New England Region Met Opera Laffont Competition

Coast concert at Dartmouth with Wadada Leo smith & Illegal Crowns - Mary, Tomas & Taylor 🥰

BREAKING NEWS! ANNOUNCING THE WINNERS OF THE 2026 NEW ENGLAND REGION MET OPERA LAFFONT COMPETITION

Defying a winter storm and the ONLY closure to the public since the competition began in 1954, ten young aspiring opera singers braved the elements to compete at NEC's Jordan Hall yesterday afternoon. The judges were Brian Speck, Artistic Administrator for The Metropolitan Opera; Priti Gandhi, Senior Advisor, Arts Consulting Group; and Gary Thor Wedow, Conductor and Faculty Member of The Juilliard School.

After hearing the ten singers each perform two arias, the judges made the following awards:

FIRST PLACE - Two singers were chosen: Justice Yates, Bass-Baritone, of Leesburg Florida, and Shelén Hughes Camacho, Soprano, of Cochabamba, Bolivia.

Mr. Yates and Ms. Camacho will advance to the Semi-Finals at The Metropolitan Opera on March 15, representing the New England Region. They will each receive a $6000 award made possible by a $5200 grant from patrons of New England and an $800 Edgar Tobin Award from the Tobin Endowment.

Other winners are:

THIRD PRIZE - Jennifer Robinson, Soprano, of Lakeland, Florida. Ms. Robinson will receive a $4000 award sponsored by patrons of New England.

PHILIP R. NICHOLS ENCOURAGEMENT AWARD - Suowei Wu, Tenor, of Wenzhou, China. Mr. Wu will receive $3000 sponsored by a bequest of Irene Nichols.

PAULINE HO BYNUM ENCOURAGEMENT AWARD - Zuhao Chen, Baritone, of Shanghai, China. Mr. Chen will receive $3000 made possible by donations to the Legacy CIrcle of the New England Region for singer awards.

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Congratulations Giorgi! We are so proud of you, our 2025 New England Region winner. Our alums go places!

Askonas Holt is pleased to announce the addition of tenor Giorgi Guliashvili to our Lies Askonas Fellowship programme. Giorgi is currently a member of the Royal Opera’s Jette Parker Artists Programme and took First Prize at the Gerda Lissner Vocal Competition. He studied at the Tbilisi State Conservatory, and is a graduate of the Academy of Teatro di San Carlo, San Francisco Opera’s Merola Program, and Yale University’s postgraduate opera programme, with recent roles including Vaudémont (Iolanta), Araquil (La Navarraise), and Lensky (Eugene Onegin). 2025/26 Royal Opera roles include Mainfroid (Les Vêpres siciliennes), Gastone (La traviata), Sir Bruno Roberton (I puritani) and Leslie in the JPAP chamber production of Making Arrangements. Cover roles include Tamino (The Magic Flute) and Grigory Otrepiev (Boris Godunov). Founded in 2019, our Fellowship programme provides bespoke mentorship and financial support for emerging artists. The scheme aims to bridge the gap between studies and the professional world, guiding artists through the formative stages of their career and helping them develop their talent in a strategic and sustainable way. #MakingMusicHappen #Fellowship #singer #tenor @giorgiguliashvili_