Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions Explained
The Metropolitan Opera Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition[1] (formerly the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions) is an annual singing competition sponsored by the Metropolitan Opera. Established in 1954, its purpose is to discover, assist, promote, and develop young opera singers. The competition is held in four stages: Districts, Regional, Semi-Final, and Final competitions. Each stage is judged by a panel of representatives from the Metropolitan Opera. There are a total of 14 regional competitions within the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico, and 42 district competitions within each region. Winners from the district competition compete in Regionals, and then the winners of regionals are awarded a trip to New York City where they compete on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera in the National Semi-Final Competition. Approximately 10 semi-finalists are chosen to compete in the final competition; the five winners are awarded a grand prize of $15,000 each, and the remaining finalists receive $5,000.
National winners
1950s
1960s
1970s
1980s
1990s
2000s
2010s
- Leah Crocetto, soprano (2010)
- Lori Guilbeau, soprano (2010)
- Elliot Madore, baritone (2010)
- Nathaniel Peake, tenor (2010)
- Rachel Willis-Sørensen, soprano (2010)
- Joseph Barron, bass-baritone (2011)
- Ryan Speedo Green, bass-baritone (2011)
- Michelle Johnson, soprano (2011)
- Joseph Lim, baritone (2011)
- Philippe Sly, bass-baritone (2011)
- Janai Brugger, soprano (2012)
- Anthony Clark Evans, baritone (2012)
- Matthew Grills, tenor (2012)
- Margaret Mezzacappa, mezzo-soprano (2012)
- Andrey Nemzer, countertenor (2012)
- Michael Brandenburg, tenor (2013)
- Brandon Cedel, bass-baritone (2013)
- Sydney Mancasola, soprano (2013)
- Musa Ngqungwana, bass-baritone (2013)
- Rebecca Pedersen, soprano (2013)
- Thomas Richards, bass-baritone (2013)
- Julie Adams, soprano (2014)
- Patrick Guetti, bass (2014)
- Ao Li, bass-baritone (2014)
- Yi Li, tenor (2014)
- Amanda Woodbury, soprano (2014)
- Nicholas Brownlee, bass-baritone (2015)
- Marina Costa-Jackson, soprano (2015)
- Joseph Dennis, tenor (2015)
- Reginald Smith Jr., baritone (2015)
- Virginie Verrez, mezzo-soprano (2015)
- Emily D'Angelo, mezzo-soprano (2016)
- Yelena Dyachek, soprano (2016)
- Sol Jin, baritone (2016)
- Jakub Józef Orliński, countertenor (2016)
- Sean Michael Plumb, baritone (2016)
- Kirsten MacKinnon, soprano (2017)
- Vanessa Vasquez, soprano (2017)
- Richard Smagur, tenor (2017)
- Samantha Hankey, mezzo-soprano (2017)
- Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen, countertenor (2017)
- Kyle van Schoonhoven, tenor (2017)
- Ashley Dixon, mezzo-soprano (2018)
- Jessica Faselt, soprano (2018)
- Madison Leonard, soprano (2018)
- Carlos Enrique Santelli, tenor (2018)
- Hongni Wu, mezzo-soprano (2018)
- Miles Mykkanen, tenor (2019)
- William Guanbo Su, bass (2019)
- Elena Villalón, soprano (2019)
- Thomas Glass, baritone (2019)
- Michaela Wolz, mezzo-soprano (2019)
- Gabrielle Beteag, mezzo-soprano (2020)
- Blake Denson, baritone (2020)
- Jonah Hoskins, tenor (2020)
- Alexandria Shiner, soprano (2020)
- Denis Vélez, soprano (2020)
- Duke Kim, tenor (2021)
- Kim Hyo-young, soprano (2021)
- Raven McMillon, soprano (2021)
- Emily Sierra, mezzo-soprano (2021)
- Emily Treigle, mezzo-soprano (2021)
- Le Bu, bass-baritone (2022)
- Matthew Cairns, tenor (2022)
- Alexandra Razskazoff, soprano (2022)
- Julie Roset, soprano (2022)
- Anne Marie Stanley, mezzo-soprano (2022)
- Esther Tonea, soprano (2022)
- Anthony León, tenor (2023)
- Natalie Lewis, mezzo-soprano (2023)
- Teresa Perrotta, soprano (2023)
- Sarah Saturnino, mezzo-soprano (2023)
- Christian Simmons, bass-baritone (2023)
- Meredith Wohlgemuth, soprano (2023)
- Daniel Espinal, tenor (2024)
- Lydia Grindatto, soprano (2024)
- Navasard Hakobyan, baritone (2024)
- Meridian Prall, mezzo-soprano (2024)
- Emily Richter, soprano (2024)
External links
Notes and References
- Web site: About the Laffont Competition. 2021-12-24. www.metopera.org. en.
- News: Tenor Wins 'MET' Prize; Robert Nagy Gets $2,000 Audition Scholarship 2 M.P's to Attend Screening. March 21, 1956. The New York Times.
