The Sullivan Foundation Awards

The Sullivan Foundation Awards is sponsored by The Sullivan Foundation. The Sullivan Foundation seeks talented opera singers beginning their professional solo careers. Award winners receive $10,000 prizes and are eligible for grants to learn new roles.

Sullivan Foundation Application Manager There are presently no open calls for applications. The William Matheus Sullivan Musical Foundation supports exceptionally talented early career professional opera singers who show significant promise. More than 1,100 singers have earned Sullivan funding since 1957.

The Foundation was the Philanthropy Winner at the 2023 International Opera Awards. Prizes are awarded through live auditions; singers are selected for auditions through a competitive online application process. Sullivan Award winners receive $10,000 and are eligible for continuing role preparation grants, a unique aspect of the Foundation's commitment to early career singers.

Judges may also award Career Development Grants at auditions. 2025 audition prizes totaled $100,000. 2026 auditions will be held on Thursday, October 15 and Friday, October 16 in New York City.

Singers must be available in person on at least one of these dates; there are no callbacks, finals, or virtual live auditions. Limited travel reimbursement assistance is available for singers coming from outside the New York metro area.

Applicants should have completed their primary academic training and must have already sung at least one professional engagement with an opera company, orchestra, or other organization with full orchestra. Singers coming to the end of full-year young artist programs may be chosen to audition; if they are Sullivan Award winners, their eligibility for role preparation grants may be deferred upon request.

The Foundation welcomes applications from singers of all nationalities but focuses its support on singers affiliated with North American companies, programs, and educational institutions. The Foundation cannot provide visa assistance, and singers without US tax status may be subject to withholding on awards and grants.

There is no age limit for applicants, but the Foundation is not seeking singers who already have well-established solo careers. Applicants may not have more than one past or upcoming contract for a leading or featured role ( AGMA classifications ) as an independent artist (not part of a young artist program), excluding covers, with an OPERA America Budget Level I Company* or its international equivalent.

If there are questions about what engagements fit these criteria, the Foundation’s application panel will make the final determination. If the Foundation discovers that singers have omitted relevant past or upcoming engagements, they will be disqualified from the auditions.

*OPERA America Budget Level 1 Companies: Washington National Opera; Seattle Opera; Santa Fe Opera; San Francisco Opera; Detroit Opera; Metropolitan Opera; Lyric Opera of Chicago; Los Angeles Opera; Houston Grand Opera; Dallas Opera; Atlanta Opera; Canadian Opera Company 2026 Application Materials 2. One-Page Resume - only one page will be shared with the audition panel 4.

Recommendation Form – Recommendation written specifically for the Sullivan application by a music professional (not a current or former manager, or a Sullivan trustee) who is well acquainted with your qualifications as a singer.

We strongly encourage you to ask someone who has engaged you as a performer in a professional setting; e.g. a general director, artistic director, music director, conductor, stage director, artistic administrator, or young artist program director. Recommenders will receive a link to complete their confidential form during the application process. Please contact us with any questions about who qualifies as a recommender.

5. Professional Solo Contract or Official Offer – For a paid, professional solo engagement (excluding cover contracts) with full orchestral accompaniment with a performance on or after April 15, 2026. Contracts and offers must be from the producing organization; cover contracts and engagements that require tuition or payment from the singer do not fulfill this requirement.

Opera roles with full orchestra and solo engagements with symphonies are both acceptable. 6. Video Selections – Two arias in contrasting styles and two different languages performed with piano accompaniment, with a combined length of no more than 10 minutes.

Videos must be recorded within six months of the application due date. Recordings must be made without acoustical enhancement or amplification. Each selection should be filmed in a single take and performed from memory.

Videos should show the singer in full view from the audience’s perspective, with a completely visible face, and should not be filmed in a group setting such as a rehearsal. Videos should represent your audition performance level. Please note that highly produced videos usually do not give the panel the best sense of a singer's live performance.

Your name, the pianist's name, and the title/composer of each aria must be clearly included (e.g. title, caption, or announcement).