Seventeen local singers are competing for a chance to train with the Metropolitan Opera in New York.
The annual Metropolitan Opera Auditions are taking place at the Vancouver Academy of Music throughout the day today.
The auditions is a program designed to discover promising young opera singers across North America.
The coveted prize is a chance to train with the legendary Metropolitan Opera.
Soma Barsen with the Vancouver Opera Guild says each contestant has to come prepared with three arias that will be performed before a panel of judges and live audience.
“All the singers do come, ready and dressed to go,” says Barsen. “You get to hear a huge variety of arias instead of seeing just one opera. It is really quite the experience.”
In 2008, B.C. singer Simone Osborne won the contest and went on to become one of the biggest rising stars in opera.
Barsen says B.C. is on the radar when it comes to singing talent and is known for its opera training.
“We host a lot of events that are opera related. We even set up small operas for children. And we get the talent for that through UBC and the Vancouver Academy of Music. There are a lot of young voices that come out of there.”
The next round of competition is in March.
For more on today’s event, go here.
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