(Photo Credit: Natalie Powers / Met Opera)

The Metropolitan Opera has announced the 10 singers that have advanced to the final round of the 2026 Metropolitan Opera Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition.

The 2026 finalists are soprano Shannon Crowley (Great Lakes, Virginia Beach, VA), soprano Elizabeth Hanje (Northwest, Vestavia Hills, AL), soprano Song Hee Lee (Eastern, Seoul, South Korea), soprano Anna Thompson (Middle Atlantic, Rochester, MI), soprano Gabrielle Turgeon (Rocky Mountain, Boynton Beach, FL), mezzo-soprano Sophia Baete (Eastern, Louisville, KY), soprano Dejah Watts (Central, Indianapolis, IN), baritone Gabriel Natal-Báez (Gulf Coast, Toa Alta, PR), baritone Robert Wente (Central, Bloomington, IN), and soprano Shiyu Zhuo (Eastern, Zhejiang, China).

The finalists will compete in Grand Finals Concert on the Met stage on March 22 at 3 p.m. ET. with maestro Carlo Rizzi leading the Met Orchestra. Hosting the event is 2005 Laffont Competition winner and star soprano Lisette Oropesa, alongside Laffont alumna soprano Tamara Wilson, who joins as guest artist. The finalists were selected by a panel of judges comprising artistic leaders from the Met and other opera companies.

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