Kiswe Powers the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition for Third Consecutive Year

Kiswe, the fan first streaming company, announced it is partnering with the Metropolitan Opera’s Laffont Competition for the third consecutive year. The Met will be leveraging Kiswe’s Studio Switcher technology to help bring its vocal competition to opera fans around the world.

The Laffont competition, formerly known as the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, is a nationwide vocal competition founded in 1954 and designed to discover promising young opera singers and assist in the development of their careers. Some of today’s greatest singers got their start in the auditions, including Renée Fleming, Susan Graham, Stephanie Blythe, Eric Owens, Lawrence Brownlee, Lisette Oropesa, Jamie Barton, Michael Fabiano, Anthony Roth Costanzo, Ryan Speedo Green, and Nadine Sierra.

The Metropolitan Opera will once again use Kiswe's platform to livestream this year's semi-finals on April 17.

Kiswe Studio allows users to produce and distribute premium live streamed and on-demand video experiences quickly, affordably, and at scale, unlocking new revenue streams and growing audience reach. Kiswe’s Switcher technology will allow the Met to leverage multiple video and graphical assets and seamlessly create a studio-quality production of the competition’s semi-finals.

"We are honored that our technology will help bring this revered competition to more fans of the Metropolitan Opera," said Glenn Booth, CEO of Kiswe. "Kiswe’s Studio Switcher technology allows content creators to easily create and deliver dynamic, engaging virtual experiences at much lower costs than traditional production studios. It will bring the competition to life in new and exciting ways while helping the Met reach audiences all over the world."

“We want to find the next great opera singers, but we shouldn't be the only ones hearing these talented artists,” said Melissa Wegner, Executive Director of the Metropolitan Opera’s Laffont Competition. “Kiswe's reliable and powerful technology helps us give much greater exposure to our emerging opera stars, while making opera accessible for audiences in ways that simply weren't possible ten years ago. The partnership with Kiswe underscores the Laffont Competition’s commitment to ongoing innovation as we continue to introduce the future of opera to the world.”

About the Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition
In recognition of a generous gift from the Laffont family, the Met’s nationwide vocal competition—known since its founding in 1954 as the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions—begins a new chapter as the Metropolitan Opera Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition. Mrs. Laffont, an Advisory Director on the Met Board, has spent many hours volunteering with the auditions over the last 20 years, and she and her late husband, Eric, have long been among the program’s most dedicated supporters.

The competition is designed to discover promising young opera singers and assist in the development of their careers, and is sponsored by the Metropolitan Opera National Council, including members and hundreds of volunteers from across the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Some of today’s greatest singers got their start in the auditions, including Renée Fleming, Susan Graham, Stephanie Blythe, Eric Owens, Lawrence Brownlee, Lisette Oropesa, Jamie Barton, Michael Fabiano, Anthony Roth Costanzo, Ryan Speedo Green, and Nadine Sierra.