We invite young opera singers to participate in the the Ada Sari International Vocal Artistry Competition. The 22nd edition of this prestigious Competition will take place from May 15th until May 22nd, 2027 in Nowy Sącz (Poland). The date of the applications starts today – September 1st, 2026.
CONDITIONS FOR PARTICIPATION
The Competition is open to students and graduates of singing and singing-acting faculties at both Polish and foreign universities and colleges of music. The Artistic Director of The Competition has the capacity to allow singers who are not students or graduates of any university and college of music specified above to take part in The Competition providing they have significant and documented vocal achievements (e.g. awards in vocal competitions, public performances), and can provide a recommendation from an important music figure. The admission age for participants of The Competition: women and men born after January 1st, 1997.
PRIZES
There will be three prizes awarded 1st, 2nd and 3rd (The 1st prize being the equivalent of € 10,000). There will be also special prizes and honourable mentions: for the best performance of a piece by W.A. Mozart, a piece by a Polish composer, Ada Sari's prize for the best coloratura soprano performance, and a prize for the best pianist-accompanist plus other non-regulation awards.
ENTRANCE FEE
The entrance fee entitles the accepted participants of The Competition to, among others, the following:
- accommodation at hotel in Nowy Sącz (2- and 3-person rooms);
- full boarding;
- The Competition accompanist’s services – provided the participant requests such a need in the application form;
- providing the accompanist employed by the participant or by his/her Academy with an opportunity to rehearse;
- providing the participant with opportunity to rehearse with an orchestra (applies only to the finalists).
COMPETITION SCHEDULE
September 1st, 2026 – STARTING RECEIVING APPLICATIONS
January 31st, 2027 – DEADLINE FOR RECEIVING APPLICATIONS
February 25th, 2027 – ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE LIST OF QUALIFIED PARTICIPANTS OF THE COMPETITION
Deadline: March 15th, 2027 – SUBMISSION OF APPLICATION FORMS BY QUALIFIED PARTICIPANTS OF THE COMPETITION
April 15th, 2027 – DRAW TO DETERMINE PARTICIPANTS’ ORDER OF PERFORMANCES
May 15th, 2027, 8 p.m. – COMPETITION OPENING
May 16th and 17th, 2027 – STAGE I
May 18th, 2027 – STAGE II
May 19th, 2027 – SONG COMPETITION
May 20th, 2027 – REHEARSAL WITH THE ORCHESTRA FOR FINALISTS
May 21st, 2027 – STAGE III
May 22nd, 2027 – AWARDS CEREMONY AND WINNERS GALA CONCERT
January 31st, 2027 – DEADLINE FOR RECEIVING APPLICATIONS
February 25th, 2027 – ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE LIST OF QUALIFIED PARTICIPANTS OF THE COMPETITION
Deadline: March 15th, 2027 – SUBMISSION OF APPLICATION FORMS BY QUALIFIED PARTICIPANTS OF THE COMPETITION
April 15th, 2027 – DRAW TO DETERMINE PARTICIPANTS’ ORDER OF PERFORMANCES
May 15th, 2027, 8 p.m. – COMPETITION OPENING
May 16th and 17th, 2027 – STAGE I
May 18th, 2027 – STAGE II
May 19th, 2027 – SONG COMPETITION
May 20th, 2027 – REHEARSAL WITH THE ORCHESTRA FOR FINALISTS
May 21st, 2027 – STAGE III
May 22nd, 2027 – AWARDS CEREMONY AND WINNERS GALA CONCERT
REQUIREMENTS FOR THE RECORDING / PERFORMANCE:
- The recording should consist of one or two tracks with a total duration of between 7 and 12 minutes, and has to be done after June 30th, 2026. Its length has to be without any cuts during individual pieces;
- The recording must include a piece by W.A. Mozart
- Recording should be done in a room with not too much reverberation. Sound and pronunciation on the recording must be clear, without sounds from the surroundings;
- MP4 recording format, minimum resolution HD 1280 x 720.
PROGRAM OF THE COMPETITION
The Program should include:
a) 1 piece by W.A. Mozart (Stage I),
b) 1 piece by a Polish composer (Stage II),
c) 1 piece by a composer from the following list: John Adams, Tadeusz Baird, George Benjamin, Tom Cipullo, Brett Dean, Jake Heggie, Hans Werner Henze, Maxim Kolomiiets, Witold Lutosławski, Paweł Łukaszewski, Peter Maxwell Davies, Gian Carlo Menotti, Paweł Mykietyn, Olga Neuwirth, Aleksander Nowak, Andrzej Panufnik, Krzysztof Penderecki, Matthias Pintscher, Wolfgang Rihm, Kaija Saariaho, Aleksander Tansman, Romuald Twardowski, Nancy Van der Vate, Errollyn Wallen, Mieczysław Weinberg, Agata Zubel (Stage II),
d) 2 opera arias with the accompaniment of the orchestra, selected from the list of obligatory pieces (Stage III).
a) 1 piece by W.A. Mozart (Stage I),
b) 1 piece by a Polish composer (Stage II),
c) 1 piece by a composer from the following list: John Adams, Tadeusz Baird, George Benjamin, Tom Cipullo, Brett Dean, Jake Heggie, Hans Werner Henze, Maxim Kolomiiets, Witold Lutosławski, Paweł Łukaszewski, Peter Maxwell Davies, Gian Carlo Menotti, Paweł Mykietyn, Olga Neuwirth, Aleksander Nowak, Andrzej Panufnik, Krzysztof Penderecki, Matthias Pintscher, Wolfgang Rihm, Kaija Saariaho, Aleksander Tansman, Romuald Twardowski, Nancy Van der Vate, Errollyn Wallen, Mieczysław Weinberg, Agata Zubel (Stage II),
d) 2 opera arias with the accompaniment of the orchestra, selected from the list of obligatory pieces (Stage III).