CCM alumna wins Met Opera's Laffont Competition
Emma Marhefka, soprano, has "won the Met" in the grand finals of the prestigious competition
Story by CCM Graduate Assistant Lucy Evans
UC College-Conservatory of Music alumna Emma Marhefka, soprano (MM Voice ’23) has "won the Met" in the grand finals of the 2025 Metropolitan Opera Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition.
Emma Marhefka at Met Opera. Photo by Natalie Powers.
One of the most prestigious singing competitions in the world, the Laffont Competition finals took place on March 16, with singers accompanied by the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. Five singers won the finals including Marhefka. CCM singer Samuel Kidd, baritone (MM Voice ‘21), also competed in the final round.
Singers from CCM had a strong presence throughout the competition. The semifinals were livestreamed on Sunday, March 9. Of the 20 semifinalists, five of the singers hold degrees from the UC College-Conservatory of Music: Samuel Kidd, baritone (MM Voice ‘21), Emma Marhefka, soprano (MM Voice ’23), Ariana Maubach, mezzo-soprano (MM Voice ’23), John Mburu, bass (MM Voice ’23) and Ryan Wolfe, baritone (MM Voice ‘20).
Prior to the semifinals, singers compete around the country in online, district and regional rounds. In addition to this year’s strong semifinal turnout, many CCM singers received awards at the district and regional level.
In recent years, many CCM alumni have advanced to the semifinal and final rounds, and several have been named winners of the Grand Finals, including 2023 winner Teresa Perrotta (AD Opera ’21, MM Voice ‘19), 2021 winner Brittany Olivia Logan (MM Voice ‘20) and 2019 winner Elena Villalon (BM Voice ‘19). CCM alumni are certainly no strangers to the Metropolitain Opera's stage. In 2024, Perrotta and Robert Stahley (MM Voice, '16; AD Opera, '18) made their Met Opera debuts in The Magic Flute as First Lady and First Guard, respectively; and Christian Pursell (MM Voice, '17) made his Met debut as Sciarrone in Tosca. Thomas J. Capobianco (MM Voice, ‘16) has various roles in four productions at the Met this season and Jessica Faselt (MM Voice, '16) performed as Flacon in the Met's Die Frau ohne Schatten.
Below, find the full list of CCM award winners in the 2025 competition.
National Semifinalists:
- Samuel Kidd – Winner, Western Region; Winner, San Francisco District (NATIONAL FINALIST)
- Emma Marhefka – Winner, Rocky Mountain Region; Winner, Arizona District (GRAND FINALS WINNER)
- Ariana Maubach – Winner, Great Lakes Region; Winner, Buffalo-Toronto District
- John Mburu – Winner, Northwest Region; Winner, Washington Region
- Ryan Wolfe – Winner, Great Lakes Region; Winner, Michigan District
Regional Awards and District Winners:
- Lauren Davis (MM Voice, ’24) – Encouragement Award, Southeast Region; Winner, Tennessee District
- Sam Dhobany (BM Voice, ’24) - 2nd Place, Rocky Mountain Region; Winner, Arizona District
- Sydney Sorbet (MM Voice, ’26) – Encouragement Award, Gulf Coast Region; Winner, New Orleans District
- Justin Burgess (AD Opera, ’22, MM Voice ’20) – Winner, Capital District
- Megan Graves (MM Voice, ’21) – Winner, St Louis District
- Harrison Hancock (MM Voice, ’26) – Winner, Kentucky District
- Lea Nayak (MM Voice, ’26; BM Voice, ’24) – Winner, Kentucky District
- Søren Pedersen (MM Voice, ’25) – Winner, San Diego District
- Morgan Small (MM Voice, ’25) – Winner, Indiana District
- Kaylyn Taylor (DMA Voice, ‘25) – Winner, Idaho-Montana District
- Logan Wagner (AD Opera, ’25; MM Voice, ’23; BM Voice, ’20) – Winner, South Carolina District
District Encouragement Award Winners:
- Manfred Anaya (MM Voice, ‘21) – Encouragement Award, Los Angeles District
- Ahhyun Baek (AD Opera, ’26; MM Voice, ’24) – Encouragement Award, North Carolina District
- Kade Bennett (MM Voice, ‘26) – Encouragement Award, Kentucky District
- Natalie Corrigan (MM Voice, ’26; BM Voice, ’24) – Encouragement Award, Michigan District
- Kaylan Hernandez (MM Voice, ’25) – Encouragement Award, Kentucky District
- Victoria Popritkin (BM Voice, ‘23) – Encouragement Award, Indiana District
- Clara Reeves (MM Voice, ’25; BM Voice, ’22) – Encouragement Award, Kentucky District
- Atticus Rego (MM Voice, ’23) – Encouragement Award, Illinois District
- Sarah Scofield (MM Voice, ’23; BM Voice, ’21) – Encouragement Award, Utah District
- Matilda Smolij (BM Voice, ’23) – Encouragement Award, Illinois District
- Cole Stephenson (MM Voice, ’25) – Encouragement Award, Iowa District
Notice an omission in our round up? Please send any omissions to ccmpr@uc.edu and we will update our coverage!
Next Lives Here
At the University of Cincinnati, we realize the impact our teaching, research, artistry and service can have on our community and the world. So, we don’t wait for change to happen. We break boundaries, boldly imagine and create what’s Next. To us, today’s possibilities spark tomorrow’s reality. That’s why we are leading urban public universities into a new era of innovation and impact, and that's how we are defining Next for the performing and media arts.
We're about engaging people and ideas - and transforming the world.
We are UC. Welcome to what's Next.
Lucy Evans
CCM Graduate Assistant, Marketing + Communications
Lucy Evans is an artist diploma student studying Opera-Vocal Performance at CCM. She is a graduate of Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music, and has performed as a young artist with the Santa Fe Opera and Opera Theatre of St Louis.
Feature image at the top: The Met Opera Competition winners and finalists for 2025. Photo/Natalie Powers.
Additional Contacts
Curt Whitacre | Director of Marketing/Communications | UC College-Conservatory of Music
whitaccp@ucmail.uc.edu | 513-556-2683
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