BBC Cardiff Singer of the World 2019

[verismissimo]

Mostly on BBC2 Wales, big bits on BBC4.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b007qn4b

Starts ce soir.

[LHC]

I thought the presentation was much improved. We got the to see the whole of the opening round concert rather than edited highlights, and it was presented as a concert, rather than a talent show, so there were no vacuous interviews with the singers immediately after their performances.

However, I did find it ironic that both Petroc Trelawney and Josie Darbey were at pains to tell us that the BBC's singing competition was the most prestigious competition in the world (it isn't), and that the opera world would be watching to identify the next big star, only to then announce that the remaining heats weren't available to view on TV outside Wales, and could only be seen online. Clearly a BBC competition that is so prestigious that the BBC can't be bothered to show it.

I do fear that this a further step towards the marginalisation of classical music on TV. Its known that the controllers of BBC2 and BBC4 are not keen on having classical concerts on their channels, and if this is a sign of things to come, can we expect TV coverage of the Proms and other classical music to move online only, leaving BBC4 free to show nothing but repeats?

I know most people can access the IPlayer, but there are still a lot of people like my mother, who aren't online and can't use the IPlayer. This year, for the first time she won't be able to watch the Cardiff singer heats, something she has enjoyed very much in the past.

[gurnemanz]

I agree with points made by LHC above. How can you claim to have "the most prestigious competition in the world" and then hide it away on less accessible channels?

Looking forward to the lunchtime song recitals on R3 this week.

[DracoM]

[Stanfordian]

Something isn't right with this programme. I suspect it has a significantly reducing audience although I realise where it is positioned on BBC2 Wales and BBC4 doesn't help at all. Thinking outside box, maybe the performers should have to sing an opera aria in costume-semi staged and give greater emphasis on performing and not just the voice.

[eighthobstruction]

Something isn't right with this programme. I suspect it has a significantly reducing audience although I realise where it is positioned on BBC2 Wales and BBC4 doesn't help at all. Thinking outside box, maybe the performers should have to sing an opera aria in costume-semi staged and give greater emphasis on performing and not just the voice.

....some ideas for the Tory Leader Debates possibly....

[french frank]

Thinking outside box, maybe the performers should have to sing an opera aria in costume-semi staged and give greater emphasis on performing and not just the voice.

W1A "Great idea. Can we do a cost-benefit analysis on that?"

[oddoneout]

I agree with points made by LHC above. How can you claim to have "the most prestigious competition in the world" and then hide it away on less accessible channels?

Looking forward to the lunchtime song recitals on R3 this week.

Quite easily - look how they've been practising on Choir of the Year and Young Musician. I can't help feeling that limiting much of the broadcast coverage to Welsh platforms is wilfully misinterpreting the title of the competition; surely it's the 'of the World' bit that's the most relevant rather than Cardiff? Proper coverage across national TV/radio would do far more to celebrate Cardiff and Wales than keeping it tucked away in the valleys.

[Beresford]

It looks like the song prize heats can be seen & heard by going to the "Clips" tab on the SOTW web page. Clips have a duration of over 100 minutes.

[makropulos]

Well this is tiresome: you go to the BBC Two Wales Cardiff Singer main page, click on tonight's round 2 to "watch live" and are automatically redirected to –of all things –Top Gear. So all that stuff from Petroc last night about how simple it would be to watch the next few rounds turns out to be nonsense. Presumably we in England will have to wait until it's been archived under "Clips"? Maddening.

[LHC]

Well this is tiresome: you go to the BBC Two Wales Cardiff Singer main page, click on tonight's round 2 to "watch live" and are automatically redirected to –of all things –Top Gear. So all that stuff from Petroc last night about how simple it would be to watch the next few rounds turns out to be nonsense. Presumably we in England will have to wait until it's been archived under "Clips"? Maddening.

You can watch the second round concert by opening the IPlayer, and then search for “BBC Cardiff Singer”.

[makropulos]

You can watch the second round concert by opening the IPlayer, and then search for “BBC Cardiff Singer”.

That wasn't what happened to me for the live stream. However, I actually received a very helpful reply from the BBC online people who told me what needed changing in order to make it work (as well as going to the BBC Cardiff Singer page and clicking on the link, you also (or at least, I also)needed to change "Location" in the top right hand corner to "Wales". Doing that, and the live relay tonight worked perfectly. I caught Round 2 on the usual catch-up link after the broadcast last night from the Cardiff Singer homepage. It's only for the live relay that you have to do the Location change. After tonight I think it's going to be irrelevant as it looks as if Round 4 is on BBC 4 tomorrow after the football. Do people have thoughts on the competition so far?

[LHC]

That wasn't what happened to me for the live stream. However, I actually received a very helpful reply from the BBC online people who told me what needed changing in order to make it work (as well as going to the BBC Cardiff Singer page and clicking on the link, you also (or at least, I also)needed to change "Location" in the top right hand corner to "Wales". Doing that, and the live relay tonight worked perfectly. I caught Round 2 on the usual catch-up link after the broadcast last night from the Cardiff Singer homepage. It's only for the live relay that you have to do the Location change. After tonight I think it's going to be irrelevant as it looks as if Round 4 is on BBC 4 tomorrow after the football. Do people have thoughts on the competition so far?

The BBC obviously realist that they made a mistake not showing this in BBC4, as they have changed the schedules to show tonight’s heat on BBC4 as well as tomorrow’s.

I am enjoying it so far, and the standard of singing has been quite high so far. The Ukrainian baritone, Andrei Kymach, is quite exceptional, and so far appears to be head and shoulders above the rest.

[makropulos]

The BBC obviously realist that they made a mistake not showing this in BBC4, as they have changed the schedules to show tonight’s heat on BBC4 as well as tomorrow’s.

I am enjoying it so far, and the standard of singing has been quite high so far. The Ukrainian baritone, Andrei Kymach, is quite exceptional, and so far appears to be head and shoulders above the rest.

Very much agree –the baritone tonight was pretty extraordinary, especially his Tchaikovsky and Verdi (some slightly ropey French in the Massenet, but fun to hear anything from Hérodiade). I liked two of tonight's mezzos, but none of them had the sort of quality he produced. I hope they end up with some female singers in the final: at the moment it looks as if we've got one tenor, one baritone and one bass (whose singing I enjoyed greatly).

[LMcD]

The BBC obviously realist that they made a mistake not showing this in BBC4, as they have changed the schedules to show tonight’s heat on BBC4 as well as tomorrow’s.

I am enjoying it so far, and the standard of singing has been quite high so far. The Ukrainian baritone, Andrei Kymach, is quite exceptional, and so far appears to be head and shoulders above the rest.

Outside the Principality, BBC 2 Wales can be seen on Freesat Channels 971 (HD) and 979 (SD) and Sky Channels 971 (HD) and 980 (SD). The problem with BBC 4 at the moment is that it is sometimes high-jacked for live coverage of ladies' footie matches.