Valentina Nafornita

Queen’s Hall

Miranda Heggie

VALENTINA Nafornita’s is a big voice, and perhaps one which takes a while to really warm up, especially for an 11am concert, as yesterday morning’s recital took a while to get off the ground.

Opening with four songs by Gabriel Faure, Nafornita’s tuning was not always quite spot on, and she failed to really nail some of the higher notes.

Her rich, meaty soprano voice however was far better suited to the heavier, more dramatic repertoire which came later in the programme than to Fauré’s gentle French Mélodie.

In the first of a group of three songs by Franz Liszt, it was suddenly evident to see why she was the winner of the Cardiff Singer of the World competition in 2011.

The fruity tones of her voice were aptly suited to the harmonies outlined in Béla Bartók’s Eight Hungarian Folksongs, as she convincingly portrayed each of the songs’ characters.

Her storytelling continued to be heartfelt and profound throughout the second half, most notably in Tchaikovsky’s I was a little blade of grass, where she poignantly portrayed the fear, betrayal and sorrow of a young girl forced to marry against her will.

Pianist Roger Vignoles was consistently stunning, echoing the poetry of the songs throughout his playing. The sense of vulnerability he lent to the accompaniment of Rachmaninov’s Do Not Sing to Me could not have been more sensitive to the longing and lament expressed in text by Alexander Pushkin.

Ending with Dvorák’s Gyspsy Songs, Nafornita’s singing was as playful as it was classy, and it was clear she was enjoying the performance as much as her audience.

Vignoles was an expert accompanist, as together they wonderfully embodied the nature of the songs.