Backstage: BBC Cardiff Singer of the World

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The Arts Hour with Nikki Bedi is backstage at BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition, regarded as the world’s premier classical singing contest. Winning it can catapult a singer to international stardom. As rehearsals take place in St David’s Hall in the Welsh capital Cardiff, Nikki meets the five finalists who come from South Korea, America, China, Argentina and Ukraine. Nikki speaks to the legendary Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, patron of the competition, to Frederica von Stade, the renowned American singer who is one of this year’s judges and to the dynamic Polish conductor Ewa Strusińska. Elin Manahan Thomas, who sang at Prince Harry’s wedding to Meghan Markle, explains how she coped with her Royal Wedding nerves and how she’s helping the finalists deal with their nerves. Nikki has a sneak peek at the glamorous gowns being steamed in readiness for the show, chats to the costume and makeup artists whose job it is to see the singers look their best on camera and we hear from the doctor standing by in case of voice emergencies. Finalists: Mingjie Lei (China) Guadalupe Barrientos (Argentina) Andrei Kymach (Ukraine), Sooyeon Lee, (South Korea) Patrick Guetti (USA) Interviewees Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, Patron Frederica von Stade, Judge Ewa Strusińska, Conductor Huw Williams, Voice Consultant Judith Jones, Costume Supervisor Barbara Roberts, Makeup Supervisor David Jackson, Artistic Director Photo shows the competition finalists (c) Kirsten McTernan