Olesya Petrova BBC Cardiff Singer of the World 2011 Concert 1

[azulbengala]

OMG!... I love this aria! ♥....

[dangmills]

For anyone to sing a song that one of the judges sang for years takes some gall... Singing "Mon Coeur" in front of Marilyn Horne is like singing "Let The Bright Seraphim" or " Où va la jeune Hindoue" in front of Joan Sutherland. One did sing "Seraphim" but that was like 10 years ago.

[ohbella1]

Why didn't she win?!

[operamark1]

Gorgeous, Her French needs some coaching. "Tendresse" is pronounced "tawn-drays-uh," not " "tawn-drays-ee" or " "tawn-drays-say [long a]," as she is singing it. Likewise, "livresse". Fabulous legato and breath control.

[anqiangela]

Wowww.She should be the winner!!!....so atractive voice and good technic!!!

[gigiontube]

She is way too flat. Sorry guys, she was not the best.

Valentina deserved to win.

[incandescentsmile]

I was a bit stunned when i first watched this - it was utterly spine-tingling. However, i was more stunned when she didn't win...

[Poetapersempre]

Her voice makes me cry.. I adore her..

[johneunson]

it matters little who wins. this is class. this lady has a big future ahead. when you feel goose bumps you know something is very special.

[MrAndredekock]

There is a beautiful legato line that she achieves in the Samson et Dalila and her piano is quite stunning. She's not a Bartoli with that amazing agility of hers, but she will be an asset to any opera company in any of the standard mezzo soprano roles. Brava.

[roxybunty]

Thank you so much for posting this! When I saw this it blew me away - I do feel that she should have won. This was such a brilliant performance (both songs) and I am becoming just a little obsessed with her voice. I hope she makes a recital album very soon.

[brmu5068]

she is beautiful and her voice is amazing! wow

[Bigman240]

Beautiful voice. Diction needs work though.

[sarahglynjones]

Why didnt this diva WIN I was so shocked her performances and voice and vocal tone and quality were so out of this world compared to the rest of the singers???..Where is the VOI LO SAPETE performance its not on youtube its better than any Iv ever seen EVER I will study it!?

[HairManattheOpera]

@sarahglynjones This is the recording for her preliminary concert, you can find her Grand Final appearance, with "Voi lo sapete" by checking through my videos above - it should be on the 3rd page.

[stephenhkent]

thank you for posting this, the last aria is beautiful and powerful. the last phrases from 10.45 are just stunning. some of the most melodically beautiful music i have ever heard. now to google 'cilea' ... the note at 11.01 !!! wow....she, or the english singer should have won. very surprised by the winner. a 'thin' voice...

[HairManattheOpera]

@stephenhkent You're welcome. To be fair, in the hall itself, Naforniţă had a far fuller voice than was captured by the TV broadcasts.

[stephenhkent]

@HairManattheOpera I can also see how the winner had a magnetic charismatic quality and may be the best 'actor'. I actually think the english girl,meeta,was the only one who improved from the first round. i could hear tiredness in all the others, incl olesya at the end of 'voi lo sapete',which lacked power.i still love her! if you want to hear stupendous singing, look for yelena obratzsova's rendition of 'acerba volutta', olesya's final 1st round aria.it will be blow you out of your armchair.

[HairManattheOpera]

@stephenhkent Raval, as you said, was the only one I felt improved from the first round. By the end I think the adrenalin had been running for a week and was bound to be tiring for all the singers, as they are all young artists. If Petrova had gone with something other than the Bizet chances are she would have won, but she definitely has a wonderful career ahead of her. I tracked down the Obraztsova you suggested and all I can say is - force of nature! An absolutely breathtaking performance!