Opera Idaho proudly hosts the Idaho–Montana District of the Eric & Dominique Laffont Competition, a program of the Metropolitan Opera that identifies and supports promising young opera singers at the early stages of their careers. Emerging artists from Idaho, Montana, and neighboring regions travel to Boise to audition for a panel of professional judges and compete for cash prizes and advancement to the regional round.

Many of today’s leading opera artists first participated in this competition, including Renée Fleming, Susan Graham, Lawrence Brownlee, Jamie Barton, Anthony Roth Costanzo, Lisette Oropesa, and Nadine Sierra.

The public is invited to attend and experience an intimate, live audition setting as each singer presents two operatic arias with piano — offering a behind-the-scenes look at how professional opera auditions work.