that. When there's a tenor I'm always more

up to listen to them. Yes. A lot of this, we straddle some of the same

repertoire, I've done the Donizetti. I have looked at the Lucia di

Lammermoor aria. I know the pit falls in them. I look at them very

respectfully. I know they can be problematic. Very gratifying if you

can be successful. He seemed very comfortable, very assured, very

confident. He was comfortable. We all love a top note. But give us

nine or ten and we're going to really love it. He nailed all those

top notes. We were discussing about the blue, when you hear a top note,

it's like when I sing Michiela, I couldn't give it the bloom. I wasn't

ready yet. I feel like that with him a bit more. When he reached the top,

it's really impressive. But you want it to flower that little bit more.

He's 27. We've got singers here who are 32. He's at the younger end of

the experience. Yeah, it will come. That's our five singers. We'll come

back to you for a winner, before we get the judges' winner. Stand by for

that. Let's see what Batjargal thought of his performance. He's

back stage with Angel. Wow, Batjargal, that was impressive.

You don't seem nervous at all. Was he nervous at all?

TRANSLATION: It was quite difficult I would say. Because it's morning

time in Mongolia, I suffered quite a lot because my voice wasn't ready to

sing. It was quite a difficult - one of the most difficult singing that I

did so far. We didn't feel he was suffering. We were very happy with

how he sang. It was beautiful. TRANSLATION: That's great. Bravo to

you and good luck. Thank you very much. Really a very

exciting evening back stage tonight and here in the auditorium at St

David's Hall. Joining me now on his way to the jury room is the chair of

our judging panel, the artistic director of the Welsh National

Opera, David Poutney. A good first night? A good first night. For me, a

very clear choice. I'm not going to tell you what that is. Go on. No

chance. This is the first of a week of broadcasts from this competition,

just point out what we're listening to and who you're looking for. This

isn't Cardiff young Singer of the World. It's about people who are

already out there. Yeah, these people are, many of them are active

in the profession. I think it's also important to say that it's not

Cardiff Voice of the World. It's Cardiff Singer of the World. To me

that means that personality, expression, individuality, words are

all just as important as the basic quality of the voice. You don't want

someone who can stand out there and sing perfectly. That's not enough on

its own, has to be something happening? Absolutely not enough,

no. That doesn't make a singer that. Just makes a voice. You've got a

wonderful jury this year, Sumi Jo, Grace Bumbry, Wolfgang Holzmair. Are

you having a good time? A very good time. A lot of jokes flying to and

fro. We'll let you join them and come up with the result soon. Thank

you very much David Poutney. I hope it's not too difficult a decision

for you this evening. Remember, you can have your say on our Facebook

page and on Twitter using the hashtag Cardiffsinger. You can catch

up with the week's competition on the BBCi player and on our website.

Don't forget the Song Prize, 19 of our 20 singers taking part in that.

Coverage of the heats every lunch time this week on BBC Radio three.

Angel has been back stage all night. I guess the tension there must be

mounting? It absolutely is. Everyone is very excited tonight to see who

will win this evening's competition. One of the things that's really

great is I've had the opportunity to see the singers back stage

interacting and all of them have shown so much support for each

other, which I think is great to have in a competition like this. I

have to say, I myself am very excited to see who will win this

evening's competition. Thank you. This is just the first of

six nights of coverage from Cardiff Singer of the World here this week.

Let us remind ourselves of our five round one singers.

Starting us off tonight was the first of our two competitors from

Italy, bass baritone, Roberto Lorenzi. Second on stage was

Nadezhda Karyazina, mezzo-soprano from Russia. Bare Tain Anthony Clark

Evans, the first of two singers this week from the USA. Fourth to sing

was the second moatso soprano of the evening, Lilly Jorstad from Norway.

And finally, tenor, Batjargal Bayarsaikhan, the first of two

competitors this year from Monday goalament -- Mongolia. Lucy Crowe

and Lawrence Brownlee have been with me all evening. Have you enjoyed

yourself? Very much. Have you learned something? Immensely, I've

enjoyed it. We're both performers, active performers. Any time we see

people on stage we think about our own singing. You learn about

yourself when you watch others. You're going to work with these

guys. It was what David was saying about this being very much a

competition for young people who are out there singing. These people are,

if they're not already, going to be colleagues. Absolutely, they're not

that much younger than us, right! One day they will. I hope they don't

want some of our comments. Yeah, they all do really well. It will be

interesting in the future to work with them. I'm going to put you on

the spot. Was the one obvious winner for you? Or is it a difficult

decision? I think there is an obvious winner, this evening.

Someone came out and raised the level with everything from vocal

colours, dynamics, stage presence, everything. Might he have been a

compatriot of yours? I think... LAUGHTER

Go USA! Anthony Clark Evans, was he your winner as well? I absolute

agree. I was hoping to see star quality tonight. I absolutely saw it

in him. He was in a world of his own. He's a baby Bryn Terfel. He

said the first recording he bought was Bryn Terfel's recording of Songs

of Travel. Thank you both very much. The jury are about to come on stage.

Great to have you here this evening. Thank you. Thank you for coming to

Cardiff. Here come the first of all the

patron of Cardiff Singer of the World, Dame Kiri te Kanawa, then

David Poutney, Estonian conductor, Anu Tali, Wolfgang Holzmair, the

Austrian baritone. Sumi Jo, Korean soprano and Grace Bumbry, American

operatic legend. David Poutney is going to speak first.

HE SPEAKS WELSH Good evening ladies and gentleman. A

noble and elegant voice has won this evening's competition. It gives me

great pleasure to call upon Dame Kiri te Kanawa to disclose the owner

of that voice. APPLAUSE

This evening's winner is... Anthony Clark Evans.

APPLAUSE His first trip outside the United

States of America brought him to Cardiff and this first round of

Cardiff Singer of the World 2017. Anthony Clark Evans, he started

singing, couldn't afford it continue his lessons. He became a used car

salesman and then five years ago, started singing once again. He is

guaranteed a place in Sunday night's Cardiff Singer final. I'll be back

tomorrow night on BBC 4 at 7. 7. 30pm, for highlights of round two,

with singers from Mongolia, Italy, Belgium, Wales and South Korea. Join

us if you can for another evening of world class operatic talent, as we

move one step closer to the final of BBC Cardiff Singer of the World

2017. For now, though, we bid you good night and leave you with the

round one winner, Anthony Clark Evans.