The purpose of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions Program is:

To discover exceptional young talent.

To provide a venue for young opera singers from all over the country and at all different levels of experience to be heard by a representative of the Metropolitan Opera and to assist those with the greatest potential in their development.

To search for new talent for the Metropolitan Opera and the Met’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program.

The Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions is a program designed to discover promising young opera singers and assist in the development of their careers. The auditions are held annually in fourteen Regions of the United States and Canada. There are forty-one Districts within these Regions, each providing an opportunity for talented singers to enter the Auditions Program at the local level. The Auditions are administered by National Council members and volunteers in each region.

The winners of the District auditions advance to the Regional Finals. Winners of this competition are brought to New York for musical preparation under the guidance of the Metropolitan Opera’s music staff. They then audition with piano on the Metropolitan Opera stage before members of the Met artistic staff at the National Semi-Finals. Those not selected as National Finalists will receive a cash award of $ 1,500.

The National Finalists will remain in residence at the Met for another week and continue to coach with the Met’s Music Staff in preparation for the Grand Finals Concert with the MET Orchestra. During this final audition they will compete before a full house audience and a distinguished panel of judges for awards in the amount of $15,000. Finalists not chosen as Winners will receive $5,000. All travel and housing for participants at the national level is paid for and arranged by The Metropolitan Opera National Council.