Performances + Events
Tenor Anthony León ’21 MM has won the 2023 Metropolitan Opera Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition.
Anthony was named one of six first prize winners after performing on the Met Opera stage as the culmination of a full season of competitions at the district, regional, and national levels. Each winner receives a $20,000 cash prize. León specifically received the Alton E. Peters Award from the Metropolitan Opera Guild.
The Laffont Competition — known previously as the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions — is now in its 69th year, and is designed to discover promising young opera singers and assist in the development of their careers.
While earning his Master of Music at NEC and an additional year of Artist Diploma study, Anthony studied with Voice Department Chair Bradley Williams and won the noted Wendy Shattuck ’75 Presidential Scholarship Fund for Vocal Studies.
“I realized that the best teacher and the best program with the people that cared for me the most was going to be at NEC. Not only do we get amazing training—perhaps the best training around—but the teachers really care. They’re thinking about you as the artist; you as the artist in training. I’m so grateful for how generous they’ve been with me,” said León.
Williams added, “Anthony is going to go on and have a very long, fruitful, and lucrative international career singing opera, concerts, and crossover. He’s the quintessential 21st-century artist who has developed the skill sets to leverage technology to his advantage and adapt to ever-changing conditions in the industry. Anthony is a model for how to succeed in today’s music world. He has the talent, but even more importantly, he has done the work necessary to achieve his goals, and he loves the process.”
Opera Studies at NEC is a trailblazing program preparing young musicians for successful music careers through a rigorous, well-rounded curriculum taught by world-class faculty members and a multitude of performance opportunities.
NEC also congratulates tenor and alumnus Yuntong Han ‘21, student of MaryAnn McCormick, for advancing to the finals, and current student Hyungjin Son ’24 MM, student of Bradley Williams, for advancing to the semifinals of this year’s competition.
The 2023 Laffont Competition winners are Anthony León, Tenor; Teresa Perrotta, Soprano; Natalie Lewis, Mezzo-Soprano; Sarah Saturnino, Mezzo-Soprano; Meredith Wohlgemuth, Soprano; and Christian Simmons, Bass-Baritone.
Past NEC students, alumni, and faculty members to win the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition finals include:
Michelle Johnson, 2011
Claudia Huckle, 2005
Barbara Quintiliani, 1999
Lisa Saffer, 1984
Former NEC faculty, Vincent Cole, 1977
Justino Diaz, 1963
Junetta Jones, 1963
Ronald Holgate, 1959
More recently, Erica Petrocelli ’14, ’16 MM, ’18 AD was a semifinalist in 2021, Philippe R. L’Esperance, Jr. ’22 AD was a District winner and regional finalist in 2022, and Allyson Bennett ’20, ’22 MM, ’24 AD was Boston District Winner in 2021 and 2022.
