Elizabeth Watts, Song Prize winner and finalist from Cardiff Singer 2007, shares some of the secrets for success in the competition.
Photo: Dylan Thomas
A few months before Cardiff Singer 2007 I bumped into the previous England representative, Andrew Kennedy. I asked him how he had found the experience of the competition. He replied, 'It was one of the best experiences of my life, but I wouldn't do it again!'
How strange, I thought, but now I completely know what he means. I had a wonderful time at the world's most prestigious singing competition, representing my country, but boy, what a thing to do!
As a self-confessed 'Cardiff nut' my preparation probably began at the age of 16. Watching so much coverage of the competition helped me understand the nature of the beast, for example what worked and what didn't in terms of repertoire, dress and communication. It was inspirational to watch the likes of Anja Harteros, Erin Wall, El墨na Garan膷a and of course the great Hvorostovsky-Terfel showdown. I listened carefully to the judges' comments and watched the masterclasses religiously.
Finding out I was selected for England was a wonderful moment. I was actually in a car wash and had to wait for it to finish before I could tell anyone! From that moment on, I pulled out all the stops with my preparation.
First, I had to select my repertoire. There were four programmes to consider, a preliminary round and final programme for both the prizes, each to be as carefully constructed and perfectly finished as a Faberg茅 egg.
A programme needs to show off the range of things you can do, technically, stylistically, expressively and linguistically. You could sing a programme of heartfelt Romantic German songs wonderfully well but it would make you seem a bit of a one trick pony. You need to show that you can sing from different periods, in different moods and in different languages. It's a bit like doing the heptathlon.
You also need to be supremely confident in everything that you sing, so unless you have six months to devote solely to preparation, it's likely to be based around repertoire you already know. Programmes can easily win or lose you a competition.
Once I had decided on my programmes I then had to prepare them in detail. This involved lots of solo practise as well as singing lessons and coachings in style, performance and language. I also saw a performance psychologist to maximise my potential under all that pressure, a bit like a sportsman.
Then there was 'the dress' to consider. I had a couple of good outfits, but I wanted something extra special in case I made it to the final. I had a design in my head so went to Rashmi, my dressmaker, and she made it up like a dream. I was all set.
The two weeks in Cardiff for the competition were some of the most intense and special of my life. Organising a thing like that is an enormous undertaking, and it is simply the best run event I have ever been to. Knowing that someone else had thought of where I needed to be at any given point took a huge amount of pressure off.
Aside from the performances, there were rehearsals, solo practice and interviews to attend to. It's a busy time but very exciting. I didn't sleep well all the time I was there because of all the excitement, and kept doing my relaxation tapes to make sure I stayed focused. Really though, performing is the end of a long journey and if you're not almost there by the time you're in Cardiff, you're probably not going to do very well.
I feel honoured to have been a competitor at Cardiff and to have won the Song Prize was simply mind-blowing. It was an amazing, once-in-a-lifetime experience!
Soprano Elizabeth Watts is one of the busiest and most successful singers of her generation, performing widely on opera and concert stages in the UK and abroad. She was nominated for the 2009 Classical Brits awards, and her recently released CD of Schubert songs has been critically acclaimed.
