KEY POINTS:
This Friday night, six young singers will compete in the finals of the Lexus Song Quest.
And once again the final arbiter will be a distinguished figure of the international concert stage and opera theatre.
This year it is soprano Elizabeth Connell, who stunned audiences in the title
role of Australian Opera's 2006 revival of Turandot.
She has played Elektra from Madrid and Berlin to Tokyo and Montreal, has just delivered a week of masterclasses in Hamburg and given "one of your 100 best arias kind of recitals" in Kuala Lumpur.
As she says, "I get about."
I mention her fine 1988 Hyperion CD of Schubert songs, a venture she is "quite proud of. Graham Johnson chose those songs because I had this big operatic voice. Not many people sing Die Allmacht and then there's Klage der Ceres which goes on and on ... lovely stuff."
For Connell, opera and song complement one another.
"A lied is like a little scene in itself. You don't have costumes, lighting or production, just atmosphere which you create with your stance, your concentration and your expression.
"You have this little story to tell and two or three minutes to put it across."
Friday's hopefuls will each offer one lied or artsong, accompanied by the estimable Terence Dennis, along with two arias, with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of Michael Lloyd.
When it comes to advice for young singers, Connell is adamant that they remember the Latin proverb, "festina lente".
"Hasten slowly," she translates. "Be sure to look after number one because no else will as well as you can. These days there is a good deal of exploitation of younger singers and you are going to have to be able to say no in the nicest possible way, especially if someone asks you to [do] something much too soon.
"They might tell you that you are right for it now, but in five years' time you won't be right for anything."
Things were not so brutal when she was a student.
"There was much more nurturing of talent. They could see someone with my voice was going to be a dramatic soprano, but you can't be that when you start off otherwise you would have a very short and sharp career.
"Nowadays there isn't time to go step by step. And if singers aren't careful, they will be on the singing scrapheap very soon."
She believes competitions such as the Lexus are invaluable.
"They are a wonderful platform for everyone to hear you. If you win, any financial help is very gratefully received and you are also able to judge yourself against the other contestants."
Nevertheless for all the training and discipline, when it comes to getting a professional break, it is luck, pure and simple.
"But when Lady Luck does come along," Connell adds, "you have to have the goods and the talent to embrace it."
When judging such events, it is the whole personality Connell looks for. "It hits you in the eyes whom to encourage. I thought when I first started doing these things it would be so difficult but the cream really does rise to the top."
She is looking forward to a masterclass with the singers on Sunday, giving what she describes as "soundbyte lessons".
Bearing in mind they will be held in the round in the town hall, with an audience, she will be "providing entertainment as well as teaching".
Her own student memories include a masterclass with the great Dame Eva Turner.
"The best thing I learned from her," Connell laughs, "was once you get your money you divide it into three. You give a third to the government, a third you save, and a third you live on."
When Friday's winner receives his or her $15,000 scholarship and that cash prize of $10,000, Dame Eva's advice may well be taken to heart.
Performance
What: Lexus Song Quest Final
Where and when: Auckland Town Hall, Fri 7.30pm
And: Elizabeth Connell Masterclass, Auckland Town Hall, Sun 1pm
