At March 16th’s Metropolitan Opera Eric and Dominique Laffont Grand Finals Concert, hosted by mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton with guest artist soprano Janai Brugger, nine finalists performed with the Met orchestra, conducted by Karen Kamensek. Each singer performed two arias, and from the finalists, five winners were selected, who each receive a $20,000 prize.

The five winners are Sadie Cheslak, mezzo-soprano from Duluth, Minnesota; Alissa Goretsky, soprano from Los Angeles, California; Emma Marhefka, soprano from Allentown, Pennsylvania; Michelle Mariposa, mezzo-soprano from Quezon City, Philippines; and Luke Sutliff, baritone from Denver, Colorado.

The four other finalists, each receiving a $10,000 prize, are Angel Raii Gomez, tenor from McAllen, Texas; Samuel Kidd, baritone from Ann Arbor, Michigan; Abigail Raiford, soprano from Tulsa, Oklahoma; and Lauren Randolph, mezzo-soprano from Chicago, Illinois.

The finalists and winners were selected over the course of a series of competitions from a pool of over 1,500 applicants, and more than 900 qualifying singers.

Formerly known as the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, the Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition is considered a prestigious award for early-career opera singers. Previous winners have included Renée Fleming, Denyce Graves, Eric Owens, Stephanie Blythe, Nadine Sierra, Janai Brugger, and Ryan Speedo Green, the latter two of whom are currently appearing at the Met in Jake Heggie’s Moby-Dick.