This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Officials at The Metropolitan Opera National Council (MONC) Utah District Auditions just announced that their 2013 auditions will be held on January 5 at the Libby Gardner Hall on the University of Utah Campus.

The competition will be Saturday, January 5, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2 to 5 p.m.

The event is open to the public and is free.

Applications to audition are being accepted through December 7.

Young opera singers from around the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico will compete for $15,000 cash prizes and the chance to perform on one of the world's most prestigious stages.

The judges for the January 5 auditions will be American tenor Anthony Dean Griffey, Senior Director of Artistic Planning for LA Opera Joshua Winograde, and Director of Opera at UCLA and Artistic Director of the Seattle Opera Young Artists Program Peter Kazaras.

The winners of the Utah District auditions will compete in the Rocky Mountain Region Finals in Denver, Colorado on January 27.

Region winners receive a cash prize and will be sponsored to go to New York in March for the National Council Auditions Semi-Finals.

There, they will sing in a closed competition, accompanied by piano on the Met stage, for a place as a National Council Auditions Finalist. The Finalists will then perform at the Grand Finals Concert on Sunday, March 10 on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera, and up to five singers will be selected as National Council Auditions Winners.

The winners will each receive a $15,000 prize and will join the National Council Auditions' impressive roster of alumni.

Additional information about the MONC Utah District Auditions, including application information for singers, is available at http://www.UtahMONCauditions.org.