BBC Cardiff Singer of The World Competition - History

History

In 1983, the first year of the competition, eighteen singers participated. The winner was Finnish soprano Karita Mattila.

In 1989, a Lieder Prize was introduced, as art song and opera are both important forms of singing, but very different.

The 1989 competition was particularly noteworthy with Welsh baritone Bryn Terfel winning the Lieder prize and Russian baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky taking the overall title with an interpretation of the aria Eri tu from Verdi's Un ballo in maschera. Both singers have gone on to enjoy extremely successful careers with international acclaim.

In 2001, the Lieder Prize was renamed the Song Prize, to clarify that it applies to art song and folksong rather than German Lieder only. The Song Prize became a separate event in 2003, as the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Rosenblatt Recital Song Prize until 2009, when its name changed to BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Song Prize. It is not compulsory, and the only entry requirement is that the singer is taking part in the primary competition. It is not possible to enter for the Song Prize only.

In 2001, Romanian tenor Marius Brenciu became the first singer to win both prizes.

Finnish baritone Tommi Hakala won in 2003, with the Song Prize going to Irish soprano Ailish Tynan. The first Audience Prize, voted for by the audience both in the hall and for the broadcasts, was awarded to Chilean soprano Angela Marambio.

The 2005 prize was won by American soprano Nicole Cabell who now regularly performs in opera houses across the world including London, Chicago and New York. The Song Prize was won by English tenor Andrew Kennedy and the Audience Prize by Korean soprano Ha-Joung Lee.

The 2007 competition was won by Chinese singer Shen Yang, subsequently known as Shenyang, who made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera, New York in 2009. The Song Prize was won by English soprano Elizabeth Watts and Jacques Imbrailo, South African baritone, won the Audience Prize.

In 2009, the winner was Russian soprano Ekaterina Scherbachenko. The winner of the Song Prize was bass Jan Martinik from the Czech Republic and Italian tenor Giordano Luca took the Audience Prize.

Welsh National Opera’s Chief Executive and Artistic Director John Fisher chaired a distinguished panel of jurors in 2009, which included the legendary singers Dame Gwyneth Jones and Kurt Moll. For 2009 the Orchestra of Welsh National Opera was conducted by Paul Daniel, and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales conducted by Lawrence Foster accompanied competitors in the preliminary round concerts. BBC National Orchestra of Wales provided the accompaniment for the final. The official accompanists for the Song Prize were Phillip Thomas, Simon Lepper and Llŷr Williams.

On the day between the two competition finals, the jury members give Master Classes at the New Theatre, Cardiff and the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, Cardiff, which were open to the public.

The 2011 competition took place between Sunday 12th and Sunday 19th June. It followed a revised format and schedule, with 20 singers taking part in four preliminary concerts. The 2011 winner was Moldovan soprano Valentina Naforniţă, who also won the newly renamed Dame Joan Sutherland Audience Prize. The Song Prize was won by Ukrainian baritone Andrei Bondarenko.

Many prominent singers have served in the jury, including Carlo Bergonzi, Geraint Evans, Marilyn Horne, Gundula Janowitz, Sherrill Milnes, Christoph Prégardien, Dame Joan Sutherland, Dame Anne Evans, René Kollo, Galina Vishnevskaya and Dame Gwyneth Jones.

From 2003, the competition's first Patron was Dame Joan Sutherland, until her death in 2010.The patron from 2011 is Dame Kiri Te Kanawa.

The competition is organised by BBC Wales and is televised by BBC Two, BBC Four and BBC Wales TV and broadcast over radio channels BBC Radio 3, BBC Radio Wales, and the Welsh language BBC Radio Cymru.

The competition is supported by Welsh National Opera and the City and County of Cardiff.