The 5th Éva Marton International Singing Competition kicks off
The 5th Éva Marton International Singing Competition organized by the Liszt Academy began on Sunday evening with the opening statement of Éva Marton, followed by the drawing of the order in which the contestants will perform.
In line with the tradition followed at competitions organized by the Liszt Academy, the youngest contestant, 25-year-old Korean soprano Seonwoo Lee, drew the number of the first performer, who will be Romanian-Hungarian singer Valentina Puscas. The other contestants will follow in alphabetical order through the end of the alphabet, and then from the beginning. This order will be valid throughout the competition.
In addition to Liszt songs, the compulsory repertoire includes countless opera arias from popular works to lesser-known ones. Admission to the five semi-finals (held from Monday through Wednesday) and the two semi-finals held on Thursday in the Solti Hall of the Liszt Academy is free of charge with no registration required. In these rounds, competitors will take the stage accompanied by piano.
Tickets are still available for Saturday's final round in the Grand Hall of the Liszt Academy when the results will be announced as well as for Sunday's gala at the Hungarian State Opera House, where the names of the winners of special prizes will be unveiled.
Those interested in the competition can watch all the rounds and the final events from anywhere in the world via the online stream. Further details and the whole programme can be found on the martoncompetition.hu website.
"It's particularly important to be at peace during the competition, to look out for each other, to help each other," Éva Marton said. She added that hard work and a great performance will help each contestant stand out and she encouraged the young talents to seize this opportunity to be noticed by the world. She announced that starting this year, a special presidential award would be handed out to the best Liszt performer. The winners of this prize and the Éva Marton special award will be announced at the gala event. She pointed out that these two prizes may be awarded to competitors who are eliminated before the final.
The first competitors registered at the Competition Secretariat on Saturday, several of them had already held rehearsals. The Liszt Academy, the organizer of the competition, provides classrooms equipped with pianos for the rehearsals. In addition, each contestant can have a so-called acoustic rehearsal in the Solti Hall, where the semi-finals are held. For those who did not bring a piano accompanist, the Liszt Academy will provide one. A total of 48 contestants registered for the live rounds; the public will have the opportunity to hear them perform during the five rounds of the semi-finals. The names of those who have qualified for the semi-finals will be revealed on Wednesday evening, and organizers will publish the list of contestants who made it to the finals on Thursday evening.
The prestigious international jury of the competition supported by the Hungarian government and which awards prizes totaling more than 70,000 euros is chaired by Professor Emerita KS. Éva Marton and includes some of the most celebrated artists of the Hungarian and international world of opera. The members of the panel are Miguel Lerín, one of the most influential art managers; Peter Mario Katona, casting director of the Royal Opera House in London; Anatoli Goussev, a Ukrainian-born tenor and singer living and working in Italy; Italian tenor Vittorio Terranova; Dmitry Vdovin, director of the youth opera programme at the Bolshoi Theater; mezzo soprano Andrea Meláth, head of the Singing Department of the Liszt Academy; and Szilveszter Ókovács, director general of the Hungarian State Opera House.