Asleif Willmer

Soprano Asleif Willmer, current Doctor of Musical Arts in performance student, emerged as the winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions Arizona District Competition on Oct. 22 at the Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix, Arizona. She began the competition singing “"The Silver Aria"” from Douglas Moore’s “Ballad of Baby Doe,” and the judges then asked her to sing" “Da tempeste” from Handel’s “Giulio Cesare."

 The auditions take place each year in 42 districts and 12 regions throughout the United States and Canada. As the winner of the district competition, Willmer went on to compete at the Western Region competition in Los Angeles on Nov. 6 at The Colburn School where she won an Encouragement Award. The Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions is a program designed to discover promising young opera singers and assist in the development of their careers.