BBC Cardiff Singer of the World 2007  Rosenblatt Recital Song Prize Final: St. David’s Hall, 7.30pm 15. 6.2007 (ED)

For each round of both competitions, Evan Dickerson offers his impressions of the competitors and their repertoire. Here is his report on the final of the  Song Prize competition.

Prelude to the Final

The variety of material and approaches taken in pursuit of the perfect song performance (if such a thing exists) in the four preliminary concerts of this prize had at their core one element: intimacy. When everything clicks into place, a song recitalist and their accompanist can produce that feeling of performing solely for your individual enjoyment. Some singers this week drew me in to their performances to create this feeling; others were less successful at this, though they demonstrated other fine qualities.

The narrowing down of any large number of competitors to a few, select finalists is forever an area of debate. A jury might take into account technical ability, presentation and confidence of appearance, interaction with an audience, textual interpretation skills, choice and variety of repertoire, developing an obvious rapport with the accompanist, having an established track record or potential to make a long-term career as a recitalist. But how can these qualities be ranked in order of importance? That’s something that any jury must decide for themselves when  assessing the merits of various competitors comparatively.

Preliminary rounds of a competition also differ somewhat in nature from the final. I think of a final as being like that moment in a job interview when you’re asked, “What questions do you have for us?” With careful research and preparation an astutely asked question could swing the balance in your favour; singers producing not only their current best form but indicating where they could potentially be heading as artists would score strongly from my point of view. Connected with this is the choice of repertoire: do you sing what you sang in the preliminary round or do you sing something new to show versatility and new aspects to your performing personality? Also, which creates the best impression: singing three or four standard items of lieder repertoire, or more obscure repertoire, or a large number of items that mixes familiar and unfamiliar? Should the selection of songs form a coherent programme, so that you might almost title it? This final had elements of all these approaches in it, so analysis of the final result should prove an interesting exercise if you wish to pursue it.

CHINA: Shen Yang Bass baritone Born 1984

Accompanist: Llŷr Williams

Wolf: Der Feuerreiter (Mörike-Lieder)
Duparc: Phidylé
Wolf :Prometheus

Only the Duparc was new on the programme here, with Wolf’s songs heard in Shen Yang’s previous recital. Though these songs were characterised decently, problems with vocal support and intonation on a couple of entries marginally took away from the generally excellent tempi that were adopted. The problem with choosing two big Wolf songs meant that by the middle of Prometheus, Shen Yang was tiring although he had husbanded his resources well earlier on. Was the Duparc a wise choice? Yes,  if one wanted to hear a singer carefully grade his vocal dynamic relative to the imposing ending he knew that all contestants must build towards. His almost effortless use of crescendo and good legato lines were only slightly affected by some breathing problems, which also affected the quality of his timbre.

General comments about the performer

Potential oozes out of Shen Yang – this much has been obvious from the start – but for a singer still 23 a a huge amount  has been accomplished. There’s still more  to do but let's wait: patience is a virtue. We surely will be hearing even greater things from him in years to come.

AUSTRALIA: Miranda Keys Soprano Born 1974

Accompanist: Phillip Thomas

Mendelssohn: Neue Liebe (Songs, Op 19 No 4); Hexenlied (Songs, Op 8 No 8)
Barber: St Ita's Vision (The Hermit Songs, Op 29 No 3); Sure on this Shining Night (Songs, Op 13 No 3)
Quilter: Love's Philosophy (Songs, Op 3 No 1)
Rangstrøm:  Pan (Five Ballades, No 3)
Sibelius:  Flickan kom ifrån sin älsklings möte (Songs, Op 37 No 5)
Walton: Old Sir Faulk

Only Quilter’s song was a new addition to Miranda Keys’ programme, but given the obvious demands that her set made on her voice by that stage I could have done without it. While she makes great efforts in scaling down her naturally large voice, the results don’t always convince (Mendelssohn, Barber). For me her Sibelius was the strong point, though having heard her sing the same song with both piano and orchestra it contained no surprises regarding interpretation.  Walton’s Old Sir Faulk was weakly characterised in facial expression and gesture. Earlier in the week it carried more conviction.

General comments about the performer

Not in her best voice, her interpretations lost some vitality too compared to her earlier efforts.

HUNGARY: Levente Molnár Baritone Born 1983

Accompanist: Simon Lepper

Liszt Die Drei Zigeuner
Sschubert: Erlkönig (D328)
Emil Petrovics: Ballada
Pascal Bentiuo: April
Kodaly:  Kit kéne elvenni? (Háron Magyar Népdal)

Schubert and Kodaly made it  again from Molnár’s earlier recital to this one. In my opinion his Erlkönig was still somewhat generalised compared to others heard in the past week, whereas the Kodaly found Molnár once again over-emphasising meaning wherever and however possible. Clearly, he’s a performer who enjoys pushing limits, but I find him hard work to listen to. Much to my (grateful) surprise he did produce some quiet singing in the Liszt, where it's the vocal line more than the accompaniment that holds the song together. Brevity as well as some character were the orders of the day in Romanian composer Pascal Bentoiu’s song about the emergence of Spring in April. Petrovics’ Ballada proved to be little more than Levente Molnár in full flow –  yet again.

General comments about the performer

Since he's only 24, I can't help  wondering  how much work conductors and stage directors have done with Levente Molnár. His is a big voice and his performances are certainly dynamic but perhaps he needs to work at  at appreciating the difficulties caused for an audience as a result of his presentational style: he might be persuaded to calm down a little. I can well  understand why some think he has all  the potential to be a “complete package”. However, he’s not quite there yet to my mind.

