Bálint Szabó

Born in the Transylvanian city of Sepsiszentgyörgy, Hungarian bass Bálint Szabó graduated from the Gheorge Dima Music Academy in Cluj-Napoca in 1997 and completed his studies at the International Vocal Arts Institute in New York and at the Israeli Vocal Arts Institute in Tel-Aviv.      Among his victories in vocal competitions are the Nicolae Bretan Competition in Cluj-Napoca, 1996 (second prize) and the International Vocal Contest in Budapest, 1998 (first prize). Between 1990 and 1995 he was a soloist at the Cluj-Napoca State Hungarian Opera and since 1996 he has been a soloist at the Romanian State Opera, as well as a permanent guest soloist at the Hungarian National Opera in Budapest. In 2004 he was honoured by the Romanian Government with the title of Knight of the Order for Meri