The Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition, San Diego District

10/06/2026

🔥🍂Well, well, well… what have we here...? 👀🎭
Someone apparently forgot to tell the City of San Diego that October is supposed to be fall:)

The temperatures are rising—and so is the OPERA. 🔥

The next few weeks are a pretty wonderful reminder of just how much is happening in our corner of the opera world. Different organizations. Different stages. Different missions. One growing artistic ecosystem.

First up…
🌟 OCTOBER 14 — OPERA Wednesdays × MOLCSD
Our second annual collaboration brings current and past Metropolitan Opera Laffont competitors together at La Jolla Community Center. Hear the singers. Meet the artists. And maybe discover someone you'll be following for years.
Then the big house heats up…

🔥 OCTOBER 23–25 — San Diego Opera: RIGOLETTO
Verdi. Drama. Revenge. One of opera's great scores.
Then…

🎬 OCTOBER 28 — THE AUDITION
MOLCSD and the LJCC present a special FREE screening of Susan Froemke's documentary following young singers from the local rounds of the competition all the way to the The Metropolitan Opera Grand Finals.
And then the reason we've been building toward all of this…

🌟 NOVEMBER 14 — THE SAN DIEGO DISTRICT AUDITIONS
A new group of young singers walks onto the stage at Point Loma Nazarene University Loma Opera Theatre
A few arias.
A few minutes.
Years of preparation.
And perhaps the beginning of a journey from…
San Diego → Western Region → New York → The Metropolitan Opera.

Meanwhile, our friends throughout the community keep the music going OPERA America. Opera À la Carte San Diego. Musica Vitale. Opera Neo. Project BLANK. Genesis Opera Theatre. Lyric Opera of Orange County....etc...etc...

Our universities (SDSU Opera Theatre, UCSDMUSIC, USDMUSIC:), teachers, coaches, pianists, independent artists—and everyone else creating another place for great singing to happen.
Because no single organization creates an opera community.
WE create it together.
A competition needs places where singers can perform.
Companies need developing artists.
Artists need audiences.
Audiences need opportunities to discover artists.
And one performance should always lead you toward the next one.

So this fall, don't just come to The Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition.
Go hear a singer you've never heard before.
And when you find someone extraordinary…
FOLLOW THEM. 🌟
Maybe you'll someday get to say:
“I remember hearing them in San Diego before…”
The weather may eventually cool down.
The opera?
We're just getting warmed up. 🔥🎶
Act Local. Think Global.
See Tomorrow's Stars Today.


IS IT SECRET? IS IT SAFE? 🍂🔥

09/21/2026

A dark storm is coming to San Diego Civic Theatre City of San Diego

Guess who is coming to San Diego...

09/19/2026

Join us at the Villa Montezuma on September 21 for a German Liederabend!

After a month off in August, we'll be back at the Villa in September.

Celebrate Oktoberfest at the 7th Cinballera Salon of 2026, An Evening of Lieder! Join us on the 3rd Monday of the month, September 21, at 7 PM at the Villa Montezuma, 1925 K Street, San Diego.

In honor of one of the world's largest folk celebrations, join us for an evening of a unique and expansive form of parlor music, lieder. These lovely German art songs were penned by the hundreds by classical geniuses like Schubert, Schumann, and countless others. The program will be interwoven with selections from one special song cycle.

In keeping with the Villa's gracious history, we encourage our guests to dress up for the evening! Gentlemen, dust off your favorite suit and tie, and ladies, here's a chance to wear that dress and hat you've been saving! For September, wear clothes inspired by traditional German garb and flag colors.

Join us for a wunderbar abend of German parlor music, lieder!

Reserve your seat at https://pro.gofundme.com/event/september-cinballera-salon-an-evening-of-lieder/e765841.

09/07/2026

If you can guess which San Diego Opera production this ONE LINE drawing by Shelby Condray (bass) is depicting...You get free tickets to OPERA Wednesdays, OR, the San Diego District The Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition at Point Loma Nazarene University on Nov. 14th?!:)

09/02/2026

Our Student Night at the Opera is a free, educational experience for schools and community organizations serving youth in grades 4-12. Learn more 👇 in the comments.

08/26/2026

🎭 TWO FIGAROS. ONE SAN DIEGO.

Where does an opera career begin?

Sometimes with a lesson.
Sometimes with a competition.
Sometimes with a small company willing to give you a stage.

And sometimes, years later, that road brings you home.

This week, Genesis Opera Theatre presents Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro, August 28–30 in San Marcos at The Bornemann Theatre—another opportunity for Southern California singers to perform, develop their craft, and bring great opera to our community.

Then, April 2–4, 2027, Figaro returns on another scale when San Diego Opera brings Mozart's masterpiece to the San Diego Civic Theatre

And there's a wonderful Visit San Diego connection at the center of it:

🌟 Nicholas Newton returns home to sing Figaro.

Nicholas is a San Diego native, SDSU Opera Theatre, and national semifinalist of The Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition whose journey has since taken him to the The Metropolitan Opera, Opéra national de Paris, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Santa Fe Opera, Houston Grand Opera, OPERA Wednesdays, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis and beyond.

Now he makes his San Diego Opera debut in the title role of Figaro.

That's an opera ecosystem.

Training → opportunity → stage time → competition → development → professional career → coming home.

And it reminds us why organizations at every level matter. There isn't one road into this profession. There are many roads, and every opportunity to sing can become part of the journey.

🎟️ MOLCSD FIGARO CHALLENGE

Want FREE tickets to the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition — San Diego District at PLNU on November 14?!:)

🎭 Which artists in San Diego Opera's 2027 Marriage of Figaro are returning San Diego Opera artists?

Find the answers, comment below, and MOLCSD has tickets for you. 😉

Two Figaros.
Two different stages.
One San Diego opera community.

08/21/2026

08/17/2026

08/11/2026