ENGLAND: Elizabeth Watts Soprano Born 1979

Accompanist: Philip Thomas

R Strauss:  Ständchen (6 Songs, Op 17 No 2); Breit' über mein Haupt (Songs, Op 19 No 2)
Debussy: L'ombres des arbres (Ariettes Oubliées); Fantoches (Fêtes Galantes, Vol 1)
Maconchy: Sun, moon and stars; The Hill
Wolf: Auch kleine Dinge; Wer rief dich denn?; Du denkst, mit einem Fädchen mich zu fangen; Ich hab' in Penna einen Liebsten wohnen (Italienisches Liederbuch, Nos 1, 6, 10, 46)

An entirely new programme from Elizabeth Watts gave us an insight into the breadth of her abilities in song. The initial Strauss was a touch snatched in phrasing and ideally needed more tonal body in reserve. The second Strauss song’s legato lines suited her better though. French is a good language for Watts to sing in – she’s clear by and large, finding some character in Debussy, though she could have differentiated the two songs more in terms of tone. Maconchy proved a bold choice from the contemporary repertoire, but she brought off the mystery and ringing clarion call like qualities that the songs respectively asked for.  Only her Wolf left me with  a few question marks. This is a tough repertoire even for an experienced singer. A greater marrying of tone to apt facial expression might  have created an even deeper appreciation of  the texts. Instead we had, amongst other things, the mock coquette and the cheeky young lover only eager to count her conquests on the way home from Penna, appealing though it undoubtedly was.

General comments about the performer

Taking both of her song recitals as a whole there’s greater variety here than that shown by any other singer.

USA:  Ryan McKinny Baritone Born 1980

Accompanist: Llŷr Williams

Wolf: Der Musikant (Eichendorf-Lieder)
Brahms: Wie Melodien zeicht es mir (Songs, Op 105 No 1)
Schumann: Der Spielman (Songs, Op 40 No 4)
Poulenc: Pablo Picasso; Marc Chagall; Juan Gris, Joan Miró (Le Travail du Peintre, Nos 1, 2, 4 and 6)
Barber: A Green Lowland of Pianos (Songs, Op 45 No 2); A Last Song (Despite and Still, Op 41 No 1)

Titled “The Life of an Artist”, McKinny’s recital again showed imagination, flair and coherence in his programming. His Wolf possessed a good sense of narrative, whilst his Brahms, though occasionally suffering through breath control issues, was noble in tone. The Schumann fared rather better in this regard, consequently it was afforded greater tonal variety. The centrepiece though was the selection of four portraits from Poulenc and Éluard’s Le Travail du Peintre. Picasso brought McKinny’s full-tone bass range to the fore, contrasting with Miró in the upper range. Chagall proved a jaunty figure and Juan Gris, befitting his painting style, was clearly outlined. Gentle humour made an appearance with Barber’s A Green Lowland of Pianos, in which concert  grands are likened to cows in pasture. An unassuming stroke with his hand upon Llŷr Williams’ piano showed quiet affection for the instrument. A Last Song, also Barber, was almost nostalgic in character.

General comments about the performer

Hopefully he won’t be bound Stateside for ever in his engagements. He’s got real potential when in best voice (not quite there tonight).

The Buzz From the Audience

Leaving aside a certain level of lasting discontent with the selected finalists, there was heated debate in the interval about the performances so far this evening. Many said that performances were not sounding ideally fresh and such comments persisted through to the end of the evening also. At the halfway point Hungary’s Levente Molnár seemed to have the edge in the informal straw poll I took whilst circulating the foyer. Some audience members mooted the idea that perhaps the prize should be withheld given the perceived lower than expected quality of singing during the evening. My rejoinder to that would be to point out that unlike many competitions both prizes of the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World are now so linked in with media coverage, subsequent artistic engagements and external generosity, that a winner almost has to be seen to be found.

Personal highlights of the Song Prize

My list is headed still by Ryan McKinny’s singing of Schubert’s Erlkönig, miraculously accompanied by Llŷr Williams. It’s been quite a diverse year for Erlkönigs too. McKinny’s intelligence of programming stands head and shoulders above the rest where the song prize was concerned for its coherence and suitability to his voice. Rakhmaninov has been well served in song too by a wide variety of singers, proving that whilst his songs may not make ideal fare for an entire evening’s listening, when well placed they can be enjoyed in a varied programme.

The winner is…

Elizabeth Watts was declared the winner of the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Rosenblatt Recital Song Prize 2007. The prizes of the Welsh Royal Crystal and £5,000 were presented by the Competition's patron, Dame Joan Sutherland and Ian Rosenblatt. Elizabeth Watts also gains a place on the BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artists scheme, and a recital in the Rosenblatt Recital Series at St John's Smith Square in London.

My view is that of all the performances given in the final, Elizabeth Watts’ had more to recommend it  than others that were heard, therefore making the decision a very understandable one. She demonstrated the ability to tackle a broad range of repertoire, which is essential for any member of the BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artists scheme. Clarity of timbre and lightness of touch make for useful attributes when undertaking studio recordings also. Recitals are clearly her area of strength, and her appearance will be an asset to the forthcoming Rosenblatt Recital Series in London.

 

Evan Dickerson

 

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