Following the creation of the Met's National Council in the 1952-53 season, the first Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions took place in 1954 in the Twin Cities. For over 70 years, the newly renamed Laffont Competition has helped launch the careers of countless young singers, including some of opera's greatest stars. Every season, over 100 former participants appear on the Met roster.
Notable award winners through the decades:
1950s
Martina Arroyo (Auditions of the Air)
Grace Bumbry
Louis Quilico
Teresa Stratas
1960s
Justino Díaz
Loretta Di Franco
Robert Hale
Jessye Norman
Gail Robinson
George Shirley
Frederica von Stade
Benita Valente
Shirley Verrett
1970s
June Anderson
Kathleen Battle
Vinson Cole
Ashley Putnam
Samuel Ramey
Cheryl Studer
Carol Vaness
Delores Ziegler
1980s
Christine Brewer
Renée Fleming
Susan Graham
Denyce Graves
Thomas Hampson
Ben Heppner
Hei Kyung Hong
Sylvia McNair
Patricia Racette
Deborah Voigt
1990s
Brian Asawa
Isabel Bayrakdarian
Stephanie Blythe
Eric Cutler
Michelle DeYoung
Elizabeth Futral
Jill Grove
Paul Groves
Nathan Gunn
Eric Owens
Sondra Radvanovsky
2000s
Paul Appleby
Jamie Barton
Lawrence Brownlee
Anthony Roth Costanzo
Michael Fabiano
Angela Meade
Lisette Oropesa
Marjorie Owens
Susanna Phillips
Nadine Sierra
Christian Van Horn
Amber Wagner