Elijah - St David’s Hall

Elijah
Mendelssohn

By Mike Smith

Now I am not a religious person by and stretch but there was one moment when Bryn Terfel’s eyes flashed so wildly singing the prophet Elijah even I thought for a moment we might have a fiery visitation from the heavens.

Such is Bryn’s passion, intensity of drama and down right volume that had he been Elijah you could understand why the Israelites were swept along by his power.

It is becoming a little bit of a cliché to say Bryn Terfel was born to sing such and such a role Elijah but I doubt whether any other performer of this great oratorio role can come close in magisterial if not zealous authority.
But Elijah cannot live in a vacuum, maybe a wilderness, but not an empty stage, so it was a casting made in another heaven that brought our great Rebecca Evans to sing the soprano role with its luscious opening aria after the interval.

Here we have two international stars quite rightly at the top of their game and Wales is all the luckier for having both home-based and committed to singing here.
On very much a Welsh night the tenor was taken by Rhys Meirion who brought dignity and style to the role with Leah-Marian Jones - taking the mezzo role in place of Sara Fulgoni – with a restrained elegant voice. Neither yet have that magical stage and vocal presence their big-hitting fellow soloists enjoy but there is never any danger of this being a two mega-star show.

Adding to the enjoyment of the evening we had 13 year old boy soprano William Dutton not just singing beautifully but giving just enough dramatic gesture to the role to bring even more to life. Bryn gave William some fatherly glances of encouragement – his own boys are now around William’s age – but the 2006 BBC Radio2 Young Chorister of the Year was always on totally secure ground.

The conductor is Owain Arwel Hughes was of course like a bee in a bed of lavender conducting Welsh National Opera, the massed ranks of Philharmonia Orchestra, Cardiff Ardwyn Singers and Cardiff Polyphonic Choir.

By the way, Young William is from Harrogate but as his mum is Cardiff born, educated and sang with Cardiff Polyphonic Choir as a student we can claim an all-Wales cast! His little brother was sat in the audience on what was his 10th birthday – now there’s brotherly love!