Bellini to Broadway: Opera Soloists & Chorus

Some of the greatest singers of the Metropolitan Opera joined the Met roster through the Laffont Competition, the Met’s audition program for young North Americans. The San Miguel MetOpera Trust, A.C. (SMMT) was incorporated a decade ago to oversee the Mexico District of Laffont.

On Friday, October 23, and Saturday, October 24, 2026, at 4:00pm, you will be able to hear the outstanding young voices of five Laffont winners that the SMMT has proudly sponsored, all of whom have gone on to international careers, along with the superb 14-member chorale Artifex Sui. The singers are:

Denis Vélez, soprano, praised by the Third Coast Review for her “otherworldly” voice in her “breakout performance” in her Chicago Opera debut last year.

Yunuet Laguna, soprano, who made her official stage debut at the Metropolitan Opera as Kate Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly in March 2022, and has since sung with major companies and orchestras across the United States.

Alejandro Luévanos, tenor, who had a two-year residency at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, and has since performed on major opera stages around the world.

Efraín Corralejo, tenor, a resident artist at Minnesota Opera, who made his international debut as Count Almaviva in The Barber of Seville at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia.

Mayela López, mezzo-soprano, who sang the title role in Carmen at Teatro Metropolitano de Medellín, and Offed in Paul Ruders’ The Handmaid’s Tale at the Banff Summer Arts Festival in Canada.

For the second time, the Laffont winners’ concert will take place in an elegant venue called the Music Pavilion.