The remaining 10 finalists come from China, the United States, South Korea, Russia, Slovakia, Ukraine, Brazil and Switzerland.
The finals, in which participants will perform with the orchestra of the Polish National Opera, are scheduled for Saturday.
After the performance of the last singer, the jury will hold its final session, after which the results of the competition will be announced.
The Polish finalists are sopranos Alina Adamski and Monika Buczkowska, tenor Piotr Buszewski, and baritone Hubert Zapiór.
The competition winner will receive EUR 15,000 in prize money.
A wide range of special awards have been funded by private sponsors and musical institutions, including invitations to concerts with Polish and foreign orchestras.
One of the competition’s judges, world-famous tenor Piotr Beczała, has invited the best performer of a Moniuszko aria to join him in a public concert.
The jury of the Moniuszko Competition is chaired by Peter Mario Katona, casting director at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden. Other judges include casting directors and managers from the Metropolitan Opera in New York, the Polish National Opera, the Opera National de Lyon, Berlin’s Staatsoper, and the Lyric Opera in Chicago.
Past winners of the event, which was launched in 1992 and is held every three years, include world-renowned soprano Aleksandra Kurzak, baritone Mariusz Kwiecień and countertenor Jakub Józef Orliński.
The competition is among the highlights of the Year of Stanisław Moniuszko, a celebration of the life and output of the father of Polish national opera, who was born 200 years ago this month.
(mk/gs)