Prizewinners Announced at the Metropolitan Opera's Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition

Five singers will each receive a cash prize of $20,000

Five young singers have been named the winners of the 2024 Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition, hosted by the Metropolitan Opera. They were chosen from a group of ten Grand Finalists, each of whom performed two arias on the Met stage, accompanied by the Met Orchestra and conducted by Evan Rogister.

The winners, as well as their ages, the regions that they represent in the competition, and their hometowns, are:

• Daniel Espinal, 24, tenor (New England Region; Sarasota, FL); Faith P. Geier Award
• Lydia Grindatto, 28, soprano (Midwest Region; Tijeras, NM); Fernand Lamesch Award
• Navasard Hakobyan, 25, baritone (Eastern Region; Yerevan, Armenia); Dominique Laffont Award
• Meridian Prall, 28, mezzo-soprano (Central Region; Fort Wayne, IN); Patricia Misslin Award
• Emily Richter, 26, soprano (Great Lakes Region; Arlington, VA); The Birgit Nilsson Award of the American-Scandinavian Foundation

Each winner will receive a cash prize of $20,000, as well as prestige, exposure, and several networking opportunities.

The five finalists who were not named winners will each receive a $10,000 cash prize. They are Nathan Bowles, Ruby Dibble, Tessa McQueen, Demetrious Sampson, Jr., and Eric Taylor.

In 2024, more than 1,500 young singers applied for the Laffont Competition. Over the course of the district and regional rounds, more than $300,000 in prize money was distributed to promising young singers.

Singers who have previously had success in this competition include Renée Fleming, Denyce Graves, Eric Owens, Stephanie Blythe, Hei-Kyung Hong, Sondra Radvanovsky, Lawrence Brownlee, Michael Fabiano, Latonia Moore, Lisette Oropesa, Jamie Barton, Anthony Roth Costanzo, Ryan Speedo Green, and Nadine Sierra.