The Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition is a program designed to discover promising young opera singers and assist in the development of their careers. The auditions are held annually in twelve Regions of the United States and Canada. The North Dakota-Manitoba District are administered and locally funded by volunteers. Winners of our district auditions advance to the Upper Midwest Region Finals held at Bethel University, where they compete to win a trip to New York to participate in the National Semi-Finals, a competition held on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera. Approximately ten of the Semi-Finalists are selected as National Finalists and compete the following Sunday in a public concert, the Grand Finals Concert, accompanied by the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. The jury awards approximately five Grand Winner awards of $15,000 each. The concert is broadcast nationwide on the Metropolitan Opera Radio Network. The remaining National Finalists receive $5,000 each, and those singers who were National Semi-Finalists but did not advance to the National Finals will be given $2,500 to further their studies. Winners of the North Dakota-Manitoba District include a National Winner, National Finalists, Regional Winners, and recipients of additional awards at the National and Regional level. District Winner Maria Williams-Kennedy advanced to the National Finals twice, and past District Winners and Regional Finalists Tammy Hensrud and Korliss Uecker both went on to appear in Metropolitan Opera productions. Most recently, 2013-2014 District Winner Lida Szkwarek, soprano, won the Upper Midwest Regional Finals and was a National Semi-Finalist. Chris Kenney, baritone, who was another District Winner in 2013-2014 is a member of the Ryan Young Artist Program at the Chicago Lyric Opera and recently signed with international agent IMG Artists.