Connecticut District

Welcome to our 46th season! We are thrilled to be at The Hartt School and hope you will join us for an exciting day of singing! Past Connecticut District finalists who went on to win at the National Grand Finals include soprano Nadine Sierra, countertenor Jakub Josef Orlinski, bass Christan Van Horn, tenor Kenneth Tarver, soprano Lynette Tapia, baritone Thomas Woodman, and recent Grand Finals Winner, tenor Daniel Espinal!

ABOUT THE COMPETITION:

• The National Council was formed in 1952 with the Competition rounds beginning officially in 1954. These succeeded the Auditions of the Air, a radio competition which began in 1935.
• In May 2021, the National Council Auditions were retitled in recognition of a generous gift by the Laffont family to now officially be the Metropolitan Opera Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition
• There are 5 rounds of the competition: Qualifying, District, Region, Semifinals, Grand Finals
• There are 39 Districts and 13 Regions. District competitions take place throughout the continental United States, in addition to one Districts in Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and South America
• Last season, over 1,700 singers applied for the Qualifying video round of the Met Competition
• Approximately 20 Region first place winners are brought to New York City as Semifinalists.
• Approximately 9-12 Semifinalists advance to the Grand Finals Concert.
• Approximately 4-6 Finalists are selected as Laffont Competition Winners.
• Semifinalists receive $5,000, Finalists receive $10,000 and Winners receive $20,000.
• The Semifinals take place on the Met stage with piano and are closed to the general public.
• The Grand Finals Concert is a public, ticketed event at the Met, and singers are accompanied by the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra.
• Over 100 former Met Competition singers are on the Met’s roster annually.