This is a competition with a lot at stake: the winner will represent Wales in next year's BBC Cardiff Singer of the World. But it was the heartening breadth of repertoire that made this a notable evening, with Tippett, Quilter, Poulenc and Berg included alongside the more predictable Mozart -and no Verdi or Puccini.
Mark Chaundy sensibly made lieder his priority. His baritone, although well- managed, tended more to character than volume; he delivered Poulenc's Chanson Gaillardes with a degree of panache, then successfully made the transition to Quilter's tender Music, When Soft Voices Die.
Charlotte Ellett's bright soprano lent itself well to Handel and Mozart and was nightingale clear in Berg's Die Nachtigall. She also showed a natural sparkle in Juliette's aria Je veux vivre from Gounod's Faust, but slight lapses of intonation marred the overall impression.
Andrew Rees's robust sound and pleasing stage presence make him a credibly ardent tenor. Here his most impressive aria was Ces airs joyeux from Debussy's L'enfant Prodigue, impassioned and confident. With sweeter top notes, he could yet develop into a fine Heldentenor.
Tchaikovsky's Otchevo eto prezhde ne znala from his opera Iolanta was the ideal vehicle for the dramatic tone quality of Camilla Roberts's soprano. Roberts is not a natural actress, though, and her choice of a seductive Léhar operetta aria was a mistake. There is inevitably an element of gamesmanship in programming for such occasions: an artful selection will show a singer's strengths but, crucially, not betray weaknesses. That of the winner, soprano Elizabeth Donovan, could hardly have been bettered. It was her feeling for words and her way of investing them with emotion and colour that made her performance so strong and stylish. Schubert's Die Junge Nonne, sensitively accompanied by pianist Ingrid Surgenor, was most moving, while The Dancer from Tippett's song cycle The Heart's Assurance had the kind of agility and assurance that augur well for Donovan's development in the future. At 22, she is as young as Bryn Terfel was when he won this competition. Like Terfel, she has an interpretive instinct beyond her years; Serena's lament from Gershwin's Porgy and Bess was simply heart-rending. With the right result, conductor David Lloyd-Jones, the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and jury chairman Dame Anne Evans had every reason to look pleased.
