Ten vocalists have been chosen to vie for the $20,000 grand prizes in the Metropolitan Opera's Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition for 2024. The final showdown, set for March 17 at 3 PM ET, is open to the public, with tickets up for grabs at the Met's box office.

Each contender will present two arias accompanied by the Met Orchestra, under the baton of Evan Rogister. The victors will walk away with individual cash rewards of $20,000, while the rest of the finalists will each pocket $10,000.

The selected participants are as follows:

1. Nathan Bowles, 27, tenor (Gulf Coast Region; Minot, ND)
2. Ruby Dibble, 28, mezzo-soprano (Midwest Region; Kansas City, MO)
3. Daniel Espinal, 24, tenor (New England Region; Sarasota, FL)
4. Lydia Grindatto, 28, soprano (Midwest Region; Tijeras, NM)
5. Navasard Hakobyan, 25, baritone (Eastern Region; Yerevan, Armenia)
6. Tessa McQueen, 26, soprano (Rocky Mountain Region; Loveland, CO)
7. Meridian Prall, 28, mezzo-soprano (Central Region; Fort Wayne, IN)
8. Emily Richter, 26, soprano (Great Lakes Region; Arlington, VA)
9. Demetrious Sampson, Jr., 24, tenor (Southeast Region; Atlanta, GA)
10. Eric Taylor, 29, tenor (Gulf Coast Region; St. George, UT)

The Laffont Competition, which welcomes contestants from the United States, Canada, Mexico, and international entrants residing or training in those countries, attracted over 1,500 applications this year.

Notable past participants in this competition include Renée Fleming, Denyce Graves, Eric Owens, Stephanie Blythe, Hei-Kyung Hong, Sondra Radvanovsky, Lawrence Brownlee, Michael Fabiano, Latonia Moore, Lisette Oropesa, Jamie Barton, Anthony Roth Costanzo, Ryan Speedo Green, and Nadine Sierra.