The Spartan soprano performing on one of opera’s biggest stages 

Performing on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera can represent entry into the very center of the profession for a singer. For Michigan State University alum Shannon Crowley, that milestone arrived this spring with a coveted opera honor.

Crowley, a soprano who earned her Bachelor of Music in vocal performance from MSU in 2022, was one of six national winners of the 2026 Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition, presented by the Metropolitan Opera. The competition is regarded as one of the most selective and influential platforms for identifying promising young singers at the start of major careers.

Up against nearly 1,000 singers and advancing through multiple rounds, 10 semifinalists performed in a final concert on the Met stage, with just six named winners.

For Crowley, the recognition marked not a sudden arrival, but the outcome of years of persistence and steady growth.

She first entered the competition at age 20 during the COVID-19 pandemic, when auditions were conducted entirely by video. Since then, she has returned every year, progressing through encouragement awards, district wins and regional recognition before ultimately earning a place among the national winners.

“You’re getting in front of professional ears that wouldn’t normally hear you and getting some really valuable feedback,” Crowley says. “So, it was always something that I wanted to do, even if I never went past a certain level.”

After graduating from MSU, Crowley went directly to Rice University to earn a Master of Music degree before joining the Pittsburgh Opera as a resident artist. Recently, she signed with an artist management agency.

As her professional opportunities expand, Crowley consistently points back to Michigan State as a place where trust, encouragement and artistic ambition came together at a formative moment.

She arrived in East Lansing from Virginia Beach having already performed roles and studied opera through the Governor’s School for the Arts in Virginia. Still, she says she was struck by how quickly MSU entrusted her with significant responsibility.

As a first-year student, Crowley was cast in the leading role in Rossini’s “La scala di seta.”

“I got to be the star for one show, which was really fun,” she says. “Even to this day, I don’t think I’ve performed a role that is in that lane. I still look back at it as one of my favorites, and to do it as a freshman was very cool and very amazing that Michigan State trusted me.”

The momentum slowed briefly at the end of her sophomore year and throughout her junior year when the pandemic forced everything online. When live performances returned, Crowley says, the revival was energizing, with meaningful roles during her senior year.

Just as important were the relationships that endured beyond graduation. Crowley maintains close connections with classmates, fellow alums and faculty members, and she was especially aware of that network following news of her Laffont win.

“Our blood runs green, and you’re going to reach out if you see somebody doing amazing things,” she says of the response she received from MSU voice alumni.

For Mark Rucker, professor of voice and Crowley’s primary teacher at MSU, that sense of lasting connection reflects both Crowley’s character and the environment that helped shape her.

He pointed to the breadth of opportunities available at MSU — operas, concerts, classes, coaching and a supportive faculty and student culture — as essential to her development.

“Shannon’s talent, focus and spirit blossomed here at MSU,” he says. “It takes a village, which is true, and our village here at MSU was a wonderful one to encourage and expand this amazing talent.”

Following the end of her residency with Pittsburgh Opera and preparing for the next phase of her career, Crowley finds herself reflecting on what matters most.

“I feel very grateful,” she says. “I think that it’s a privilege to be able to do this, and not everybody does get to do this for a living. If I’m singing at all, that’s success.”

Adapted from a story by the College of Music.