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BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition

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BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition (known as Cardiff Singer of the World from 1983 to 2001 and BBC Singer of the World in Cardiff in 2003) is a competition for classical singers held every two years.[5]

BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition
The current logo used since 2017
Awarded forSinging
Sponsored byBBC and Cardiff Council (main event)
Wigmore Hall (Song Prize),[1]
Cardiff University School of Music (Audience Prize)[2]
LocationSt David's Hall, Cardiff[3]
CountryWales, United Kingdom
Presented byBBC
Formerly called
  • Cardiff Singer of the World
  • BBC Singer of the World in Cardiff
Reward(s)The Cardiff Trophy and £20,000 (main prize)[3]
Song Prize Trophy and £10,000 (song prize)[3]
Crystal trophy and £2,500 (Dame Kiri Te Kanawa Audience Prize)[3]
First awarded1983; 41 years ago (1983)
WinnerAdolfo Corrado, 2023[4]
WebsiteBBC Cardiff Singer of the World website
Television/radio coverage
NetworkBBC Four, BBC Two Wales, S4C, BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio 3, BBC Radio Cymru.
The previous logo used from 2007 to 2015

The competition was started by BBC Wales in 1983 to celebrate the opening of St David's Hall in Cardiff, Wales,[3] home of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. The creation of the competition was overseen by Geraint Stanley Jones, who was the controller at BBC Wales at the time.[6]

Auditions are held throughout the world in the autumn before the competition, with singers being selected to take part in Cardiff the following June. Each singer represents their own country. In Wales there is a competition to select the national representative; the winner of the Welsh Singers Showcase represents Wales in BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition.[7]

The competition is judged by a panel of distinguished singers, musicians and music professionals. In 2003 an audience prize was also introduced for the primary competition; in 2011 it was renamed the Dame Joan Sutherland Audience Prize to mark the passing of the singer who was the competition's first patron.

History

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The competition's final has been held at St David's Hall since it began in 1983
 
Bryn Terfel won the inaugural Lieder Prize in 1989.

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

A Lieder Prize was introduced in 1989, 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. Both singers went on to enjoy successful careers with international acclaim.

The "Song Prize" (formerly the "Lieder Prize") was renamed in 2001 in order to clarify that it applies to art song and folksong rather than German Lieder only. The "Song Prize" became a separate event in 2003, named as the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Rosenblatt Recital Song Prize. However, after the 2009 competition, its name was 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.[5] In 2001, Romanian tenor Marius Brenciu became the first singer to win both prizes.[8]

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.[9]

The 2005 prize was won by American soprano Nicole Cabell, with English tenor Andrew Kennedy winning the "Song Prize" and the "Audience Prize" being won by Korean soprano Ha-Joung Lee.[10]

Chinese singer Shen Yang (subsequently known as Shenyang) won the 2007 competition, The "Song Prize" was won by English soprano Elizabeth Watts, while Jacques Imbrailo, South African baritone, won the "Audience Prize".[11]

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".[12]

 
In 2011, Valentina Nafornița was the winner of the main prize.
 
In 2021, Claire Barnett-Jones was the winner of the Audience Prize.

Followed a revised format and schedule, the 2011 competition had 20 singers taking part in four preliminary concerts. The 2011 winner was Moldovan soprano Valentina Naforniță, who also won the newly renamed "Dame Joan Sutherland Audience Prize". The "Song Prize" was won by Ukrainian baritone Andrei Bondarenko.[13]

The 30th anniversary competition took place between 16 and 23 June 2013.[14] It was won by US mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton, who also won the "Song Prize". The "Dame Joan Sutherland Audience Prize" was won by English tenor Ben Johnson.[15][8]

Many non-winning finalists have gone on to very distinguished operatic careers. Examples include Finnish soprano Soile Isokoski in 1987, Swedish dramatic soprano Nina Stemme in 1993 and Latvian mezzo-soprano Elina Garanca in 2001.

The 2025 edition of the competition has been postponed until 2027 due to the host venue, St David's Hall, being closed for essential work to be carried out to replace the roof. The competition will instead stage a televised gala concert, featuring previous winners and competitors, in October 2025 as part of the Wales Millennium Centre's Llais international music festival.[16]

Organisation

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The competition is organised by BBC Cymru Wales and was televised nationwide by BBC Two until 2013 and on BBC Four since 2003 (BBC Knowledge in 2001). Additionally, the competition is televised by BBC Two Wales, in Welsh on S4C and broadcast over radio channels BBC Radio 3, BBC Radio Wales and the Welsh language BBC Radio Cymru. All coverage can also be found on BBC iPlayer. It is supported by Welsh National Opera and the Cardiff Council.[17]

From 2003, the competition's first patron was Dame Joan Sutherland, until her death in 2010.[18] Since 2011, the patron has been Dame Kiri Te Kanawa.[19]

Presenters

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The following have hosted stages of the competition:

BBC Two (1983–2011), BBC Knowledge (2001) and BBC Four (2003–present)
BBC Radio 3 live coverage
BBC Two Wales highlights
BBC Radio Wales
BBC Radio Cymru
S4C highlights
  • Siân Pari Huws (2013)
  • Heledd Cynwal (2015, 2017)

Jury

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Many prominent singers have served in the jury, including Carlo Bergonzi, Sir Geraint Evans, Marilyn Horne, Gundula Janowitz, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, Sherrill Milnes, Christoph Prégardien, Dame Joan Sutherland, Dame Anne Evans, René Kollo, Galina Vishnevskaya and Dame Gwyneth Jones, Irina Arkhipova and Shen Xiang. There is a separate jury for the "Song Prize", with some members serving on both juries. The 2019 jury included Dame Felicity Lott and Robert Holl.

