CCM alumni advance to Met Opera's Laffont Competition Finals
Story by CCM Graduate Assistant Lucy Evans
The Metropolitan Opera Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition, one of the most prestigious singing competitions in the world, announced the full list of its national finalists this week. Two UC College-Conservatory of Music alumni have advanced to the final round of the competition: Samuel Kidd, baritone (MM Voice ‘21) and Emma Marhefka, soprano (MM Voice ’23).
Singers in the final round will compete on March 16, accompanied by the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra.
The semifinals were livestreamed on Sunday, March 9. Of the 20 semifinalists, 5 of the singers hold degrees from the UC College-Conservatory of Music: Samuel Kidd, baritone (MM Voice ‘21), Emma Marhefka, soprano (MM Voice ’23), Ariana Maubach, mezzo-soprano (MM Voice ’23), John Mburu, bass (MM Voice ’23) and Ryan Wolfe, baritone (MM Voice ‘20).
Prior to the semifinals, singers compete around the country in online, district and regional rounds. In addition to this year’s strong semifinal turnout, many CCM singers received awards at the district and regional level.
In recent years, many CCM alumni have advanced to the semifinal and final rounds, and several have been named winners of the Grand Finals, including 2023 winner Teresa Perrotta (AD Opera ’21, MM Voice ‘19), 2021 winner Brittany Olivia Logan (MM Voice ‘20) and 2019 winner Elena Villalon (BM Voice ‘19). CCM alumni are certainly no strangers to the Metropolitain Opera's stage. In 2024, Perrotta and Robert Stahley (MM Voice, '16; AD Opera, '18) made their Met Opera debuts in The Magic Flute as First Lady and First Guard, respectively; and Christian Pursell (MM Voice, '17) made his Met debut as Sciarrone in Tosca. Thomas J. Capobianco (MM Voice, ‘16) has various roles in four productions at the Met this season and Jessica Faselt (MM Voice, '16) performed as Flacon in the Met's Die Frau ohne Schatten.
Below, find the full list of CCM award winners in the 2025 competition.
- Samuel Kidd – Winner, Western Region; Winner, San Francisco District (FINALIST)
- Emma Marhefka – Winner, Rocky Mountain Region; Winner, Arizona District (FINALIST)
- Ariana Maubach – Winner, Great Lakes Region; Winner, Buffalo-Toronto District
- John Mburu – Winner, Northwest Region; Winner, Washington Region
- Ryan Wolfe – Winner, Great Lakes Region; Winner, Michigan District
Regional Awards and District Winners:
- Lauren Davis (MM Voice, ’24) – Encouragement Award, Southeast Region; Winner, Tennessee District
- Sam Dhobany (BM Voice, ’24) - 2nd Place, Rocky Mountain Region; Winner, Arizona District
- Sydney Sorbet (MM Voice, ’26) – Encouragement Award, Gulf Coast Region; Winner, New Orleans District
- Justin Burgess (AD Opera, ’22, MM Voice ’20) – Winner, Capital District
- Megan Graves (MM Voice, ’21) – Winner, St Louis District
- Harrison Hancock (MM Voice, ’26) – Winner, Kentucky District
- Lea Nayak (MM Voice, ’26; BM Voice, ’24) – Winner, Kentucky District
- Søren Pedersen (MM Voice, ’25) – Winner, San Diego District
- Morgan Small (MM Voice, ’25) – Winner, Indiana District
- Kaylyn Taylor (DMA Voice, ‘25) – Winner, Idaho-Montana District
- Logan Wagner (AD Opera, ’25; MM Voice, ’23; BM Voice, ’20) – Winner, South Carolina District
District Encouragement Award Winners:
- Manfred Anaya (MM Voice, ‘21) – Encouragement Award, Los Angeles District
- Ahhyun Baek (AD Opera, ’26; MM Voice, ’24) – Encouragement Award, North Carolina District
- Kade Bennett (MM Voice, ‘26) – Encouragement Award, Kentucky District
- Natalie Corrigan (MM Voice, ’26; BM Voice, ’24) – Encouragement Award, Michigan District
- Kaylan Hernandez (MM Voice, ’25) – Encouragement Award, Kentucky District
- Victoria Popritkin (BM Voice, ‘23) – Encouragement Award, Indiana District
- Clara Reeves (MM Voice, ’25; BM Voice, ’22) – Encouragement Award, Kentucky District
- Atticus Rego (MM Voice, ’23) – Encouragement Award, Illinois District
- Sarah Scofield (MM Voice, ’23; BM Voice, ’21) – Encouragement Award, Utah District
- Matilda Smolij (BM Voice, ’23) – Encouragement Award, Illinois District
- Cole Stephenson (MM Voice, ’25) – Encouragement Award, Iowa District
Notice an omission in our round up? Please send any omissions to ccmpr@uc.edu and we will update our coverage!
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