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]
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]
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
The competition's final has been held at St David's Hall since it began in 1983Bryn 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 baritoneBryn 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]
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]
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
The following have hosted stages of the competition:
BBC Two (1983–2011), BBC Knowledge (2001) and BBC Four (2003–present)
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
Overall winners
Here are the overall winners of Cardiff Singer of the World since the contest's inception in 1983.
Dame Joan Alston Sutherland, was an Australian dramatic coloratura soprano known for her contribution to the renaissance of the bel canto repertoire from the late 1950s to the 1980s.
Dame Kiri Jeanette Claire Te Kanawa, , born Claire Mary Teresa Rawstron, is a New Zealand opera singer. She had a full lyric soprano voice, which has been described as "mellow yet vibrant, warm, ample and unforced". On 1 December 1971 she was recognised internationally when she appeared as the Countess in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro at the Royal Opera House in London.
Sir Bryn Terfel Jones,, is a Welsh bass-baritone opera and concert singer. Terfel was initially primarily associated with the roles of Mozart, particularly Figaro, Leporello and Don Giovanni, and has subsequently shifted his attention to heavier roles, especially those by Puccini and Wagner.
Sir Karl William Pamp Jenkins,, HonFLSW is a Welsh multi-instrumentalist and composer. His best known works include the song "Adiemus", Palladio (1995), The Armed Man (2000), his Requiem (2005) and his Stabat Mater (2008).
Malcolm Martineau, OBE is a Scottish pianist who is particularly noted as an accompanist.
Shân Margaretta Morgan, known professionally as Shân Cothi, is a Welsh singer-songwriter, television and radio presenter.
Elizabeth Watts is an English operatic soprano.
Shuna Scott Sendall is a Scottish dramatic soprano opera singer. Sendall originates from Irvine, North Ayrshire. She is best known as the 2010 winner of the BBC Radio 2 Kiri Prize competition.
Andrei Bondarenko or Andriy Bondarenko is a Ukrainian baritone opera singer.
Hannah Stone is a professional Welsh harpist.
Maureen Theresa Lehane Wishart was an English mezzo-soprano singer, university lecturer and founder of the Great Elm Music Festival, Jackdaws Music Education Trust and an annual Vocal Award for young singers. She was known for her recordings and performances of Handel's operas.
Enkhbatyn Amartuvshin,, is a Mongolian operatic baritone and People's Artist of Mongolia. Also known as Amartuvshin Enkhbat, he has been a soloist in the State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre of Mongolia since 2008.
Jamie Barton is an American mezzo-soprano. She won the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition in June 2013. She is also the winner of the 2015 Richard Tucker Award.
Pene Pati is a Samoan-born New Zealand tenor opera singer, specialising in lyrical repertoire and bel canto.
Jacques Imbrailo is a South African classical baritone, who sings in operas and oratorios.
Louise Alder is a British lyric soprano. She won the Dame Joan Sutherland Audience Prize at the 2017 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition and the Young Singer award at the 2017 International Opera Awards. Her debut album of Strauss Lieder titled 'Through Life and Love' with pianist Joseph Middleton, was released in July 2017 with Orchid Classics.
Welsh Singers Competition, is a biennial singing competition that is held in Cardiff, Wales. The winner of the competition represents Wales in the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World in the following year. The competition is open to Welsh classical singers aged between 17 and 31. The final of the competition in 2022 was held at The Dora Stoutzker Hall, Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama, Cardiff. Previously it has been held at St David's Hall in Cardiff.
Katie Emily Bray is an English coloratura mezzo-soprano and is best known as the winner of the Dame Joan Sutherland Audience Prize at the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World in 2019. She is particularly noted for her baroque repertoire.
Phillip Rhodes is a New Zealand-born baritone opera singer.
Claire Barnett-Jones is a British mezzo-soprano. She was a finalist and won the Dame Joan Sutherland Audience Prize at the 2021 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition. She was the Sir John Tomlinson Fellow at English National Opera, a Samling Artist Britten Pears Artist and Independent Opera Fellow.
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