Before the big launch

"I hope that the Competition will become a wonderful time for you, which will bear fruit in your further career," said Andrzej Zarych, director of the SOKÓŁ Malopolska Cultural Center in Nowy Sacz, during the opening of the 20th Ada Sari International Vocal Art Competition in Nowy Sacz. "Dear friends, if you are stressed look at me, I will smile at you and I will support you". - Małgorzata Walewska, chairwoman of the jury and Artistic Director of the Competition, addressed these words to the participants. "Get some sleep and remember to breathe" she advised.
In welcoming the participants, Małgorzata Walewska also pointed out that the success of the Competition owes primarily to its creators, outstanding cultural figures: Professor Helena Łazarska, the legendary singing teacher who died last year, and Antoni Malczak, the former director of the SOKÓŁ Malopolska Cultural Centre. ,,It is thanks to their long-standing efforts that Ada Sari is still taking place today," emphasised Małgorzata Walewska, who has been the Artistic Director of the Competition since 2014.

The unofficial opening of the Competition brought together many participants, jurors and journalists. The atmosphere of the competition was already palpable. The first interviews were conducted. Registration and rehearsals with accompanists have been going on since morning in the SOKÓŁ Malopolska Cultural Centre in Nowy Sącz.

The auditions for the competition will start tomorrow on Sunday, May 7. The competition will last until 13 May and, as usual, will be held in three stages. The first two, as well as the Laureate Concert, will take place in the SOKÓŁ auditorium in Nowy Sącz. The final audition, on the other hand, will take place on the stage of the Kraków Opera. During the last two events of the Competition - in Kraków and Nowy Sącz - the singers will be accompanied by the Kraków Opera Orchestra conducted by Piotr Sułkowski.

The three-stage Ada Sari Competition is one of the most demanding. The repertoire performed by the participants is vast and very versatile: from the Baroque to the latest compositions. After the previous edition with pandemic in the background, this year the Competition returns to its principles - a final with orchestra, which is a challenge for young artists.

For this year's 20th edition, the jury qualified 77 young singers from 19 countries: Austria, Belgium, Belarus, China, the Czech Republic, France, Georgia, Israel, South Korea, Mexico, Germany, Poland, South Africa, Slovenia, Sweden, Turkey, Ukraine, the USA and the United Kingdom. This is only half of those interested, as 155 candidates from 31 countries wanted to enter the Competition.

The singers will be judged by an international jury which, in addition to Małgorzata Walewska (chairperson) and Wojciech Maciejowski (secretary), will include: Marcin Habela - Professor of singing at the Geneva University of Music, artistic advisor to the Tibor Varga Music Academy in Sion, Switzerland, and the Music Academy of the Anargyrios and Korgialenios School in Spetses, Greece; Beata Klatka - Director of the International Stanisław Moniuszko Vocal Competition and Head of the OPERA ACADEMY at the Grand Theatre - National Opera in Warsaw; Dominik Licht - Casting Consultant at the Royal Danish Opera in Rebekah, Denmark; Rebekah Rota - Director of the Wuppertal Opera in Germany (from the 2023/2024 season); Keith Bernard Stonum - Artistic Director of the Jungen Oper im NORD (Staatsoper Stuttgart, Germany), singer.

The Ada Sari International Competition of Vocal Art in Nowy Sącz has been held every two years since 1985. It is organised by the SOKÓŁ Malopolska Cultural Center in Nowy Sącz, and this year's co-organiser is the Kraków Opera.

All stages of the competition auditions are open to the public (in Krakow for the finals and in Nowy Sącz for the Laureate Concert - tickets are required). In addition, the young artists can also be cheered on via the Internet. The auditions will be streamed online at: www.adasari.pl

We invite you!

Agnieszka Malatyńska-Stankiewicz
Competition press office