Canadian-American soprano Gabrielle Turgeon is a rising star of the opera world. She was recently a finalist in this year’s prestigious Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition.
In June 2026, she’ll be singing in the Los Angeles Opera’s production of Die Zauberflöte, and in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream with Aspen Music Festival in July 2026 as a Renée Fleming Artist.
At the Met Opera competition, Gabrielle was awarded the Anne de Richemont Smithers Award that comes with a prize $10,000 USD. It’s given in recognition of an exceptional performance at the competition.
While she didn’t emerge as a winner at the Finals, her participation led to an offer that will see her perform in a European world premiere later this summer.
LV caught up with the busy young artist to talk.
Gabrielle Turgeon
Canadian-American soprano Gabrielle Turgeon was born in Florida, but grew up in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. Both of her parents are University of Toronto alumni.
Gabrielle earned her Bachelor’s from the University of Toronto, and went on to earn her Master’s from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM). She’s also an alumnus of the Houston Grand Opera Young Artists’ Vocal Academy, and the Ravinia Steans Music Institute.
Turgeon joined the Domingo-Colburn-Stein Young Artist Program at Los Angeles Opera in 2025. She performed in her company debut as Kate Pinkerton in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, as well as the Voice of the Fountain in Golijov’s Ainadamar and the Countess Ceprano and Page in Verdi’s Rigoletto, and covered Despina in Mozart’s Così Fan Tutte.
Gabrielle is no stranger to competitions or wins. She was the Grand First Prize Winner of Le Concours OSM (the Montreal Symphony Orchestra Competition) in 2025, and was previously a National Semifinalist at the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition.
Gabrielle Turgeon, soprano and Esther Gonthier, piano perform Spleen from Ariettes Oubliées by Claude Debussy, Live performance from the semifinals of Le Concours OSM in November 2025:
Gabrielle Turgeon: The Interview
What made her choose opera as her profession?
“I really love to tell this story,” Turgeon says. “I was actually born in Boynton Beach, Florida, but my parents are both Canadian.”
Her parents, as it turns out, grew up in Scarborough and Mississauga, and met while they were students at the University of Toronto. Her father got a job offer in Sault Ste Marie when Gabrielle was in middle school, and the family headed north.
“It was kind of a tough transition for me,” she recalls. “My parents were looking for activities in the community to involve me in, and make friends. So, they got me into musical theatre.”
She ended up in the cast of a community theatre production of Oliver.
“I really loved singing and being part of the group.”
That fall, she found out her high school wold be presenting Phantom of the Opera. “I told my mom, I think I really want to be in this show.” Her mother thought she might need voice lessons to prepare. “There is a wonderful teacher who still lives the Soo, Agnes McCarthy,” Gabrielle says. Agnes McCarthy is a voice instructor, director, and clinician. She’s on the faculty of the Northern Arts Academy as well as Algoma University.
“I started taking voice lessons for her. My idea was to take the lessons to just be in the musical. But, I think she saw something in me that she thought was work exploring and developing.”
Beyond musical theatre, McCarthy suggested learning a few classical pieces. “I really loved classical pieces.” Turgeon became excited to practice and learn the new techniques. She went on to compete in Ontario provincial as well as Kiwanis competitions.
“It was my first year ever doing that,” Gabrielle recalls. She’d entered into both the musical theatre and classical categories, but didn’t think she’d do well in the latter. “In my first year, I didn’t get an award in the musical theatre category, but I won the classical category.” It made her think about the possibilities.
“That was kind of a sign for me that maybe I do have a talent for it,” she said. She went on to win provincial competitions, which led to studying opera at the University of Toronto.
The Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition
“The Met Competition is one of those competitions that I feel like every young singer, especially of a certain age […] dreams of doing,” Turgeon says. “That was certainly the case for me.” She’s been thinking about it since her undergrad days at UofT. “It was always a dream to do for me.”
When Canadian mezzo-soprano Emily D’Angelo took home first prize in 2016 at the age of 21, it made a win seem possible.
“You can go all the way. That was a really motivating thing for me in university.”
Once she got to the competition herself, Gabrielle found out just how challenging it was.
“The structure of the competition makes it really difficult to advance even to the semi-final rounds,” she says.
The Metropolitan Opera Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition involves district auditions first, which are held in locations across the US, Canada, Mexico, and South America. That process takes several months.
Then, the winners of the District level auditions compete in one of 12 Regional Finals. The winners of the Regional Finals advance to the National Semifinals in New York City, held just days before the Grand Finals.
