2025 MIOpera International Vocal Competition

Applications are now OPEN for the 2025 International Competition!

emerging artists General information

*All Winners of the 2025 Competition in the Emerging Artist Category are required to perform on the Winner Concert on Sunday May 18th in Bloomington-Normal, Illinois. Details below.

Grand Prize/1st place: $2000.00

2nd place: $1500.00

3rd place: $1000.00

Additional Awards (Given at the discretion of the Judges): Music at Sanctuary Music Festival, Artist Contract, John and Tracy Koch Audience Award, 2025 Mary Ellen Clancy Scholarship Award (chosen from semi-finalists by the Opera Illinois League Board: https://www.facebook.com/operaillinoisleague) and the MIOpera Role Award.

  • All Winners in the Emerging Artist Category must be available to perform on the Winners Concert on the following dates:

    Saturday May 17 @ 7:00pm to 9:00pm: Rehearsal

    Sunday May 18 @ 4:00pm to 5:00pm: Performance

    -All performers will receive travel and lodging. You must be present and perform at the concert to receive your prize money.

  • The judges will review the videos and choose the winners. All decisions of the judges are final. You will receive direct feedback from all judges if you are in the semi-finals. This year’s judges:

    -Kearstin Piper Brown, soprano

    -Prof. John M. Koch, MIOpera

    -Tracy Marie Koch, MIOpera

    -Dr. Carren Moham, soprano

    -Richard Zeller, Baritone

  • This competition is open to all singers regardless of citizenship.

  • All awards will be given to the winners after the Sunday May 18 Performance.

  • Applicants will be notified by email of our results.

  • Thirty (30) semi-finalists will be chosen by our judges and fifteen (15) finalists will be chosen from our semi-finalists to compete online.

    important deadlines

    Deadline: Friday February 7, 2025

    Announcement of Semi-finalists: Friday February 28, 2025

    Finalists & Winners: Friday March 7, 2025

  • Semi-finalist singers in the Emerging Artist Category will be eligible for 1st prize/Grand Prize, 2nd prize, 3rd prize, Honorable Mention, Music at the Sanctuary Music Festival Artist Contract, a contract for a role in a future MIOpera season, John and Tracy Koch Audience Award, 2024 Mary Ellen Clancy Scholarship Award (chosen from semi-finalists by the Opera Illinois League Board: https://www.facebook.com/operaillinoisleague)

  • The final Announcement of the Winners will be on our MIOpera YouTube Channel Friday March 7, 2025.

Emerging Artist Rules:

*Previous first prize and grand prize winners are not eligible.

  1. This level of the competition is for those who are Emerging Artists and have not yet performed or have been contracted with a Level A opera company and/or have participated in a Level A opera company’s Young Artist Program. There is no age limit for this division.

  2. Applicants must submit three (3)audition selections. Once the selections are submitted, they cannot be changed. Submit a video recording of three (3) arias, any language & style from any of the standard and/or modern Opera repertory.

  3. A $30.00 application fee will be required during your application submission. All application fees are non-refundable.

  4. Applications must be submitted by the competition deadline date, Friday February 2, 2025.

  5. Applications not completed in their entirety, not submitted by the deadline date, or submitted without an application fee payment will be considered ineligible to compete.

  6. Applicants must dress in concert attire for your videos.

  7. All video links submitted on your application must be active and available for the judges to view. If any of your links do not work, you will automatically be disqualified.

  8. You may use videos with orchestral and/or piano accompaniment. If you are using a video from a performance, please obtain permission to use the video. Please have your videos ready to start at the beginning of your aria.

  9. If you do not respond to our emails from the MIOpera International Vocal Competition and/or do not submit the requested videos on-time during the semi-finalist or finalist portion of the competition, you will automatically be disqualified and alternates will be notified. Please make sure our email address: mioperaoffice@gmail.com is in your contacts so our emails do not go to your spam folder.

  10. Please read the rules carefully and abide by them.

  11. MIOpera reserves the right to extend the application deadlines.

  12. Judges’ feedback will be given to each of the semi-finalists after the competition has ended. Please do not contact the judges for more feedback. The judges decisions and feedback are final.

  13. If you are not redirected to the application fee please pay here: https://www.miopera.net/marketplace/2024-miopera-vocal-competition-application-fee

  14. Questions? Email: Tracy: mioperaoffice@gmail.com