The 2026 NEUE STIMMEN International Singing Competition has announced its 41 finalists, with young opera singers from 18 countries advancing to the final round in Gütersloh, Germany.

The finalists were selected from more than 1,100 applications representing 69 countries. The singers, who are an average age of 26, will perform in Gütersloh from Oct. 5-9 before an 11-member jury of opera professionals.

The 41 finalists are Iana Aivazian, Aigerim Altynbek, Esau Alvarez, Madeleine Bazola-Minori, Nathan Bryon, Defne Celik, Medea Chikashvili, Young Choi, Max Alexander Cook, Ziyi Dai, Ruijia Dong, Marcel Durka, Karima El Demerdasch, Neima Fischer, Vanessa Alejandra Gama Amezcua, Ya Gao, Natasha Isabella Gesto, Marianna Herzig, Haneul Jo, Dafydd Jones, Dora Jana Klarić, Daria Kolisan, Dohoon Lee, Zihao Li, Yiming Liu, Themba Mdlalose, Titus Muzi, Hovhannes Ordanyan, Felix Pacher, Xuandi Peng, Irakli Pkhaladze, Rafael Rojas, Valentin Ruckebier, Arpi Sinanyan, Klara Solén, Louisa Stuart-Smith, Korin Thomas-Smith, Jiazhou Wang, Liere Wu, Younji Yi, and Shiyu Zhuno.

The jury will be chaired for the first time by Alexander Neef, director of the Opéra national de Paris. Among the new members is tenor Neil Shicoff, while Australian soprano Nicole Car will join the jury as both a member and mentor to the young singers.

The semifinal concert will take place on Oct. 7 at Stadthalle Gütersloh, followed by the final concert on Oct. 9. The semifinal will be streamed on YouTube, while the final will be broadcast internationally on OperaVision.