(5 / 5)

Finally the wait is over. After four long years in exile without an audience, Cardiff Singer of the World is back, and is celebrating its 40^th anniversary, along with that of its host since the first competition in 1983, St David’s Hall, the national concert hall of Wales.

Having been fortunate enough to see the Welsh representative, soprano Jessica Robinson, at a recent lunchtime concert, I was very much looking forward to Heat 2 of the main prize in which Jessica had been placed, together with her fellow competitors Toni Nezic (bass, Croatia); Meigui Zhang (soprano, China) and Ogulcan Yilmaz (bass-bariton, Turkey). The judges for the evening were Sir Brian McMaster, former director of the Edinburgh International Festival, Argentinian mezzo-soprano Bernarda Fink, Welsh soprano Rosemany Joshua, multi-award -winning composer Errollyn Wallen, and returning as chair of the jury, Aidan Lang, general director of Welsh National Opera. The singers were accompanied by the National Orchestra of Wales.

First to perform was Meigui Zhang.  Meigui is an elegant singer, who clearly enjoys throwing herself into operatic roles. Her mellifluous tones rang out around the Hall. Her choices of Donizetti, Bizet and Lehar suited her voice type well, though a greater variety would have been welcome.

Ogulcan Yilmaz followed, with a selection by Rachmaninov, Mozart and Bellini. Ogulcan stated that he had been successful in making the heats after a few attempts, and the experience will have been highly valuable for him. Again, a wider choice of repertoire might have been beneficial in order to experience the vocal variation in style.

Next came Jessica Robinson, to rapturous applause for the “home girl”.  Jessica was the only singer to select five pieces (by Donizetti, Mozart, Verdi, Grieg and Jonathan Dove) and much thought had clearly been given to breadth of style and showcasing of technical skill and range. The audience clearly enjoyed this performance immensely, and Jessica’s ability to engage her audience via her pure theatricality was  palpable.

Toni Nezic was the final contestant, with a repertoire of Halevy, Verdi and Bellini. His warm bass tones, demonstration of range and ability to capture the audience worked well for him, and he will no doubt go far in his operatic career.

As ever, The National Orchestra of Wales, under the baton of Ryan Bancroft, accompanied each of the performers beautifully, and played no small part in enhancing the enjoyment of the evening.

Jessica Robinson emerged as a worthy winner, to the delight of the audience. She will be an excellent representative for the host nation in Sunday’s final. Good luck Jess!

Photo credit: Linda Farrell

[USR=4]

This most recent trip to London was met with little sleep, tube closure and sweltering temperatures. This first night in, I wanted to see a group who have established themselves since the 1950s in their love of music making.

Chelsea Opera Group’s most recent concert was Mozart’s La Clemenza di Tito, his last opera. I’ve been curious to hear this for years, it’s a ancient Roman setting filled with deceit and vengeance, or so we think. I’ll confess this was a Mozart which didn’t grab me as much as other pieces, I still went along with it. It was shorter then the more famous work and though the story is slightly more dense then it needs to be, had sharp moments of drama. As for the music, there are very many marvellous arias, some duets and a chorus who pop up to declare how great their empire, Titus really is.

The plot may some issues with pacing and there are gender crossing roles as well, so some head stretching does occur. I was impressed by the professionalism of the while thing. The orchestra were right, the chorus had some proud moments and the soloists were right for the roles. Conductor Paul Wingfield occasionally shocked with grunts and stomps on the podium, his passion was shared with all others on stage. There was a grace to the composition, though almost certainly not historically accurate, the piece remains a fine example of letting things go, even if you’ve been greatly wronged.

The cast shone here. Helena Dix was a delight as Vitella, the most dramatically dressed in vivid gown and laurels. It’s a role mostly of plotting, her voice very strong in a commanding role. Sesto was played by Kezia Bienek, also indulges in cunning with the plot to destroy Titus. Here she left little doubt over her mezzo, it was clear and noteworthy in the part. Polly Leech also enthralled as Annio, a trouser role here and the audience was very keen on her. Simon Wilding was Publio, a minor role though one he filled with suspense, he is a bass to keep an eye on.

A last minute replacement saw Ben Thapa as Titus, a strange character one not seen for most of the opera. This is a commanding person to take on, though his clemency comes later he can be a bit of queen per se. Ben tackled this arias with vigor, though the final one might have featured some unsure moments. The fact he came in at the last hour and did this is also impressive, his voice is  quite enthralling and rouge. In the smaller part of the show, Servilia played by Ellis Laugharne was a brief affair, though had some lush moments with Polly, their love for one another define in duets and sweet arias.

The whole evening remained impressive. I’d love to come back for more!  

Chelsea Opera Group’s next performance at Cadogan Hall will be Verdi’s A Masked Ball 22 October 2023.

I’ve seen much less of our BBC National Orchestra this year, I’ll admit that. Though what I have seen has been dazzling, I’m thinking back to the Charles Ives and John Adams a few weeks ago as a highlight. Our bright, American conductor Ryan Bancroft as Principle is choosing much more stimulating music than usual.

First we begin in Wales with Grace William’s and her Concert Overture. On a sad day, Grace chose to destroy manuscripts of several of her pieces, this overture being one of them. Other copies from previous performances had been salvaged and the piece is saved from being lost. It’s a jumpy, jolting few minutes. Grace’s vibrancy for orchestration is proven in this early work, I’ve never understood why she doesn’t get more love outside of Wales? The strings got a lot of attention from the composer and you can feel a unburdening anticipation to it all.

Next, a fashionable performance of Mozart’s 39th Symphony. Ryan made it breezily cool and light. The only discrepancy was a rogue phone from the audience going off between movements, holting Ryan in setting off into the rest of the symphony. I think we had some new concert attendees who didn’t quite grasp phone etiquette, especially when we are live on national radio. You don’t see Mozart symphonies as much with BBC NOW and I’d be down for more. You can feel the passion and the genius, thanks to our loving conductor who really cares about this music.

For this finale concert for the season, we had a rarity: Richard Strauss’ Don Quixote, a strange tone poem, which is also a cello concerto. Taking Cervantes’ famous epic of the mad Spanish knight, this made for one of the finer discoveries for this year. Lead cellist of the orchestra Alice Neary wowed here, were so used to seeing her in the thick of the other players, all eyes on her here. Not an easy piece to play, she delighted in the odd nature of the beast. The ironic waltzes, loved up romance and the acidic modernism that could only ever be R. Strauss. The discordant bars when Quixote famously mistakes windmills for giants are piercing, no doubt triggering a few audience members. On viola, Rebecca Jones adds to the joy as Quixote’s man servant Sancho Panza, not really a soloist though some curious playing for the much mocked viola is appealing.

Cardiff audiences would love to see BBC NOW players get more soloists roles not just for budgetary reasons. A chance to get to know who we’ve had all along in this marvellous orchestra. I only ever get more proud of BBC NOW.

Listen to this concert on BBC Sounds till 1st July 2023.