What a wonderful Cardiff Singer competition this has been! This has been my third competition, and I genuinely believe that the standard of this year's competitors has been of the highest order.
My favourite non-round winner to make it into the Final didn't. I really loved the velvety, yummy, smooth darkness of Susana Gaspar's voice, and am a little gutted I never got to hear her on stage at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, where she has been a Jette Parker Young Artist during the 2012/2013 season. Nonetheless, I was delighted for Croatian bass-baritone Marko Mimica's inclusion in the final. I love the sound of a bass-baritone.
We rehearsed with the competitors on Saturday. For the final, each competitor works with the conductor they have worked with in their round, and so for the final we worked with both Jun Markl, and also Graeme Jenkins, who had conducted our WNO colleagues in rounds two and four.
For the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, there is a lot of repertoire to get through on the final rehearsal day. All the competitors have new programmes, and there is no opportunity to see the music beforehand. Thanks must go to the librarians who had our parts marked up meticulously, with all cuts and changes clearly marked.
In addition to this, working with two different conductors brings its own challenges, and with everything is passing before your eyes so quickly - it really is a tiring day. The hall's air conditioning was taking its toll on my contact lenses too, so by the end of Saturday I was tired and half blind.
At the hall on Sunday evening, the excitement in the air was palpable! We started with the USA's Jamie Barton whose un-diva like manner, general pleasantness, and great laugh had already made her a big favourite with the orchestra. As we played the first chord of her first piece, I had a wardrobe malfunction! I was wearing a concert dress with a detachable strap, and with the first chord it just went ping! Thankfully, there was enough corsetry in my dress for this not to be a major disaster, and, suppressing giggles, my desk partner Pete popped my now utterly useless strap into his tails pocket for me.
In the final we play for all the competitors before the interval. This is a long stretch and you've got to be in full concentration mode. This is such a big moment for the competitors, and there is a big responsibility on the shoulders of the conductors and the orchestra to be as supportive and solid as possible. You've got to be ready to accommodate anything that happens in the performance, sympathetic to the competitors' voices, and slip between styles for each aria.
Genuinely, I was blown away by the final. From Daniela Mack's vocal pyrotechnics in her Rossini, to the great characterisation throughout his programme from Marko Mimica, from Olena Tokar's coquettish Musetta, to the utterly delicious wickedness of Jamie Barton's Witch's Aria, it was a privilege to be a part of this competition final.
I didn't envy the panel their decision, but Jamie Barton was declared a very worthy winner. Having also won the Song Prize, she has had quite a week. We have worked with English tenor Ben Johnson on a number of occasion, and we were delighted to see him take the Audience Prize.
Truly, this has been an incredible Cardiff Singer of the World. The competitors for 2015, as yet unchosen, have a lot to live up to.
Catch up with the Final of BBC Cardiff Singer of the World on BBC iPlayer.
