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National Capital Opera Competition

Next Competition:

  • 18 October 2025
  • 2:00 PM
  • First Unitarian Congregation, Ottawa, ON, Canada

$21,000 in Prize Money

Notices are sent out to music education organizations across Canada. From all valid applications received, a preliminary jury chooses up to six finalists. At the public competition, each finalist performs three opera arias in the original language with piano accompaniment, before a different jury.

How to Apply

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Past Finalists

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History of the Competition

The Competition was established for the purpose of supporting singers from the National Capital Region focusing on a performance career.

The first competition was held in 1993 and called the Brian Law Opera Competition in honour of Brian Law’s contributions to classical music in the National Capital Region. Brian was born and educated in London and moved to Ottawa in 1965. In 1991, Brian moved to New Zealand to be director of Christchurch City Choir.

In 2023, eligibility for the competition was opened to all young Canadian opera singers. The competition is now known as the National Capital Opera Competition.