Mezzo-soprano Michelle Mariposa ’23 MMus, an alumna of the Northwestern University Bienen School of Music, has been named a winner of the Metropolitan Opera Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition.

Founded in 1954 as the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, the prestigious Laffont Competition discovers promising young opera singers and assists in the development of their careers. Previous winners include Christian Van Horn, Lawrence Brownlee, Jamie Barton, Sondra Radvanovsky, Eric Owens, Stephanie Blythe, Susan Graham, Renée Fleming, Carol Vaness, Samuel Ramey, and Jessye Norman.

This season, the Laffont Competition had nearly 1,500 applicants, with more than 900 singers qualifying to participate in one of 37 districts. Mariposa advanced through the capital district, Middle Atlantic region, and national semifinals to be selected as one of nine national finalists along with fellow alumna and mezzo-soprano Lauren Randolph ’22.

Mariposa performed “Ah! quel giorno ognor rammento!” from Rossini’s Semiramide and “Werther! Qui m’aurait dit ... Ces lettres!” from Massenet’s Werther at the grand finals concert on March 16. As one of five winners, she received a $20,000 award to further assist in her career. Randolph, as a national finalist, received a $10,000 award.

Michelle MariposaMichelle Mariposa (Winner)

Filipino Chinese mezzo-soprano Michelle Mariposa is a Cafritz Young Artist at Washington National Opera (WNO). She made her Kennedy Center debut as Waltraute in an excerpt of Die Walküre in WNO’s Gods and Mortals: A Celebration of Wagner and returns this May as the Teacher in Mason Bates’s The R(E)volution of Steve Jobs and as Anita in an excerpt of West Side Story in WNO’s American Rhapsody concert. This summer, she will be a Gaddes Festival Artist at Opera Theater of Saint Louis (OTSL), singing Hippolyta in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and covering Prince Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus and Zoe in the world premiere of Ricky Ian Gordon’s This House. Last summer, she made her OTSL debut as Maria Maddalena in Philip Glass’s Galileo Galilei and Nirena in Giulio Cesare. As a Gerdine Young Artist at OTSL, she covered the title role of Giulio Cesare and was awarded the Richard Gaddes Career Award. She has also participated in young-artist programs with Chicago Opera Theater, the Santa Fe Opera, and Teatro Nuovo, and this summer, she will join the 2025 International Meistersinger Akademie. At Northwestern, she studied voice with W. Stephen Smith.

Lauren RandolphLauren Randolph (National Finalist)

Lauren Randolph recently debuted with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and Chicago Symphony Chorus in the Bach’s Unser Mund sei voll Lachens and Darzu ist Erschienen. Other notable concert performances include Rachmaninoff’s All-Night Vigil and Bach’s Oster-Oratorium at University of Chicago’s Rockefeller Memorial Chapel and Duruflé’s Requiem at Northwestern University. She has also appeared as Cornelia in Giulio Cesare as a guest with Ball State University, Serse in Handel’s Amastre at Chicago Summer Opera, and Disinganno in Handel’s Il Trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno and Calypso in the North American premiere of Porpora’s Polifemo at Opera Neo. Currently pursuing a master’s degree at the Juilliard School, where she is a Kovner Fellow, she will appear later this season as Madame de Croissy in Dialogues des Carmélites at Juilliard Opera and Grimgerde in Die Walküre at the Santa Fe Opera, where she also covers Maddalena in Rigoletto. At Northwestern, she studied voice with Theresa Brancaccio.

Several Bienen students and alumni also advanced or won prizes in the 2025 Laffont Competition:

  • Isabella Abbrescia ’23 – Encouragement Award (Colorado-Wyoming District)
  • Emily Amesquita, undergraduate student – Winner (Illinois District), Encouragement Award (Central Region)
  • Giada Barney-Sink, master’s student – Encouragement Award (St. Louis District)
  • Stephanie Chee ’22 – Winner (Utah District)
  • Douglas Culclasure ’24 – Encouragement Award (South Carolina District)
  • Spencer Greene, master’s student – Winner (Minnesota District)
  • Sophia Heinz, master’s student – Winner (North Dakota-Manitoba District)
  • Rena Maduro ’24 – Encouragement Award (Los Angeles District)
  • Lauryn Nelson ’23 MMus – Winner (Illinois District), Second Place (Central Region)
  • Olivia Prendergast ’20 – Encouragement Award (Pittsburgh District)
  • Geoffrey Schmelzer ’23 MMus – Encouragement Award (St. Louis District)
  • Morgan Small ’23 – Winner (Indiana District)
  • Calista Smith ’25 – Encouragement Award (San Diego District)
  • Lily Smith ’19 – Winner (North Dakota-Manitoba District)

Top photo by Natalie Powers/Met Opera; bottom photos by Muriel Steinke/Met Opera

  • W. Stephen Smith
  • Theresa Brancaccio