Korean tenor wins the 6th Éva Marton International Singing Competition

Romanian bariton Mihai Damian finished second winning 20,000 euros, while the third prize of 10,000 euros went to Chinese mezzo-soprano Hongni Wu. Éva Marton awarded her personal special prize of 10,000 euros to Russian soprano Alexandra Zotova for the high quality performances, and the audience award went to Korean soprano Yeeun Yeu.

At the final held in the Grand Hall of the Liszt Academy, competitors each performed an aria in two rounds, accompanied by the Orchestra of the Hungarian State Opera under the baton of Péter Halász. In addition, each singer introduced themselves in a short film while members of the audience voted for their favourite contestant.

The winners of the competition's prestigious special awards will be announced at the Sunday evening gala held at the Hungarian Opera House. A few tickets are available for the event which may be followed also on the Youtube channel of the competition.

The audience of the final was greeted by Dr. Csaba Kutnyánszky, Vice President of the Liszt Academy, the competition's organizer and host, recalling that when the Éva Marton International Singing Competition was launched ten years ago, they were confident that it would soon become one of the most prestigious music contests in the world. "We saw the guarantee of this in the fact that one of the great stars of 20th century opera history, Professor Emerita of the Liszt Academy, Éva Marton lent her name to this competition. Today, we can say that it has become one of the leading events, as it is a member of the World Federation of International Music Competitions and this year almost 200 talented musicians have entered," he added. He also congratulated the twelve finalists, who he said could already consider themselves winners with this achievement.

At the results announcement, Éva Marton expressed her great joy that such enthusiastic and great singers attend every competition, adding that from more than 900 applicants 500 people have entered the competition so far since 2014. She said it was important that the event was not just a festival, but that it was also something creative by nurturing talent. "The Liszt Academy is my alma mater, where I always enter with faith and love, and even though I have worked in some of the world's most important theatres, I will never forget it," she added, and told that the jury is made up of people with whom she has a relationship for decades and who have helped her in his career.

Jihoon Park, 33, sang arias from Goundot's Faust and Puccini's Turandot in the final (Click here to read more about the contestant).

The 6th Éva Marton International Singing Competition is organised by the Liszt Academy with the support of the Mol - New Europe Foundation and the National Cultural Fund.

Photos: Liszt Academy/László Mudra