Where do Wigmore Hall finalists find their courage?

Playing the Cowardly Lion in a high school production of The Wizard of Oz convinced Wigmore Hall finalist Sidney Outlaw (above) to pursue a stage career. His naturalness in performance has served him well since, and it’s something he nurtures. ‘For me, singing is like speaking,’ he says. ‘After all I sing every day, without thinking about it, and whether or not there’s anyone around to hear. I don’t want my body to feel contrived when I sing on stage, and so I lead a very simple, routine life when I’m performing or in competition.’

Finalist Erin Morley (interviewed here with pianist Laura Poe) sings opera at the Met but believes the differences in dramatic projection required by opera and lied are not nearly as great as they are some people think. ‘The main thing is the intimacy of the venue,’ she says. ‘I never think in terms of being more or less “dramatic”. I do think, all the time, about inhabiting the role and the text.’