I really enjoyed operatic singer Lucy Kay's rendition of Nella Fatasia. In the context of this show she looked and sounded great.
I feel, however, she let herself down badly by being unable to answer the "who composed it?" question. It seemed she didn't know the background to the piece at all, and even though it sounded lovely, she was just a pretty girl singing some Italian words, ignorant of their meaning.

Slightly unfair there as most youngsters do not the origin of the songs they sing.

Most old crooning songs are credited to Michael Buble for example.

It looked bad, though, for someone that I presume wants to be regarded as a 'serious' singer. The whole Michael Buble thing is annoying, but Lucy is not twelve years old. She's an adult and a student at the prestigious Royal Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow.

I do find it shocking in The X Factor and similar shows when contestants have no clue not only about the history of the song they are singing but also, and more importantly, about the meaning of the song. TPTB also clearly have no clue about the meanings of songs. For example, TXF always used to give Young Hearts Run Free to a young girl to sing, presumably because the title suggested it was suitable for a young girl to sing, when in fact it's all about an older woman advising young girls not to make the same mistakes she made when she was young.

Lucy should of known,she had training in music,she would of read music sheet, get it translated
Easy to do very puzzled that she had not clue on composer again it came with the translated aura
yricstranslate.com/en/nella-fantasia-my-fantasy.html
She is a beautiful girl but at the moment I heard much better version of the auria

Yes, well then they should then shouldn't they?
Just because most other people don't know something it doesn't make it right.

If you truly want to learn to be an expert at something then you do your research.
If you're a singer then you learn about what you're actually singing. You're not a singing machine which just recites words in a tuneful way.
Well actually I'm wrong there aren't I? We're in the Simon Cowell era of musical influence where that's exactly what you are.

Michael Buble is in the position he is because he will have had a passion for what he does and learned from the originators of his genre.

Yep agreed, when she said she didn't know the first thing I thought about is, you are not serious about music

Maybe the fame already got to her?

I thought she was awful.

I didn't like how she went from a shivering, crying wreck to a confidant and well in control woman in 3 mins.

I HATE sob stories.

We've all got them.

Me thinks the OP is just being a big picky. Just because someone sings a certain time of genre of music does'nt mean to say that they know everyting about it.

But if she has chosen to sing a particular song or aria in the competition, she should at least know who wrote it, especially when she is studying music at a college of music and drama.

Wasn't it wtitten by Ennio Morricone ?

Russell Watson does the best version IMO.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMKf9ak2I9s

This. She's always crying, I hate sob stories as well.

Yes because everyone acts in a completely uniform way all the time ..

So did I. I bet real opera singers must hate these karaoke opera singers who don't even know what they are singing.

I agree - her performance reflected her lack of understanding of the song's lyrics and resulted in a complete lack of light and shade. It doesn't necessarily require an operatic voice but I felt that this performance was "belted out". There are several good performances of this on You Tube from Hayley Westernra, Il Divo, Katherine Jenkins, etc - all of which demonstrate far more musicality in their performances.
My personal feeling is that the sob story carried more weight that her very average vocal performance.

Even Simon got it wrong thing Lloyd Webber wrote it

Just shows Simon's lack of knowledge when it comes to opera/musical theatre -no wonder the X Factor musical was a flop. That and cos it was a load of crap

She said in an interview that she couldn't hear what they were asking her as she didn't think they would ask her any questions and she 'froze'. I think she pobably knew who sung it but was put under pressure.

You say Even Simon didn't know. But I don't think Simon is very knowledgeable about music anyway.

I guess that's fair enough. I can see that as plausible.

Whether or not she knew who composed it (or indeed should have known), she managed to display all the flaws in her vocal technique with her performance.

Her breath control was very choppy.

Her Italian was lamentable (particularly given she has been studying for such a long time - it should have been better)

Her vibrato was far too pronounced.

Her tuning was far from 100% accurate.

If she wants to be considered a credible classical performer - none of these are acceptable. Even as a crossover artist, she lacks the technique to sing the repertoire that she is currently attempting.

Maybe with more training and experience, she will develop more - but she is not ready. Not by a long way. No opera company would employ her to take on a solo role in a production - and I don't think her technique would stand up to the exposure.

As for the sob story - well those at college with her in Glasgow will tell a very different tale.

I hate manipulation - and this is some of the most blatant.

I don't think she is a bad singer - but she is not one who is ready for a solo career.

Actually, they will have rehearsed all of it. Of course she would have known that there would be a post-performance interview/chat - it is part of the format.

She might not have known the precise questions - but to claim that she had no idea they would talk to her is utter garbage.

She has done enough media interviews since her involvement in the show to have a clue that people might ask her questions....

I must agree with you totally. Out came a stunning girl who performed beautifully and you would imagine given that this is her business, she would be hugely familiar with all famous pieces of music like this.

The complete lack of any knowledge whatsoever of who composed the song, where it even came from let her down very badly.

Really should know who composed it. However I recall Kim Marsh sang this on Popstar to Opera Star and Kim's version moved me to tears, the best.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_qrFlbD3Kk

We seem to have a lot on here who think that they know a lot about opera, or not as the case may be. At the end of the day the GBP really like her, and that is all that matters.