The 21st Ada Sari International Vocal Artistry Competition concluded on Saturday, 24 May, with the Winners Gala Concert. This was the final chord of a week-long celebration of singing in Nowy Sącz. In the performance hall of the SOKÓŁ Małopolska Culture Centre, the organiser of the Competition, music lovers gathered to applaud the young artists who will soon grace the world’s greatest stages and concert halls. The concert, like all stages of the Competition, was streamed online and remains available there for the next thirty days.

Mariana POLTORAK, a Ukrainian soprano of Polish heritage and graduate of the Krzysztof Penderecki Academy of Music in Kraków, has won the first prize (43,000 PLN) at the 21ˢᵗ Ada Sari International Vocal Artistry Competition. The decision was made by an international jury chaired by Małgorzata Walewska, the competition’s Artistic Director. The soprano also received an award for the outstanding performance of a Polish piece – specifically for "Ha! Dzieciątko nam umiera" (Halka’s scene and aria from Act IV of Stanisław Moniuszko’s opera Halka).

As tradition dictates, Thursday is a day free from auditions during the 21ˢᵗ Ada Sari International Vocal Artistry Competition, as it is usually reserved for the finalists’ rehearsals with the orchestra. This year was no exception. The eight finalists prepared for their Friday performance with the Kraków Opera Orchestra under the baton of Marta Kluczyńska.

Mariya Medetova from Kazakhstan has won the Outstanding Performance of the Art Song Award – as decided by the jury of the 21ˢᵗ Ada Sari International Vocal Artistry Competition, chaired by Małgorzata Walewska. The artist received the PLN 3,000 prize for her rendition of Alban Berg’s song cycle "Sieben frühe Lieder".