77 singers qualified for the II Éva Marton International Singing Competition

Around 20 nations are represented at the contest organized by Liszt Academy with total prize money of more than €42,000: alongside the eight singers from Hungary there are competitors from more than 10 European countries, a dozen Russian artists, entrants from Kazakhstan, Mongolia, China and South Korea, as well as young gifted singers from the United States all taking part in the autumn rounds.

The full list of the qualified applicants is to be found by clicking here.

“We have come across the most beautiful voices and extremely highly qualified, musically talented young artists in the material that has been submitted. The 77 going through from the some 100 applicants form a really strong field and there are superb competitors in all the vocal ranges,” said Éva Marton, prof. emer. KS, in connection with the list of those making it into the live competition. “The standard is noticeably higher compared to the 2014 competition: it is absolutely clear that starting from the standard of the first competition, weaker entries have not even submitted applications. Together with the other members of the pre-jury, Balázs Kocsár, conductor and music director of the Hungarian State Opera, and Kossuth Prize winning opera singer Atilla Kiss B., professor of the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music, we are in complete agreement that the applicants have shown themselves to be highly prepared and fully aware that they can reckon on a world-class competition at the Liszt Academy. I am extremely pleased by this because it proves that we did not establish the International Éva Marton Singing Competition in vain,” she added.

18-32-year-old women and 18-35-year-old men could submit video applications for the online selection of the competition announced in January 2016. As part of the application, candidates had to upload performances of one Baroque and one freely selected aria from another period, with piano or orchestral accompaniment. More than 100 valid registrations were received at the martoncompetition.hu website by the deadline of the end of April. Competitors making it through to the live rounds in the autumn – only they have to pay the €150 entry fee – have to prove themselves with a performance of a Liszt song and a further seven arias. The pieces must be performed from memory, in the original key and original language, and in full version. In both the final and in the gala, hosted by the Hungarian State Opera, the Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra provides accompaniment under the baton of Balázs Kocsár. In addition to total prize money of €42,000, the very best competitors can also collect numerous special prizes including the Éva Marton Prize of the Hungarian Academy of Arts, concert invitations and scholarships.

The competition is organized with support from the government of Hungary. Its jury, headed by Éva Marton, includes Hungarian and international celebrities from the world of opera such as Miguel Lerín, one of the most influential managers in European opera, tenor Vittorio Terranova, artistic director of the F. Tagliavini opera competition, Christina Scheppelmann, director of the Teatro Liceu in Barcelona, Prof. Sung Bin Kim, dean of the Faculty of Music of Daeshin University, Anatoli Goussev, professor of the La Scuola Musicale in Foro Buonaparte di Milano, Honghai Ma, Professor of the Central Conservatory of Music, Shanghai, Andrea Meláth, head of the Department of Vocal and Opera Studies, Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music, and Szilveszter Ókovács, director of the Hungarian State Opera.

The Liszt Academy hosts the rounds and final (open to the public) between 19-25 September 2016. Due to live Internet streaming, the most exciting moments of the competition can be followed throughout Hungary and anywhere in the world.