The Metropolitan Opera has announce the 23 semifinalists for the Metropolitan Opera Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition.

The semifinals, which are set to be held on March 15, 2026, will be held on the Met stage before a panel of judges and will also be available for public viewing via livestream.

Laffont alumni Brittany Olivia Logan and Miles Mykkanen will host from backstage during the livestream. The selected finalists will compete in the Grand Finals Concert on March 22, at 3PM ET, conducted by Maestro Carlo Rizzi and hosted by 2005 winner soprano Lisette Oropesa, with soprano Tamara Wilson as a featured guest artist.

The semifinalists, ranging in age from 22 to 30, were selected from an applicant pool of over 1,700 aspiring opera singers. The finalists who advance are provided with a week of training with Met musical and dramatic coaches.

The 2026 Semifinalists include:

– Sophia Baete, Mezzo-Soprano 23
– Shannon Crowley, Soprano 25
– Lauryn Davis, Soprano 27
– Valeria A. Delmé, Soprano 30
– Lin Fan, Bass-Baritone 24
– Christina Grohowski, Mezzo-Soprano 25
– Elizabeth Hanje, Soprano 23
– Shelén Hughes Camacho, Soprano 29
– Song Hee Lee, Soprano 28
– Page Michels, Soprano 29
– Gabriel Natal Báez, Baritone 27
– Kristine Overman, Soprano 30
– Camila Romero Cruz, Soprano 28
– Juliana Smith, Mezzo-Soprano 27
– Korin Thomas-Smith, Baritone 29
– Anna Thompson, Soprano 26
– Gabrielle Turgeon, Soprano 25
– Juan Carlos Villalobos Ayala, Bass 26
– Dejah Watts, Soprano 22
– Robert Wente, Baritone 26
– Justice Yates, Bass-Baritone 24
– Haolun Zhang, Countertenor 27
– Shiyu Zhuo, Soprano 25

The Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition, formerly known since its founding in 1954 as the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, is now in its 73rd season. Past winners Renée Fleming, Denyce Graves, Eric Owens, Stephanie Blythe, Hei-Kyung Hong, Sondra Radvanovsky, Lawrence Brownlee, Michael Fabiano, Latonia Moore, Lisette Oropesa, Jamie Barton, Anthony Roth Costanzo, and Emily D’Angelo.