79 competitors are expected to Budapest for the live rounds

Liszt Academy’s 5th Éva Marton International Singing Competition kicks off on September 4 with the participation of 79 competitors from 26 countries. That is how many contestants will receive notifications over the coming days that they have been selected to the first live round of the competition. The pre-qualification jury chaired by Éva Marton, which also included Liszt- and Bartók-Pásztory Prize-winning opera singer, Péter Fried, who is also a teacher of the Liszt Academy as well as Liszt Prize-winning conductor and meritorious artist Balázs Kocsár, praised the applications submitted online as being of high quality again, despite of the fact that the previous contest was only 8 months ago, due to the pandemic postponement.

The panel chose 38 men and 41 women.  With respect to nationalities, Koreans are present in significant numbers (20), but the Russian Federation is also represented by 8 competitors. Six  contestants from Kazakhstan and five from China made it to the semi-finals. Competitors from the United States, Italy and even Ukraine have also been selected, and organisers expect singers from far-away countries like the Republic of South Africa and New Zealand.

As in previous competitions, sopranos are the most numerous in numbers, but representatives of a special, rare voice range will also be present: two countertenors will make an appearance in the semi-finals.

The Competition Secretariat will notify competitors via email. Click here for the list of the selected singers.