Two young Sacramento women have been competing for the past year in opera’s biggest competition, the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.

It’s a contest that’s launched the careers of some of the biggest opera singers in the world today. Peter Gelb, the Met’s general manager, has called it “Grand Opera’s answer to American Idol."

Soprano Yelena Dyacheck –a 2009 graduate of Oak Ridge High in El Dorado Hills- is headed to the national semifinals March 6 on the Metropolitan Opera Stage. 

Mezzo-soprano Hannah Ludwig –a 2010 graduate of West Campus High- competed in the Gulf Coast Region Finals in New Orleans this past Sunday. Hannah needed a win on Valentine’s Day to progress to the semifinals, where she would faceoff with childhood acquaintance Dyacheck.

Did she do it? We’ll find out. Ludwig and Dyacheck join Insight to talk about the competition.

The 10 singers who survive the semifinals will head to the grand finals at The Met on March 13. The top five singers take home $15,000 and the opportunity to train with The Met’s artistic staff and be seen by top talent agents.

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