Tag: Sir Bryn

~ Author: Oberon

1989 was a banner year for the Cardiff Singer of the World Competition: the “Battle of the Baritones” put the competition on every opera lover’s map. Dmitri Hvorostovsky and Bryn Terfel vied for the top prize; in the end, Dima was named Singer of the Year and Sir Bryn captured the Lieder Prize. Both men went on to hugely successful international careers.

Of course, at the time, there was no internet to speak of. You could not instantly follow the competition from afar, and even news of it was slow to reach us from the other side of The Pond. But my wonderful friend Mollie Warren diligently taped much of the proceedings directly off the BBC; then she made copies of the cassettes to send to me. So within a couple of weeks, I was listening – in Hartford CT – to the sounds of Mssrs. Hvorostovsky and Terfel: I like to think I was one of the very first people in the Western Hemisphere to hear these voices.

The three other finalists in the 1989 competition were Finnish mezzo-soprano Monica Groop, Swedish soprano Hillevi Martinpelto, and the Australian soprano Helen Adams. I cannot seem to find much information regarding Helen Adams in the years following her appearance at Cardiff; she is heard here in “Depuis le jour” from LOUISE.  

Above: Monica Groop

Monica Groop’s extensive international career in opera, concert, and song has included a memorable portrayal of Lucretia in Britten’s RAPE OF LUCRETIA in 2003 at New York City Opera; it marked the only time I saw this wonderful singer live onstage. Her other operatic roles have ranged from Melisande to Zerlina, and she has sung and recorded a great deal of Baroque music – in which she excels – as well as lieder of Schubert and Brahms, and the complete songs of Edvard Grieg.

Some samples of Ms. Groop’s artistry, singing in Italian, French, and German:

Monica Groop – Stà nell’Ircana ~ ALCINA

Monica Groop – D’amour l’ardente flamme ~ DAMNATION DE FAUST

Monica Groop sings Schubert’s Du bist die Ruh

Monica Groop at Cardiff, 1989:

Monica Groop – Cardiff 1989 – CLEMENZA~WERTHER

Hillevi Martinpelto went on from Cardiff to a very successful career, performing and recording with prominent orchestras and conductors.

Here she is singing Weber…

Hillevi Martinpelto – Ocean! Thou mighty monster ~ OBERON

…and in a true rarity:

Hillevi Martinpelto – from Karl-Magnus Fredriksson’s The Disguised God ~ Soprano & Chorus

Here is Hillevi Martinpelto at Cardiff, 1989:

Hillevi Martinpelto – FORZA aria – Cardiff 1989

And finally, the winners:

…Dima… 

Dmitri Hvorostovsky – BALLO aria – Cardiff 1989

…and Bryn…my original cassette of Bryn from the competition would not play, but here he is, onstage, singing Schumann…

…and here’s a bit of Wagner, from a commercial recording:

Bryn Terfel – Song to the Evening Star – TANNHAUSER

~ Oberon