* Pendine Park proprietor Mario Kreft MBE presents the trophy to baritone Emyr Lloyd Jones, winner of the Pendine International Voice of the Future competition.
A 25-year-old baritone dubbed the new Bryn Terfel has been crowned as the best young singer in the world.
Emyr Lloyd Jones put in a stirring
performance to take the title of the Pendine International Voice of the Future
at the 75th Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod.
Following a thrilling sing-off, watched by his
proud parents and loving fiancée, he was presented with the Pendine Trophy - a
solid silver salver, and a £3,000 prize by Mario Kreft MBE, proprietor of the
arts-loving care organisation, Pendine Park, who sponsor the competition.
The prize comes from the Pendine Arts and
Community Trust (PACT) which supports cultural and community initiatives across
Wales.
In what the judges described as an extremely
close decision, Emyr clinched the victory just ahead of the hugely talented
soprano Oksana Lepska, of Latvia.
The two virtuosos had battled their way through
preliminary rounds involving more than 20 competitors from countries as far
afield as China and the USA.
Just six singers made it to the semi-finals
which were held on the opening days of the Eisteddfod where they competed for
the final two places to perform on the show-stopping night of the famous
pavilion stage.
Emyr comes from Bontnewydd, near Gwynedd, which
is less than 10 miles away from where Bryn Terfel was raised in Pantglas.
He said he was “over the moon” to have won such
a prestigious prize especially in the eisteddfod’s landmark 75th anniversary
year.
He said: “I feel absolutely honoured. There
have been so many exceptional performances in this year’s competition that I
was overwhelmed to have got into the final.
“It is an occasion which is very close to my
heart. I have been competing and visiting the International Musical Eisteddfod
with choirs since I was a young child so to achieve success like this in the
pavilion for which I hold such affection, well it’s just staggering for me.”
Emyr impressed the Eisteddfod judges with his
entrancing performances of Hai gia vinta la causa, from Mozart’s The Marriage
of Figaro; The Cloths of Heaven, taken from a poem by WB Yeats and Y Cymro by
Meirion Williams.
Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod
executive producer, Camilla King, said his voice was reminiscent of opera
mega-star Sir Bryn Terfel in his earlier years.
She said: “It has that same timbre, it’s rich,
passionate, mellow and versatile. He doesn’t just sing but his voice takes you
on a journey.
“I believe Emyr has the talent to become a
future star of the same standing as Sir Bryn. In fact, both our finalists are
outstanding talents and I’ve no doubt we will be seeing a lot more of them both
in years to come.”
After studying for six years at the Royal
Northern College of Music in Manchester, where he met fiancée, fellow singer
Rhiannon Ashley, Emyr’s career course is already moving on apace. He
will spend the next two years studying at the famed Guildhall School of Music
in London where Bryn Terfel was also once a student.
He is hugely excited to have been accepted by
the Guildhall but the move has some bitter sweet consequences as it means he
will be parted from Rhiannon for a year.
She is heading off to teach in the Welsh
settlement of Patagonia in Argentina.
Emyr said: “We only got engaged just over a
month ago and we are immensely looking forward to making a life together but at
the same time we both have goals to achieve. It will be hard being apart but we
already have plans for me to go over and visit Patagonia in December.”
Rhiannon, 25, who hails from Newcastle Emlyn,
South Wales, was delighted to be in the audience with Emyr’s proud parents
Derek and Gillian Jones, watching Emyr perform in the Pendine International
Voice of the Future final.
She said: “We were on the edge of our seats.
We’re all really thrilled for him. We knew he could do it and he sang
brilliantly well. It’s been a fantastic evening.”
Emyr’s dream is to become a professional opera
singer and have the chance to perform on some of the world’s great stages like
the New York Met, La Scala in Milan and the Royal Opera House.
He would also love to perform with each of the
national opera companies in Britain.
Mario Kreft added: "The ethos of the
Eisteddfod chimes perfectly with the values of my wife, Gill, and I at Pendine
Park in nurturing young talent.
“We firmly believe in the vital role played by
music and arts in social care and as part of our enrichment programme for
people with dementia.
“The Pendine Trophy, which is solid Edwardian silver bearing a Chester
hallmark, was kindly donated by the late Tony Kaye of Kaye’s Jewellers. It’s a
stunning and beautiful trophy.
“I think tonight we have heard some of the
future famous names of the global operatic stage for sure. Both contestants
have remarkable voices and they kept the audience enthralled with their
different performances.
“To have such a high standard of competition
particularly in this, the first year of live performances again following the
difficult, heart-wrenching times of the pandemic, is wonderfully uplifting. It
shows what a wealth of talent there still is among our younger generations of musicians.
“Emyr is a credit to his home village of
Bontnewydd and an inspiration to other budding young singers from north Wales
and further afield. It is our hope that this competition offers a stepping
stone for outstanding young talents like Emyr and Oksana to go on and further
their careers.”
Emyr said the cash windfall will be an enormous
support towards his costs of living in London, as well as helping towards
purchase of vital materials and extra tuition fees.
He said: “Apart from my delight about winning
this is a tremendous boost on a practical level and will definitely help me
afford to live in London, especially at a time when expenses everywhere are
going up. I cannot thank Mario and Pendine enough.”
Eisteddfod chairman Dr Rhys Davies said the
organisers would be overjoyed to see all the competitors again.
He said: “It has been a lovely evening,
emotional, and heartwarming. We have been bowled over by the standard of
performances. What a wonderful way to celebrate the 75th anniversary year of Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod.”
* Winner of the prestigious Choir of the World title at the Eisteddfod's closing evening concert was CF1 from Cardiff, conducted by former Llangollen Eisteddfod musical director Elir Owen Griffiths.
Overall winners of this year's dance competitions were Loughgiel from Northern Ireland.
* Loughgiel won the overall dance competition.
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