I agree, Heldentenor. He appears to be singing well within his range (probably for security’s sake), and he’s got the massive dark sound to carry Wagner.
He needs better music and some high quality coaching. A big tenor voice can be ruined by bad instruction (even at the university level). What’s the British equivalent of Juilliard?
As for the young lady, her pitch overall is not bad and when she ‘scoops’ a note she quickly corrects. She just does not have the horsepower to sing a duet with her friend . . . I know, I’m a journeyman alto myself and for years I stood right in front of our Heldentenor (who is now at Juilliard). He could drown me (and the rest of the choir) out without even trying hard . . . and it is difficult to keep your own pitch in the face of that level of sound. The concentration and relative pitch required only come with practice and experience (don’t need perfect pitch, I’ve never had it but I know it’s a curse because my husband DOES have it). She’s young (and so is he) - it will come.
The Royal Academy.
I agree, his voice is so massive, that I think any soprano is going to have trouble being drowned out by it, and as others have pointed out, knowing where your voice is without hearing it, when accompany someone else, especially someone with such raw power would be difficult
I’d like to hear her solo, to see how she does, I think she’s getting dinged a bit unfairly.
I do agree, that that issue may hold him back in the contest, vs him being solo, but based on what was said in the interviews, without her there, I think he’d never have walked on that stage.
That said, good teachers only keep students from making mistakes. I've seen many singers who studied with great teachers and, yet, never had much of a career. Great talent beats great teaching everytime.
My first serious voice teacher told me, "The student makes the teacher, not the other way around".