The BBC Singer of the World competition has always been a testing week, but its extension to include a separate song competition has introduced an element of survival of the fittest. Thus, the emergence of the coolly accomplished American soprano Nicole Cabell as winner was predictable, her slender frame belying a remarkable stamina.

Crucially, Cabell's programme was more adventurous than most, with Mozart flanked by impassioned Tippett and a technically demanding aria from Berlioz's Benvenuto Cellini. It was the joyful gleam of the Berlioz's final high cadenza that set the seal on her success.

New Zealand mezzo Wendy Dawn Thompson radiated warmth, communicating with a directness that never failed to touch the heart. Her Ivor Gurney songs and an aria from Strauss's Ariadne auf Naxos had earlier provided outstanding moments, the voice only losing a little of its impact in the final.

The light English tenor of Andrew Kennedy is not a great voice, but his sensitive and intelligent singing made for rewarding listening and his prize in Friday's song final was deserved. Italian soprano Daria Masiero's dramatic intensity in two Puccini arias justified her place among the finalists, but the inclusion of Chilean tenor Luis Olivares Sandoval had caused controversy, placing him as it did above Korea's Ha-Young Lee. Happily, Sandoval's affinity with Donizetti and Gounod showed world-class potential, and Lee's achievement in winning the audience prize righted the perceived wrong. To western eyes, her enactment of Violetta's pain in Ah, Fors'è Lui seemed exaggerated, but such a thrilling soprano marked her as a voice of considerable finesse.

Cardiff's singfest was all the stronger this time for being mercifully free from old warhorses among the material. Instead, there was plenty of gutsy contemporary repertoire, and it revealed some star talent. Irina Lungu, Kostas Smoriginas and Sergejs Jegers - aged 25, 24 and 27 respectively - are singers with a future.