麻豆约拍

The Arts Hour with Nikki Bedi is backstage at 麻豆约拍 Cardiff Singer of the World competition, regarded as the world鈥檚 premier classical singing contest. Winning it can catapult a singer to international stardom. As rehearsals take place in St David鈥檚 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鈥檚 judges and to the dynamic Polish conductor Ewa Strusi艅ska.

Elin Manahan Thomas, who sang at Prince Harry鈥檚 wedding to Meghan Markle, explains how she coped with her Royal Wedding nerves and how she鈥檚 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 Strusi艅ska, 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