On the day between the two competition finals, some of the jury members give master classes to some of the non-finalists, which are open to the public.

Competition winners

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Overall winners

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Here are the overall winners of Cardiff Singer of the World since the contest's inception in 1983.

Year Country Contestant Voice type
1983   Finland Karita Mattila Soprano
1985   United States David Malis Baritone
1987   Italy Valeria Esposito Soprano
1989   Soviet Union Dmitri Hvorostovsky Baritone
1991   Australia Lisa Gasteen Soprano
1993   Denmark Inger Dam-Jensen
1995   Sweden Katarina Karnéus Mezzo-soprano
1997   China Guang Yang
1999   Germany Anja Harteros Soprano
2001   Romania Marius Brenciu Tenor
2003   Finland Tommi Hakala Baritone
2005   United States Nicole Cabell Soprano
2007   China Shenyang Bass-baritone
2009   Russia Ekaterina Scherbachenko Soprano
2011   Moldova Valentina Naforniță
2013   United States Jamie Barton Mezzo-soprano
2015   Belarus Nadine Koutcher Soprano
2017   Scotland Catriona Morison Mezzo-soprano
2019   Ukraine Andrei Kymach Baritone
2021   South Korea Gihoon Kim
2023   Italy Adolfo Corrado Bass

"Song Prize" winners

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This prize was introduced in 1989; it was formerly known as the "Lieder Prize". Here are all the contestants who achieved the Song Prize since then.

Year Country Contestant Voice type
1989   Wales Bryn Terfel Bass-baritone
1991 Neal Davies
1993   New Zealand Paul Whelan Baritone
1995   Finland Kirsi Tiihonen Soprano
1997   England Christopher Maltman Baritone
1999   South Korea Dae-San No
2001   Romania Marius Brenciu Tenor
2003   Ireland Ailish Tynan Soprano
2005   England Andrew Kennedy Tenor
2007 Elizabeth Watts Soprano
2009   Czech Republic Jan Martiník Bass
2011   Ukraine Andrei Bondarenko Baritone
2013   United States Jamie Barton Mezzo-soprano
2015   South Korea Jongmin Park Bass
2017   Mongolia Ariunbaatar Ganbaatar Baritone
  Scotland Catriona Morison Mezzo-soprano
2019   China Mingjie Lei Tenor
2021   South Africa Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha Soprano
2023   South Korea Sungho Kim Tenor

Audience Prize winners

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The "Dame Joan Sutherland Audience Prize" was introduced in 2003. In 2023 it was renamed the "Dame Kiri Te Kanawa Audience Prize".

Year Country Contestant Voice type
2003   Chile Angela Marambio Soprano
2005   South Korea Ha-Joung Lee
2007   South Africa Jacques Imbrailo Baritone
2009   Italy Giordano Lucà Tenor
2011   Moldova Valentina Naforniță Soprano
2013   England Ben Johnson Tenor
2015   Mongolia Amartuvshin Enkhbat Baritone
2017   England Louise Alder Soprano
2019 Katie Bray Mezzo-soprano
2021 Claire Barnett-Jones
2023   Colombia Julieth Lozano Rolong Soprano

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "New partnership for Wigmore Hall and BBC Cardiff Singer of the World". Rhinegold Publishing. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
  2. ^ "School of Music sponsors audience prize at BBC Cardiff Singer of the World". Cardiff University. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
  3. ^ a b c d e "About Cardiff Singer". BBC. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
  4. ^ "BBC Cardiff Singer of the World crowns 2023 winner". BBC. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  5. ^ a b "BBC Wales - Cardiff Singer of the World - About Cardiff Singer - Competition rules". www.bbc.co.uk. Archived from the original on 18 June 2009.
  6. ^ Thomas, Huw (26 August 2015). "Geraint Stanley Jones, former head of BBC Wales and S4C, dies". BBC Wales. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
  7. ^ "Welsh Singers Competition – For singers at the early stages of their career, aged 18 to 32". Archived from the original on 16 May 2008. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
  8. ^ a b "BBC Cardiff Singer of the World". BBC. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
  9. ^ "2003 - The Final, BBC Cardiff Singer of the World - 2003 competitors". BBC. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
  10. ^ "2005 - The Final, BBC Cardiff Singer of the World - 2005 competitors". Retrieved 24 October 2016.
  11. ^ "Cardiff Singer 2007". BBC Wales. Archived from the original on 14 February 2009.
  12. ^ "Cardiff Singer of the World - 2009". BBC Wales. Archived from the original on 10 November 2010.
  13. ^ "2011, BBC Cardiff Singer of the World - 2011 competitors - BBC Four". BBC. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
  14. ^ "2013, BBC Cardiff Singer of the World - Competitors - BBC Radio 3". Retrieved 24 October 2016.
  15. ^ "2013, BBC Cardiff Singer of the World - England: Ben Johnson - BBC Radio 3". BBC. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
  16. ^ "Music: BBC Cardiff Singer of the World contest postponed to 2027". BBC News. 25 July 2024. Retrieved 27 November 2024.
  17. ^ "BBC Cardiff Singer of the World - About Cardiff Singer". BBC. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
  18. ^ "BBC - Wales - Cardiff Singer of the World - News - Dame Joan Sutherland". www.bbc.co.uk. Archived from the original on 13 November 2010.
  19. ^ Singer, Cardiff. "BBC - Wales Music: Dame Kiri te Kanawa announced as new Cardiff Singer patron". BBC. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
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