The purpose of the Metropolitan Opera Eric and Dominique
Laffont Competition is to:
1. To discover exceptional young talent.
2. To provide a venue for young opera singers from all over the country
and at all different levels of experience to be heard by a representative
of the Metropolitan Opera and to assist those with the greatest potential
in their development.
3. To search for new talent for the Metropolitan Opera and the Met's
Lindemann Young Artist Development Program.
The Metropolitan Opera Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition is a program designed to discover promising young opera singers and assist in the development of their careers. The competition held annually in eleven Regions throughout North America. There are 39 Districts within these Regions, each providing an opportunity for talented singers to enter the Auditions Program at the local level. The Auditions are administered by National Council members and volunteers in each region. The Utah District is led by a committee of volunteers and local arts leaders.
Winners of the District auditions advance to their Region Finals where they compete to win a trip to New York to participate in the National Semi-Finals, a competition held on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera. Approximately ten of the Semi-Finalists are selected as National Finalists and compete in the public Grand Finals Concert. The jury awards approximately five Grand Winner awards.
Some of today’s greatest singers got their start in the auditions, including Renée Fleming, Susan Graham, Stephanie Blythe, Eric Owens, Lawrence Brownlee, Lisette Oropesa, Jamie Barton, Michael Fabiano, Anthony Roth Costanzo, Ryan Speedo Green, and Nadine Sierra.
In recognition of a generous gift from the Laffont family, the Met’s nationwide vocal competition—known since its founding in 1954 as the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions—begins a new chapter as the Metropolitan Opera Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition. Mrs. Laffont, an Advisory Director on the Met Board, has spent many hours volunteering with the auditions over the last 20 years, and she and her late husband, Eric, have long been among the program’s most dedicated supporters.
To explore the rich history of the National Council, this short film was written and produced by Paul Gruber of the Metropolitan Opera Guild. Starting with the Auditions of the Air in the 1930s and continuing today, the Auditions have been a defining step in the careers of our greatest opera stars.he Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions is a program designed to discover promising young opera singers and assist in the development of their careers. To explore the rich history of the National Council, this short film was written and produced by Paul Gruber of the Metropolitan Opera Guild. Starting with the Auditions of the Air in the 1930s and continuing today, the Auditions have been a defining step in the careers of our greatest opera stars.
The Utah District round of the Metropolitan Opera Eric and Dominque Laffont Competition are supported in part by the residents of Salt Lake County through the Zoo, Arts & Parks (ZAP) Program, the Salt Lake City Arts Council, the Arts, Culture, and Events (ACE) Fund administered by the Salt Lake City Mayor’s office, and the University of Utah School of Music.
History
