Are You Ready?

As a young singer, you may be asking yourself, "Am I ready for the Met Competition?" Even though prize money is given, the real value to these auditions is what you learn from them.

Our District and Region auditions require four operatic arias in two or more languages of varying styles that best represent you at your current stage of vocal development. An in-depth knowledge of language, style, and musicianship is essential for a successful operatic audition.

You may audition for the Competition only once per season. There is no limit as to how many seasons you may audition, depending on your previous advancement in the competition. Please review the eligibility requirements for more information.

Other unique benefits of the Competition are:

1. To hear from professionals in the business. There are three judges at every level (with the exception of the Qualifying Round) of the Competition, chosen from a selected list of professionals in the business. We make them available to you following the competition for feedback, so that you might ask questions and hear first-hand their thoughts about your presentation that day.
2. To assess your vocal development. The best way to improve at auditioning is to do more auditions. This is a chance to sing a professional audition and get a better idea of how your audition skills compare to the other singers of the day. We encourage singers to sit in and observe the auditions to get a full picture of the vocal talent that day.
3. To advance professionally. The judges for the Met Competition are part of a larger network of industry professionals. Many of them are in a position to recommend you for work, advanced study or an apprenticeship. The Competition can go beyond one day of singing and open doors for the future.

Qualified applicants may choose to enter any District audition across the country regardless of whether they are a resident of the area. District winners must compete in the Region Finals of the Region in which they were District winners. Because we allow singers to audition in the District of their choice, there will be certain unavoidable instances when a panel includes a judge with a connection to one or more contestants. While we work to avoid this situation, please be assured that judges are required to recuse themselves from deliberations about singers with whom they have previously worked.