Kathleen Ferrier Award 2008 Semi-final:  Various singers and accompanists. Wigmore Hall, London. 23.04.08. (ED)


Eleven singers and their accompanists were selected for the semi-final of the 53^rd annual Kathleen Ferrier Award. Programmes of four or five items were given by each, lasting no longer than twenty minutes. The emphasis was on song, with a smattering of arias thrown in for good measure, covering the usual range of languages: English, French, German and Italian. The following is a brief summation of each pairings' performances, given during an intense three-hour recital that attracted a packed house to Wigmore Hall. There are three prizes for singers: £10,000 first prize, £5,000 second prize and £4,000 song prize. Pianists competing for the £3,000 accompanist’s prize are indicated by an asterisk in the listings below.

Kristin Sharpin (soprano, 25) and Inju Oh (piano)*

Kristin Sharpin initially struggled to get the full measure of the Wigmore Hall’s size. Her voice seemed rather too backwardly placed and there were some linguistic issues which hindered her performances of Handel and Brahms. Amelia Grimaldi’s aria from Simon Boccanegra was slightly more successful, though more tonal variation might have been found. Hahn’s L’heure exquise floated in an approximatory way; under less pressured conditions it might have been sung more freely.  Inju Oh accompanied throughout with some finesse, particularly in the Hahn song.

Shona McKail (soprano, 26) and Sholto Kynoch (piano)*

Rhona McKail seemed to have a rather tense stage presence. She is a soprano with a pleasing natural tone and cleanness of attack in her upper range. Parry’s My heart is like a singing bird proved a bit wayward in places, though Handel’s Per rapir quell Tesoro found her coping better with the controlled ornamentation  required. Fauré’s Le secret said much through its simplicity of singing and accompaniment, and contrasted well with the emotional range extracted from J. Strauss’s Spiel ich from Die Fledermaus.

Adrian Ward (tenor, 25) and Francois Salignat (piano)*

Initial signs of an impressive low tenor range with near baritonal colouring were brought to Handel’s Where e’er you walk, though the ends of words needed to be more clearly articulated. Britten’s The Convict and Boy with the Violin carried a convincing sense of narrative about it, with good use of a parlando voice that had a lightness of touch. Ward’s tone recalls that of Pears and Langridge in its distinctiveness; he could be a useful and much needed Britten exponent in the future. Good legato breathing supported the emotional flow of Massenet’s Enferment les yeux (Manon) – particularly good accompaniment here too. Little outward emotion was displayed in Schubert’s Im Fruhling; instead the text, voice and sense of variation carried all the inner meaning most convincingly.

Eliana Pretorian (soprano, 27) and Sergey Rybin (piano)

The youngest finalist in the 2005 competition, Eliana Pretorian is a singer I have heard before and favourably reviewed in concert and opera. On this occasion Mozart’s Alleluia seemed a touch tight in the top range, though generally it was a well projected performance. Duparc’s Soupir displayed Pretorian’s understanding of French song at a deeply idiomatic level. An impetuous quality was brought to Strauss’ Schlangede Herzen, that suggested a potentially profitable line of repertoire to be pursued for the future. Stage experience of Donizetti’s Gianetta undoubtedly helped the sense of identification with character achieved in Prendi, per me sei libero. Rybin gave sterling support at the piano.

Alexander Robin Baker (baritone, 22) and Francois Salignat (piano)*

Bach’s Cantata no 70 did not really provide enough scope for Alexander’s voice to open up immediately, something that could not be levelled at the extract from Billy Budd which followed. The character had inner strength and feeling; overall excellent projection of the dramatic situation, aided by some adroit accompaniment. His conception of Wolf lieder left more to be desired, though his Vaughan Williams had apt sense of stillness in Silent Noon and the over-fast tempo in Poulenc’s La Belle Jeunesse worked against textual clarity. He’s clearly a young singer with the most precious ofgifts: potential and natural talent.

Charlotte Tetley (mezzo, 28) and Inju Oh (piano)*

Any vocal challenges posed by Handel’s Svegliatevi nel core (Julius Caesar)  were overcome with ease. Schubert’s Suleika II was emotionally restrained, though a selection from Massenet’s Werther afforded some opportunity for tonal depth to emerge and good tone when sung forte. The subtle mix of affection and humour that is Barber’s A Green Lowland of Pianos was acknowledged, though perhaps a touch under-exploited to draw full audience attention. Good accompaniment from Injo Oh, though not as noteworthy as for Sharpin at the start of the evening.

Ida Falk Winland (soprano, 25) and James Southall (piano)*

Ida Falk Winland sang in the Cardiff Singer of the World 2007 and I recall writing that I would have liked to see her in the final of the song competition then. Not so on this occasion. Yes, her voice is sensual throughout most of its range, but in the higher range, particularly used at mezzo-forte or above, it becomes unbearably shrill making any repertoire that requires this range/dynamic combination a distasteful proposition to sit through. Fortunately the Nystroem allowed the lower range to be exploited to provide some respite, but some considerable vocal issues need to be addressed now if a long term career is to be had. Currently, Winland seems blissfully ignorant of the sound she can produce. Good accompaniment though.

Derek Welton (baritone, 25) and Ann Larlee (piano)

A bass-baritone presence was announced in Bizet’s toast from Carmen. Bach’s Ich habe genug provided too much in the way of lumpily played accompaniment, when the emphasis should have been on singing. There was a hectic tempo to Strauss’ Zueignung but Vaughan Williams’ Wither must I wander? was sung with apt feeling.

Stephanie Corley (soprano, 27) and Francois Salignat (piano)*

Corley’s best singing was to be heard in the aria How beautiful it is from Britten’s The Turn of the Screw, where she was aided by clear diction and good focus to the vocal tone. Faure and Wolf and Bach all suffered due to linguistic issues.

Ben Johnson (tenor, 25) and James Southall (piano)*

There has been a buzz around Ben Johnson’s name recently, so it was good to hear him in a range of Bach, Schubert, Mozart, Poulenc and Stravinsky. Definition and clarity stood out as ample vocal qualities as did his use of the head voice in Mozart’s Un’ aura amorosa. “Here I stand and entrust my self to fortune” – an apt line for any singer: Stravinsky’s Rake’s Progress proved about the strongest vehicle for Johnson’s tenor, and to excellent accompaniment from James Southall too.

Elizabeth Donovan (soprano, 28) and Caroline Jaya-Ratnam (piano)

In some senses Donovan’s voice was noticeably the most developed voice in the competition, carrying security of tone, use and interpretation with Faure’s La Rose and Bellini showing up a slight nasality in her tone. The evening was brought nearly full circle with a superior performance of Parry’s My heart is like a singing bird.

The selected finalists were announced as:

Elizabeth Donovan (soprano) and Caroline Jaya-Ratnam (piano)

Ben Johnson (tenor) and James Southall (piano)*

Derek Welton (baritone) and Ann Larlee (piano)

Ida Falk Winland (soprano) and James Southall (piano)*

Alexander Robin Baker (baritone) and Francois Salignat (piano)*

Adrian Ward (tenor) and Francois Salignat (piano)*

The right choices? On the whole, yes, though personally  I would have found a place for Eliana Pretorian at the expense of Ida Falk Winland.

Evan Dickerson

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