AVA Soprano Anna Thompson Wins at 2026 Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition Grand Finals

March 23, 2026

First-year Academy of Vocal Arts Resident Artist Anna Thompson, soprano, has been named one of the Grand Final Winners of the 2026 Metropolitan Opera Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition, one of the most prestigious vocal competitions in the United States. Thompson was selected as one of six winners following the Grand Finals Concert at the Metropolitan Opera, concluding a national audition process that begins each season with hundreds of singers across North America.

The Metropolitan Opera Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition, founded in 1954 and formerly known as the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, is designed to discover and support the next generation of operatic talent. Singers advance through district, regional, semifinal, and final rounds before performing on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera in New York for the Grand Finals Concert.

Thompson’s selection as a Grand Final Winner marks another major milestone in an already remarkable season of competition successes. Earlier this year, she was named a winner of the Gerda Lissner Foundation International Vocal Competition, received a George and Nora London Foundation Award, and earned third place in the Dallas Opera National Vocal Competition.

A first-year Resident Artist at AVA, Thompson holds degrees from Rice University and the Eastman School of Music. Her recent operatic roles include the Countess in Capriccio and Countess Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro at AVA, as well as appearances in productions of Alcina, The Ghosts of Versailles, and Suor Angelica.

Thompson’s success at the Laffont Competition continues a long tradition of achievement by AVA artists on the Metropolitan Opera stage and reflects the strength of the institution’s training program as its Resident Artists prepare for professional careers at the highest level of the art form.