NINE GREAT TALENTS! WE KNOW THE FINALISTS OF THE COMPETITION

Nine singers, including five women and four men, will perform in the final of the XX Ada Sari International Vocal Artistry Competition in Nowy Sącz - so it was decided today by an international jury working under the chairmanship of Małgorzata Walewska. Among them are three participants from Poland, two from South Korea and China, and one each from Ukraine and Germany. Vocally, the largest group are sopranos (3), followed by mezzo-sopranos (2), baritones (2) and one bass and tenor each.
"I congratulate you very warmly. I hope you have also followed the performances of your colleagues and it is no secret to you that the level of the Competition is high. I ask you not to give up. And whoever did not make it to the final did not think they were bad. It was all about nuances, like who has the most beautiful voice or who pronounces words in a foreign language better," said Małgorzata Walewska, chairwoman of the jury and Artistic Director of the Competition, during the announcement of the results of the stage II. "I wish everyone luck, and I invite those who have dropped out today and will still be under 30 in two years, to the next edition," she emphasised.

In the final, they will sing: Hyejin Lee, soprano (South Korea); Lukas Enoch Lemcke, bass (Germany); Chao Liu, baritone (China); Celine Mun, soprano (South Korea); Weronika Rabek, mezzo-soprano (Poland); Liang Wei, tenor (China), Iryna Haich, mezzo-soprano (Ukraine); Adrian Janus, baritone (Poland); Justyna Khil, soprano (Poland).

"I am very surprised and happy. This is the first time I am taking part in such a big Competition. I am happy that what I do is appreciated by the jury and the listeners. I very much dreamt of coming to the Ada Sari. With my professor we decided that it might be worth trying now. The competition is wonderful, perfectly organised, you feel the tremendously positive energy, especially from the jury. And besides, I was very supported by my accompanist Alexander Teliga," said Iryna Haich, a finalist in the Competition. "I still need to cool down, it hasn't reached me yet, but I'm very happy," she added. - she added.

In addition, the jury has already handed out the first prizes today. The award for outstanding performance of a song series went to Justyna Khil for her presentation of 'Five Songs' to words by J. Tuwim by Szymon Laks. Ten participants, including eight women and two men, took part in the Song Competition. The artists performed works by various composers such as Liszt, Wolf, Mahler, R. Strauss, Ginaster and Britten.

"I rate the song category very well. The participants were fantastically prepared, better than for the Competition. In general, they had a well-chosen repertoire and performed very well. For me, the most important thing is that the vocal movement is united with expression and intention," said Marcin Habela, juror of the Competition, professor of singing at the Geneva University of Music, artistic advisor of the Tibor Varga Music Academy in Sion, Switzerland, and the Music Academy of the Anargyrios and Korgialenios School in Spetses, Greece.

The jury also awarded a prize for the best performance of a work by a composer born after 1950. It was won by Leonie Paulus, a soprano from Austria, for her presentation of Enno Poppe's piece 'Wespe'. "I am extremely happy. Thank you, thank you ... thank you very much. To compete in this Competition is a great experience for me. I was recommended Ada Sari by Manfred Schiebel, the competition accompanist and a teacher at my university in Vienna. I am extremely grateful to him," said Leonie Paulus.

During the verdict, the young artists thanked their accompanists (they were Mirella Malorny-Konopka Manfred Schiebel and Aleksander Teliga) with applause, because, as Małgorzata Walewska said, we are already saying goodbye to the pianists, as the final will take place with an orchestra.

Tomorrow, Thursday 11 May, there is a break in the auditions as the finalists rehearse. This year, the singers go to Krakow and rehearse with the orchestra there at the Krakow Opera. On the other hand, the jury on this day, according to long-standing tradition, will visit the Seweryn Udziela Regional Museum in Stary Sącz, where Ada Sari's salon is located. There, foreign guests will also have the opportunity to listen to recordings of the Competition's patroness.

For the first time in the history of the Competition, the final will take place outside of Nowy Sącz - in Krakow. The final auditions will begin on Friday, 13 May, at 6.30 p.m. in the Krakow Opera (free entrance tickets apply). The artists will be accompanied by the Krakow Opera Orchestra conducted by Piotr Sułkowski. The winners of the Competition will be announced on the night of Friday to Saturday. The jury's verdict will be announced at MCK SOKÓŁ. Both the final and the jury's verdict will be broadcast at: www.adasari.pl.

The organiser of the Ada Sari International Competition Vocal Artistry in Nowy Sącz is the SOKÓŁ Malopolskie Cultural Centre in Nowy Sącz, and this year's co-organiser is the Kraków Opera.

Welcome!

Agnieszka Malatyńska-Stankiewicz

Competition Press Office

Results of stage II / order of appearance in stage III

  1. LEE Hyejin / soprano
  2. LEMCKE Lukas Enoch / bass
  3. LIU Chao / baritone
  4. MUN Celine / soprano
  5. RABEK Weronika / mezzo-soprano
  6. WEI Liang / tenor
  7. HAICH Iryna / mezzo-soprano
  8. JANUS Adrian / baritone
  9. KHIL Justyna / soprano