Contestants in the preliminary 2026

Liszt Academy’s event began on Sunday evening with the opening statement of Éva Marton, followed by the drawing of the order in which the 56 contestant will perform in the preliminaries.

This year marks the tenth anniversary of the biennial competition, and to commemorate this occasion, we spoke with world renowned opera singer, Professor Emerita Éva Marton – whose name the competition bears - about the significance of the event, which will be held for the sixth time from September 1 to 8.

South African, Australian, U.S. and Korean competitors also make it to the preliminary of the Marton competition along with Russians, Ukrainians and six Hungarians.

A total of 106 female and 90 male singers from thirty-two countries around the world submitted valid applications for the competition, which offers prizes amounting to 70,000 euros.