South Korean baritone Jin Sol was among five winners at the U.S. Metropolitan Opera's renowned National Council Auditions.
 
The Wall Street Journal reported that 30-year-old Jin gave an emotional performance of arias from Verdi’s “La Traviata” and Tchaikovsky’s “The Queen of Spades” at the final round of the competition at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York on Sunday.
 
The other top honors went to soprano Yelena Dyachek, mezzo-soprano Emily D’Angelo, countertenor Jakub Józef Orliński and baritone Sean Michael Plumb, all in their early to mid-twenties. The five winners took home individual cash prizes of 15-thousand dollars.

The prestigious audition, in its 63rd session this year, is known for discovering promising young opera singers and assisting in the development of their careers.
 
South Korean soprano Hong Hei-kyung and tenor Lee Sung-eun are also past winners of the competition.