Almost 100 singers in the III Éva Marton International Singing Competition
HEAD OF THE JURY
ÉVA MARTON
One of the world’s greatest dramatic sopranos. It is not easy to summarize her incredible career, since she has performed at all the top opera venues, including La Scala, Milan, the New York Metropolitan Opera, the Staatsoper in Vienna and the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires. Her extraordinarily extensive repertoire covers virtually every key role in opera composed for the dramatic soprano voice. Alongside Verdi, Puccini, Richard Strauss and Wagner roles she frequently sang in verismo (Mascagni, Ponchielli, Giordano) operas, too. Her work has been recognized with countless awards both in Hungary and abroad, among them the Kossuth Prize, Bartók–Pásztory Prize, Prima Primissima Prize, Lifetime Achievement Award of the Graz Opera and recipient of the Corvin Chain. She was honoured as a National Artist of Hungary and with the Hungarian Order of Saint Stephen. She is an honorary citizen of Budapest, of the Municipal District of Ferencváros and the City of Miskolc; a lifetime member of the Vienna State Opera House; she holds an honorary doctorate from Szeged University of Sciences; she was Member of the Presidium of the Hungarian Academy of Arts between 2014 and 2017; and she is principal advisor to the Hungarian State Opera. She was Head of the Department of Vocal and Opera Studies of the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music between 2005 and 2013, she continues to teach at the Liszt Academy as Professor Emerita.
MEMBERS OF THE JURY
ANATOLI GOUSSEV
The Ukrainian-born professor of La Scuola Musicale in Foro Buonaparte di Milano completed his higher education studies in music in the former Soviet Union. Then he perfected his skills at the international Sablé-sur-Sarthe Baroque Academy and at the Academy of Lyric Opera and Choral Music in Osimo, Italy. Performance and teaching have always been equally important to him right from the start. He currently lives in Milan, where he was the founder of a school of opera singing. He has taught many young opera singers who have already reached international fame. He has been invited onto the juries of the most renowned singing competitions of the world, such as the Hyperion International Competition in Rome, the Elena Obraztsova International Competition in Saint Petersburg and the Young Opera Singers Competition in Zaragoza.
FRANZ GRUNDHEBER
The german baritone was born Triere. In 1966 he was hired at the Hamburg State Opera. In 1975 he made his debut at the Vienna State Opera, during which time, he has sung in over 250 performances, with international reputation. He has sung the all of the most important German, French and Italian baritone roles on every international stage; for example, in the first German Rigoletto at the Metropolitan Opera which spanned three consecutive seasons. He shone in the role of Wozzeck not only at the Met but, also in eleven further productions. In 2016 and 2017 Franz Grundheber performed, alongside concert performances of Elias, Six Monologues from Jedermann by Frank Martin, Beethoven Nine and Ein Überlebender aus Warschau, a string of performances of Barak in Leipzig and the role of “Sprecher” (Zauberflöte) five times in Hamburg. Franz Grundheber is a Kammersänger and Honorary Member of both Vienna and Hamburg State Opera.
TEIMURAZ GUGUSHVILI
People’s artist of Georgia, principal soloist of the Tbilisi State Opera and Ballet Theatre, Laureate of the State Prize of Georgia and Cavalier of the Order of Honor of Georgia, Professor, he is called the Golden Tenor of Georgia. Teimuraz Gugushvili graduated from the Tbilisi State Conservatoire. From 1968 to 1970 he was a probationer member at the Teatro alla Scala. Teimuraz Gugushvili played almost all parts for tenor of the classical opera repertoire, he has sung in the USA, almost all european countries and on the opera stages of Moscow (the Bolshoi Theatre), Saint-Petersburg (Mariinsky Theatre), Kazan, Yekaterinburg, Kiev, Baku, Kishinev. He is currently Professor of the Department of Solo Academic Singing at his Alma Mater – Tbilisi State Conservatoire.
PETER MARIO KATONA
Born in Berlin, both his parents were opera singers. His mother, Marianne Warneyer, was a leading soprano at the Stuttgart Opera, whilst his father, Hungarian-born Julius Katona, studied in Rome and Vienna before going on to sing in many of the German opera houses, particularly in Hamburg and Berlin. Peter Mario Katona studied piano and singing before studying music and German literature. He was initially a critic, specialising in opera and classical record reviews, most notably for Fono Forum and Opernwelt magazine. In 1968 he was invited by the music director of the Frankfurt Opera, Christoph von Dohnányi, to become his personal assistant in charge of artistic administration. When Dohnányi moved to the Hamburg State Opera in 1977, Katona joined him as head of artistic management, planning and casting, a position he relinquished at the end of the 1982/83 season. He was appointed artistic administrator of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in 1983, and as director of casting he has since been responsible for the planning and casting of all performances in close collaboration with the music directors of the company – first with Sir Colin Davis, from 1987 with Bernard Haitink and from the start of the 2002/03 season with Antonio Pappano.
