Metropolitan Opera Auditions of the Air

The competition's purpose was to find, encourage, and promote developing young opera singers with promising future careers.

[1] Established in 1935 by newly appointed Met director Edward Johnson, the Metropolitan Opera Auditions of the Air was broadcast live on NBC Radio.

Concerned that the competition was becoming merely a tool for promoting singers in New York City, the Met created the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in 1954 as a means of finding and bringing in talented young opera singers from all across the United States.

At this point the competition was sometimes referred to as the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions of the Air.

The first two winners of the competition were the tenor Arthur Carron and the contralto Ana Kaskas [lt], both of which became resident artists at the Met soon after.