Michael Riseley Is The 2010 Principality Building Society Welsh Young Musical Theatre Singer of the Year

The eighth annual final of the Principality Building Society Welsh Young Musical Theatre Singer Of The Year contest was held at the Swansea Grand Theatre on Saturday February 20. The closely fought contest was adjudicated by an panel of judges consisting of eminent director and drama teacher Ken Caswell, vocal coach Tim Richards, Tim Rhys Evans (musical director of the internationally acclaimed male choir, Only Men Aloud, winners of BBC's Last Choir Standing) and Claire Hammacott (whose West End credits include Les Miserables and Christine in Phantom Of The Opera).

The winner of the 2010 title was Michael Riseley, who gained the adjudicators' nod ahead of stiff opposition from fellow finalists, Amy Whittle, Aled Powys Williams and Lucy Marie Phillips. Michael, a Swansea-born performer currently in his final year at the esteemed Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama, wowed the judges and the audience with his renditions of Anthem (from Chess), Shouldn't I Be Less In Love With You? (from I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change), What Is It About Her? (from Andrew Lippa's The Wild Party) and Mama Says (the Tom Snow/Dean Pitchford showstopper from Footloose).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Riseley joins a prestigious list of former winners of the title, including Connie Fisher (ABOVE LEFT - winner of BBC's How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria, who went on to star in both the West End and UK tour of The Sound Of Music), 2005 joint winners (PICTURED ABOVE RIGHT) David Thaxton (current Enjolras in Les Miserables) and Hayley Gallivan (Marta in Spring Awakening at the Lyric, Hammersmith and the Novello Theatre) and 2009 winner Catherine Mort (recipient of the 2009 Sir Michael Redgrave Scholarship and Guildford School of Acting Musical Theatre Student of the Year award).

The musical theatre feast at the Swansea Grand was further complemented by solo performances by Catherine Mort and the Dunvant Male Choir, the founders and administrators of the contest, which has become one of the premier musical theatre events in the theatrical calendar in Wales. As a result of the choir's initiative and dedicated commitment, the contest has continued to thrive and both reflects and promotes the high standard of excellence in musical theatre performance in Wales.

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