MIGUEL LERÍN
Born in 1951 in Barcelona, in the bosom of a family of deep-rooted musical tradition. As great-grandson of the famous tenor Francisco Viñas, he studied piano in his city at the Marshall Academy, directed by Alicia de Larrocha. Licensed in business, economics and art history, he has combined his career with a resolute dedication to the promotion of the musical culture, especially as promoter of the international singing competition, held every year in Barcelona which takes the name of his illustrious great-grandfather. He often gives ectures and has collaborated as a musical critic in specialized magazines. He has been a jury member in many international competitions, such as the Voci Verdiane of Busseto and the Competitions of Munich, Bilbao, Varallo Sesia, Sophia, Marseille; auditions of the Sullivan Foundation of New York, Elena Obraztsova in Saint Petersburg and Ferruccio Tagliavini in Graz. He works with most of the opera houses as artist manager and new voices promoter.
ANDREA MELÁN
The Liszt Prize-awarded mezzosoprano started her higher education at the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music in Budapest. She completed her studies in 1998, and in the same year, she was awarded the Annie Fisher Grant. Already in 1996, she could participate at the Bayreuth Festival with another scholarship. She debuted in the role of Cherubino of Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro in 1998, then later that year she acted in the leading role of Henry Purcell’s opera, Dido and Aeneas. In 1999, she debuted in the Hungarian State Opera in the role of Rosetta in János Vajda’s Leonce and Lena. Since then, she has been a permanent guest performer at the Hungarian State Opera. In 1999 she won 3rd Prize at the Wigmore Hall International Song Competition in London. For her high level interpretation of contemporary Hungarian music, she has received the Artisjus Award nine times. Her main roles are Judit (Bartók: Bluebeard’s Castle), Dorabella (Mozart: Così fan tutte), Sextus (Mozart: La clemenza di Tito), Rosina (Rossini: The barber of Seville), Orlovsky (Johann Strauss: Die Fledermaus). Beyond her artistic career, she taught as Associate Professor of singing at the University of Pécs between 2007 and 2012. Since 2013 she has been the Head of the Liszt Academy's Department of Vocal Studies.
SZILVESZTER ÓKOVÁCS
Born in Veszprém, Hungary, in 1969, he studied at the Academy of Music in Győr, before studying at the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music, Budapest. He taught singing and opera history at the Vác Conservatory. He sang at the Budapest Chamber Opera and at the Hungarian National Philharmonic. He went on to become a development consultant at the Ministry of Education and hosted programmes on Bartók Radio, Hír TV and later on Klasszik Radio. He was head of the Erkel Theatre, Budapest, then Director of Communications at the Hungarian State Opera. He worked also as a member of the Finance Committee of the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music. From August 2011 to August 2012 he was Government Commissioner of the Hungarian State Opera, where in 2012 he became Acting General Director. Since January 2013, he has been General Director of the Hungarian State Opera.
VITTORIO TERRANOVA
Singer Vittorio Terranova was born in 1942. He studied at the Vincenzo Bellini School of Music in Catania, at the Conservatory Giuseppe Verdi in Milan and at Scuola di Paleografia e Filologia Musicale di Cremona (University of Pavia). He won the competition of the Associazione Lirica Concertistica Italiana in Milan and made his debut at Teatro Sociale di Mantova in the role of Arturo Talbot in Bellini’s I Puritani. He sang in almost all lyric theatres of Italy (including Teatro alla Scala in Milan) and in other countries (Staatsoper in Vienna, Deutsche Oper in Berlin, National Theatre in Munich). He held the chair of lyric teacher at Conservatory Giuseppe Verdi and he was the teacher and coordinator of the advanced course of lyric singing held at Accademia Marziali in Seveso (Milan). He held courses of lyric singing in the summer in Deutschlandsberg (Austria) where he is the Artistic Director of the Accademia del Belcanto and of the International Course of Lyric Singing Ferruccio Tagliavini. He is lyric teaches in Japan at the College of Music in Osaka, at the Music Academy Musashino in Tokyo and at Mukogava University in Osaka. He also teaches in Spain and Venezuela, Keimyung University, Kyungpook National University, Catholic University of Daegu, South-Korea.
PRINCIPAL PATRON
DR. ÁDER JÁNOS
Attorney, politician. Member of Parliament between 1990–2009, deputy speaker of the National Assembly from 1997 to 1998, and then speaker until 2002. Member of the European Parliament from 2009 until 2012, and President of Hungary since May 2012 .
PATRONS
DR. MIKLÓS KÁSLER
Surgeon, stomatologist, plastic surgeon and clinical oncologist, director of the National Institute of Oncology from 1992 until his appointment, department professor of three universities of medicine. In 2015, he was awarded the Hungarian Order of Merit Commander's Cross with Star, civil division, and in 2018 the Széchenyi Prize. He has been Minister of Human Capacities since spring 2018.
ISTVÁN TARTLÓS
Engineer and politician, mayor of Óbuda-Békásmegyer (Budapest III. district) between 1990 and 2006, mayor of Budapest from 2010.