May 2, 2022

Current MSM Vocal Arts student Le Bu (BM ’22), a bass-baritone from Yancheng, China, is one of six winners of this year’s Met Opera Laffont Competition. The Grand Finals were held on May 1.

Le Bu, pictured above in a recital in Greenfield Hall, won the Dominique Laffont Award and is one of six winners of the Met Opera’s prestigious Competition:

Le Bu, 26, Bass-Baritone
Matthew Cairns, 27, Tenor
Alexandra Razskazoff, 30, Soprano
Julie Roset, 25, Soprano
Anne Marie Stanley, 30, Mezzo-Soprano
Esther Tonea, 28, Soprano

Winners each receive $20,000 in prize money and assistance in developing their careers. Finalists performed at the May 1 Grand Finals event on the Met Opera stage accompanied by the Met Orchestra, conducted by Marco Armiliato.

Some of today’s greatest singers got their start in the Metropolitan Opera Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition (previously the National Council Auditions), including Renée Fleming, MSM alumna Susan Graham (MM ’87, HonDoc ’08), Eric Owens (HonDMA ’16), Stephanie Blythe, Hei-Kyung Hong, Lawrence Brownlee, Michael Fabiano, Lisette Oropesa, Christian Van Horn, Jamie Barton, Nadine Sierra, and MSM alumnus and trustee Anthony Roth Costanzo (MM ’08).

Le Bu’s primary teacher at MSM is renowned bass-baritone James Morris. He has been coached by MSM Collaborative Piano faculty member Warren Jones and has also worked at MSM with Kenneth Merrill and Thomas Muraco.

Bu has participated in the Merola Opera Program, the Aspen Music Festival and School, and iSING! International Young Artist Festival. In 2018, he was a winner of the Barbara Rondelli Kansas Statewide Classical Voice Competition—Midwest Region.

The Laffont finals performance was broadcast on Met Opera Radio (SiriusXM channel 75) and streamed live on the Met website.