BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition
BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition (known as Cardiff Singer of the World from 1983–2001 and BBC Singer of the World in Cardiff in 2003) is a competition for classical singers held every two years.
| BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition | |
|---|---|
The current logo used since 2017 | |
| Awarded for | Singing |
| Sponsored by | BBC and Cardiff Council (main event) Wigmore Hall (Song Prize), Cardiff University School of Music (Audience Prize) |
| Location | St David's Hall, Cardiff |
| Country | Wales, United Kingdom |
| Presented by | BBC |
| Formerly called |
|
| Reward(s) | The Cardiff Trophy and £20,000 (main prize) Song Prize Trophy and £10,000 (song prize) Crystal trophy and £2,500 (Dame Kiri Te Kanawa Audience Prize) |
| First awarded | 1983 |
| Winner | Adolfo Corrado, 2023 |
| Website | BBC Cardiff Singer of the World website |
| Television/radio coverage | |
| Network | BBC Four, BBC Two Wales, S4C, BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio 3, BBC Radio Cymru. |
The previous logo used from 2007 to 2015. | |
The competition was started by BBC Wales in 1983 to celebrate the opening of St David's Hall in Cardiff, Wales, home of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. The creation of the competition was overseen by Geraint Stanley Jones, who was the controller at BBC Wales at the time.
Auditions are held throughout the world in the autumn before the competition, with singers being selected to take part in Cardiff the following June. Each singer represents their own country. In Wales there is a competition to select the national representative; the winner of the Welsh Singers Showcase represents Wales in BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition.
The competition is judged by a panel of distinguished singers, musicians and music professionals. In 2003 an audience prize was also introduced for the primary competition; in 2011 it was renamed the Dame Joan Sutherland Audience Prize to mark the passing of the singer who was the competition's first patron.