About 20 or more singers typically make it to the Semifinals, and from there, 10 finalists are chosen for the Grand Finals. Six winners emerge from the Grand Finals.
“I think this was my fifth year trying.”
Previous years saw Gabrielle advance to various stages. In 2025, she didn’t get past the District Level.
“It’s one of those competitions where you just have to keep trying,” she says. The final cut off age is 30. Before 2026, her goal was to keep trying as long as possible. “I think I’m just going to keep trying until I’m 30 and see what happens.”
For 2026, Turgeon was taking it one step at a time. “It just worked out that I found myself in the finals.”
She considers all of her attempts time well spent. “For me, I think that really speaks to [the fact that] it really takes a lot of work and dedication.” She points out that it requires consistent effort over about a six month period. “I’m so proud of myself to even make it to the finals.” She points out that there were about 1,700 applicants overall, whittled down to only 10 at the Grand Finals.
Naturally, she’s disappointed that she didn’t win in the end. “But, there’s so much that goes into competitions.” There is repertoire to learn, and preparation for those big moments on stage. “It’s such a high pressure public moment,” she says. It was unlike any other stage experience she’s had so far.
“I guess in some ways I’m disappointed — but [when] I look back over my journey as a singer over the last ten years, even over the last year, I think it’s pretty good.”
The competition itself fosters a productive atmosphere. “Everyone at the Met is so supportive. It’s such an incredible opportunity for exposure.”
She also appreciated a singer-friendly Metropolitan Opera House, where the finals take place. “It’s so well designed acoustically. It felt magical. To hear my voice in that space was a really amazing moment.” Singing with the Met Opera Orchestra was another big plus. “To sing with the orchestra — it’s a partial realization of that dream.”
After reaching the finals, however, there is one caveat: singers can’t compete again.
“When you make it to the finals, you can’t re-compete,” she says. “I can now close this chapter and move on to something else.”
Gabrielle Turgeon, soprano and Nino Sanikidze, piano perform Non so le tetre immagini from Il Corsaro by Verdi at the Butler Oopera International Competition on January 25, 2026:
Next Steps
Turgeon has been part of the Domingo-Colburn-Stein Young Artist Program at Los Angeles Opera since 2025.
“It’s generally a two to three year program,” Gabrielle explains. She’s one of the younger members of the program currently. I’m actually returning for a third year. But I do have some exciting projects that are happening outside of LA Opera,” she says.
“It relates to my performance in the Met Finals,” Turgeon adds. “I was a little bit disappointed that I didn’t win the Met Competition because it’s such a huge promotional vehicle.” Still, people around her told her that just making it to the finals would serve her career aspirations.
That proved to be true.
“Maybe five days after the finals wrapped, there was someone in the audience who represented the Edinburgh International Festival,” she says.
The representative contacted her about a role in the world premiere of an opera by American composer Missy Mazzoli.
“It turned out that this person, they were looking for someone to sing one of the principal roles because the person who was doing that had just withdrawn.”
The rep had heard her performance in the Met Finals and subsequently contacted LA Opera to get hold of Gabrielle.
Turgeon will be taking on one of the four principal roles in the brand new opera that will premiere in Scotland this summer.
The Galloping Cure by composer Missy Mazzoli and Canadian librettist Royce Vavrek revolves around the story of a local doctor in a largely forgotten community on a downswing. Based on Kafka’s short story A Country Doctor, it sets the tale in the midst of the modern day opioid epidemic. A seemingly miraculous cure appears to solve the problems of the town’s citizens — but of course, it comes at a cost.
The new opera was developed by Opera Ventures Productions and Scottish Opera, along with co-producers across three continents. It reunited the creative team of Missy Mazzoli, Royce Vavrek, and director Tom Morris, whose Breaking the Waves was a hit at the Edinburgh International Festival in 2019. The production takes the stage in Edinburgh August 9, 11 and 12, and is sure to garner a lot of buzz.
It’s a co-production with Opera Ventures Productions, Scottish Opera, NorrlandsOperan AB, Canadian Opera Company, San Francisco Opera, State Opera of South Australia, co-presented with Edinburgh International Festival, so Toronto audiences may just see it in future COC seasons.
“I am going to take on this project. It’s really amazing for me because it’s a world premiere.”
Other roles are coming up, including Canadian performances.
“I’ll be debuting my first Pamina in Magic Flute with Pacific Opera Victoria,” she says. It’s both a house and role debut for her.
“Even when you don’t win, you win in other ways.”
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