Cardiff Singer 2013

[Bert Coules]

Marko Mimica the bass baritone... lost points for striding off the stage without thanking or acknowledging the orchestra.

After I posted, I had a nagging doubt about that so I checked my Sky+ recording. There's a brief cutaway during Mimica's final applause just long enough to cover an acknowledgement of the orchestra, so my criticism could well have been unfair.

[Bert Coules]

I thought that the snide comment was surprising, and very much out of order. The audience in the hall thought the same, judging by the sharp intake of breath.

Yes, that was strange. I think it was meant to be a joke - "here in Wales" it was surprising that an English tenor won when there was a Welsh one in the competition - but it was incredibly ill-judged and doesn't make sense anyway, given that the voting was open to anyone, not just the Welsh.

Yesterday, I wrote:

...Marko Mimica the bass baritone, but he then lost points for striding off the stage without thanking or acknowledging the orchestra.

I had a nagging doubt about that, and checked the recording: there's a very short (and quite inexplicable) cutaway during Mimica's final applause just long enough that it could have covered a brief thank you to the orchestra, so my criticism might well have been unfair.

[Stanfordian]

Jamie Barton didn't do it for me at all. If I had been one of the judges I would have been hard pressed to choose between Marko Mimica (Croatia) and Daniela Mack (Argentina) for the overall competition winner.

[DracoM]

The Croatian did it for me: even through the range, genuine top, lots of courage, and had character in the voice as well.
Jamie Barton - 'fraid not'. That voice will get blousy and wobbly by the time she's in her early 40's. Now, it's just big. And deffo NOT a 'song' singer.

[Beresford]

Music Theatre

Jamie Barton said (confessed?) in one of the interviews that her first love was Music Theatre. Good. Her low notes had a trombone quality (quote from Donald M). In contrast Daniela Mack showed superb projection and evenness throughout her range. Very strange jury, as the audience prize shows.
And maybe the Song Prize was taken to be be about singing a Song, from an opera, rather than Lieder?

[Barbirollians]

She moved me - Daniela Mack didn't at all nor did Ben Johnson . The remark by Payne was evidently directed at being surprised the Welsh had voted for an Englishman - it was crass but not aimed at the singer.

[Alain Maréchal]

I think last night was the first time I have ever heard 'Calumnia' sung (and at a singable tempo) as opposed to whoofled and blustered - usually its the preserve of baritones later in their career.

I would very much like to Listen Again, but I seem not to be able to (I'm sure that contruction is wrong, but I can''t work out what it should be). Is either final not going to appear on the Radio Iplayer?

[Bert Coules]

The Radio Wales coverage of the main final is available at http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b036s5ws .

[Alain Maréchal]

The Radio Wales coverage of the main final is available at http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b036s5ws .

thanks, but my clever computer program doesn't seem to want to capture it. One of the unforeseen perils of retirement is that I no longer have a team of IT-savvy colleagues or students eager to ingratiate themselves with me by fixing these things.

[Nick Armstrong]

a snide comment by the Jury Chair that it was 'surprising' that he had done so

Yes, that was strange. I think it was meant to be a joke - "here in Wales" it was surprising that an English tenor won when there was a Welsh one in the competition - but it was incredibly ill-judged and doesn't make sense anyway, given that the voting was open to anyone, not just the Welsh.

Didn't see it. Who was this plonker??

[gradus]

The singer that showed real imagination and variety in her choice of pieces won. She has a beautiful voice that will I think stay the course during her career as she has masterly vocal technique amply demonstrated in her performance.
I enjoyed the other performances but I just didn't get the baritone at all, my loss I'm sure and he has youth on his side.
Mary King was as usual a sound and well informed commentator and Petroc held it together well.

[amateur51]

It's my loss I know but each time I have tried to watch any of this competition I have been driven apoplectic by the monstrous titles followed by Petroc's quite unnecessary hyperbole. Can't they dart him with some barbiturate first? What I'd give just to have the performances and some professional commentary afterwards.

Does Dame Fanny Waterman permit this sort of hullabaloo at Leeds?

[Richard Tarleton]

Didn't see it. Who was this plonker??

Nicholas Payne

[Chris Watson]

It's my loss I know but each time I have tried to watch any of this competition I have been driven apoplexy by the monstrous titles followed by Petroc's quite unnecessary hyperbole. Can't they dart him with some barbiturate first? What I'd give just to have the performances and some professional commentary afterwards.

Does Dame Fanny Waterman permit this sort of hullabaloo at Leeds?

Where's the Like button?

[Oldcrofter]

Re audience applause #35:

We were in the audience for the song final on Friday evening.

The audience applaud according to the wishes of the performer, which are announced before the start of the evening- so you have to have a pretty good collective audience memory. e.g. 'for Competitor X please applaud after every song, for Competitor Y please applaud after the first three songs, then after the next two, then at the end; for Competitor Z, please applaud only at the end of the sequence; Mr A asks that you applaud only after the fourth and final songs; Miss B wishes you to applaud after the Sibelius and the Schumann."

As the evening continues - and particularly after the interval, members of the audience check with neighbours - 'Now was this the one who wanted no applause at all or did he say
after the fourth and sixth ...'

I might add that the audience performed their role admirably - only one tiny and short-lived ripple of applause out of place.