Applications open for Éva Marton International Singing Competition 2026
With a total prize fund of more than 70,000 euros, Liszt Academy's 7th Éva Marton International Singing Competition will be held in early September 2026 in Budapest.
The live rounds of the globally prestigious event are running from August 30 to September 6, 2026. The preliminares, the semifinals rounds as well as the final will take place at the Liszt Academy in Budapest, Hungary, while the gala at the Hungarian State Opera. Thanks to online broadcasting, the competition can be followed from every corner of the world. In addition to the prize awards, the most outstanding competitors will receive numerous special prizes, including concert invitations and scholarships. Applicants aged 18-32 for ladies and 18-35 for gentlemen can register for pre-selection until April 27, 2026 (early bird period: until February 27, 2026) on the competition's website, martoncompetition.hu.
As part of this process, they are required to upload two video recordings, and the pre-jury led by Éva Marton will make decisions based on the submitted materials. Selected participants can expect information from the competition secretariat in May 2026. During the live preliminary round, participants are required to perform one of Liszt's songs.
The international jury of the competition is chaired by Prof. Emer. KS. Éva Marton. Once again, the prestigious panel includes renowned Hungarian and international personalities from the opera world: Miguel Lerín, one of the most influential Spanish artistic managers; Peter Mario Katona, casting director at the Royal Opera House in London; Anatoli Goussev, a Ukrainian-born tenor and voice coach residing and working in Italy; Vittorio Terranova, Italian tenor; Dmitrij Vdovin, Director of the Bolshoi Theater Youth Opera Program; Andrea Meláth, mezzo-soprano, Head of the Department of Vocal & Opera Studies at the Liszt Academy; and Szilveszter Ókovács, Director General of the Hungarian State Opera.
The new member of the jury will be Turkish-German soprano Deniz Uzun, winner of the Eva Marton Prize at the 4th competition in 2021. The graduate of the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University in Bloomington progressed in her carreer notably since participating at the event. She was ensemble member at the Komische Oper Berlin from 2022, and debuted recently at the Teatro Real in Madrid and at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris. Her near future engagements include a US-tour with the Cleveland Orchestra, as well as performing at the Opéra Marseille.