COLUMBIA — Young singers from around the United States and the world will compete for $15,000 cash prizes and the chance to perform on one of the world’s most prestigious stages when the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions launches its 60th annual auditions program.

Over 1,500 singers between the ages of 20 and 30 will participate in the National Council Auditions, the largest and longest running singing competition in America.

South Carolina is one of the locations for the first stage of this prestigious competition and singers from all over the country will come to Columbia to perform before three professional judges provided by the Metropolitan Opera. If you love beautiful music, the Metropolitan Opera Auditions for South Carolina will be your chance to hear some outstanding talent and it is free of charge.

Three winners will be chosen from South Carolina. Each winner will receive an award of $1,000 and right to go to the Southeastern Regional Auditions in Atlanta. The winner in Atlanta will then compete in the Grand National Finals on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera House in New York before an audience that includes representatives of opera houses throughout the world.

The winners of the Grand National Finals each receive an award of $15,000 and great exposure for their operatic careers.

Previous winners include such famous singers as Renee Flemming, Deborah Voight, Thomas Hampson, Jessye Norman, and South Carolina’s own David Daniels who currently is probably the most famous counter-tenor in the world.

The event will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 26 at the R. Wright Spears Center for the Arts at Columbia College in Columbia. The admission is free.