The Kentucky District of the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition is happy to announce the 2026 competition date. Sponsored by OperaLex, the Kentucky District plans to award over $6000 in prize money this year.
The Kentucky District Competition will be held on:
October 4, 2026 at 12:00 p.m. EST
Singletary Center for the Arts
405 Rose Street
Lexington, KY 40508
The Met’s Laffont Competition—previously known as the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions—is designed to discover promising young opera singers and assist in the development of their careers and is sponsored by hundreds of donors and volunteers from across North and South America. Some of today’s greatest singers got their starts in the competition, including Jamie Barton, Stephanie Blythe, Lawrence Brownlee, Anthony Roth Costanzo, Emily D’Angelo, Michael Fabiano, Renée Fleming, Susan Graham, Ryan Speedo Green, Lisette Oropesa, Eric Owens, and Nadine Sierra.
The Kentucky District of the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition is happy to announce the 2026 competition date. Sponsored by OperaLex, the Kentucky District plans to award over $6000 in prize money this year.
The Kentucky District Competition will be held on:
October 4, 2026 at 12:00 p.m. EST
Singletary Center for the Arts
405 Rose Street
Lexington, KY 40508
Our distinguished panel of judges this year:
Francesca Condeluci – Associate Director for North America – Centre Stage Artist Management
Howard Watkins – assistant conductor at the Metropolitan Opera, pianist, faculty at The Juilliard School and Bard College Conservatory of Music
Chia Patiño – Assistant Professor and Stage Director – University of Michigan
The official Metropolitan Opera Pianist for the Kentucky District is Robert Bosworth –Vocal Coach and pianist at the University of Kentucky.
Winners of the Kentucky District will move on to sing at the Central Region in Chicago on January 10, 2027. From there, Central Region winners will have the opportunity to compete on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera for the Semi-Finals on March 14, 2027 and the Grand Finals Concert with the Met Orchestra on March 21, 2027. Come hear the future stars of the opera stage sing in the Bluegrass!
The competition will be open to the public with free general admission.
For more information, visit the Kentucky District page on:
https://www.metopera.org/about/auditions/competition/districts-and-regions/
