4th International Éva Marton Singing Competition / Gala Concert Presented by Liszt Academy

In view of the coronavirus epidemic, the Liszt Academy will postpone until September 2021 the 4th Éva Marton International Singing Competition, which has attracted a record number of applicants this year. The 116 semi-finalists, selected from nearly 300 candidates, were automatically awarded the right to take part in the competition scheduled for the new date. 

Many competitors selected for the semi-finals are from countries where coronavirus infections are still on the rise, a circumstance that renders their preparation and travel uncertain for the originally scheduled date of September this year. The organising Liszt Academy, in consultation with Éva Marton, the world-famous opera singer and president of the jury after whom the competition has been named, decided that the 4th Éva Marton International Singing Competition will take place between 29 August and 5 September 2021. The event will be organised with the support of Hungary’s Ministry of Human Capacities (EMMI).

Some 255 young artists from 47 countries around the globe submitted valid applications for the Éva Marton International Singing Competition, which is now in its fourth year. The pre-selection jury chaired by Éva Marton – who worked along with jury members Kiss-B. Atilla, Kossuth and Liszt Prize-winning opera singer and Director General of the Budapest Operetta Theatre as well as Balázs Kocsár, Liszt Prize-winning conductor, meritorious artist and the Chief Music Director of the Hungarian State Opera House - praised the applications submitted online as particularly outstanding, which is why the body selected more competitors than in any previous competition.

As a result of the decision of the pre-selection jury, 116 young artists from a total of 32 countries made it to the semi-finals. The young artists selected for the next stage have no reason to worry: regardless of the age limit, their application and their performance have earned them the right to match their strength in the competition that is now set for a new date. The group of semi-finalists consists of 59 men and 57 women, with the youngest and the oldest both being baritones. The former is a 19-year-old Ukrainian singer and the latter a 35-year-old singer from Japan. With respect to nationalities, competitors from Russia (23) and Ukraine (18) are the highest in numbers, but Korea is also represented by 16 applicants. Five contestants from China and the United States each made it to the semi-finals and competitors from the United Kingdom, Poland and Israel have also been selected. What’s even more, singers from far-away countries like Congo, Iran, Australia, Venezuela and Trinidad and Tobago have also submitted successful applications.