Mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton from USA sings L'ai-je bien entendu?…O mon Fernand (La favorite) by Donizetti from BBC Cardiff Singer of the World, concert one.

About the music: Spain, around 1340. Alfonso XI, King of Castile, has allowed his mistress Leonora to marry Fernando, the man she truly loves, as a reward for Fernando’s victory over the Saracens. After her initial joy, Leonora realises that she will have to tell Fernando the truth about her relationship with the king. She sees her sufferings written in the heavens, and imagines herself rejected and veiled in black.