A Santa Fe soprano has taken her career to the biggest stage in the business, the Metropolitan Opera in New York.

Rena Harms, 25, is one of nine young vocalists to make it to the finals of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. Each finalist will perform in the Grand Finals Concert, a sold-out show, at the Met this afternoon, accompanied by the Met orchestra conducted by Marco Armiliato.

"I sort of feel like no matter what happens, I've already won," Harms said in a phone interview. "Just the honor of singing with the orchestra is so great. I'm just gonna go out there and have an amazing time and hopefully give a beautiful performance for a sold-out house."

The road to finals isn't an easy one, and the audition process was the topic of a 2009 documentary, The Audition, a behind-the-scenes look at what the finalists experience during the week leading up to the Grand Finals Concert.

Each year, thousands of hopefuls audition in 45 districts across the United States. District winners advance to region finals and compete for a chance to sing in the national semifinals. This year, 26 vocalists made it to the semis, which were held March 7. After a week of rehearsals, costume fittings and vocal coaching, finalists perform two arias during a public concert in front of an audience that includes opera company directors and executives. After the concert, the jury awards approximately five $15,000 grand winner awards. Other finalists will receive $5,000 each.

Aside from the cash prize, the National Council Auditions is an opportunity to discover new talent and allow singers to be heard by the most prominent people in opera.

Harms will perform "Stridono lassù" from I Pagliacci and "Tu che di gel sei cinta" from Turandot for the Grand Finals Concert. The first time stepping on the Met stage can be overwhelming, Harms said.

"When you get out there it's scary, and you feel like you're gonna sound so tiny and so quiet," Harms said.

But she's got experience on her side. She has previously sung on the Met stage during an audition for the company's Lindemann Young Artist Development Program.

"I don't actually struggle with nerves that much," Harms said. "I've been doing this a long time.

"I just try to be calm and think about what's important before going out there, and that's making beautiful music."

Harms has a background in musical theater and joined the choir at Santa Fe High School, where her mother, Cora Harms, was the choir director and Rena's first vocal coach.

Another of Cora Harms' former Santa Fe High School students, Clint Singley, is the associate director of the National Council Auditions.

While attending the Manhattan School of Music, where she earned her bachelor's degree, Rena Harms opted for more classical training.

"The first semester I was there, I completely fell in love with opera and never really looked back," she said.

Opera became Harms' passion, and she was the first Santa Fe High graduate to become a singer apprentice with the Santa Fe Opera in 2007. She has been a participant of other prestigious programs, including the Los Angeles Opera's Domingo-Thornton Youth Arts Program and the Merola Opera Program with the San Francisco Opera. She also has performed with Opera Santa Barbara and the Wolf Trap Opera in Virginia. In 2008, she won second prize in the Marcello Viotti International Singing Competition in Lausanne, Switzerland. And she recently made her international debut performing with the Orquesta Sinfonica Simon Bolivar in Mexico.

"I really love the challenge of opera," Harms said. "You have to know the foreign language, it's not accessible to change rhythms or notes or anything like in pop music.

"The beauty of opera is very specific, what's written down is what you do, making it your own is a challenge."

Harms will return to New Mexico next weekend to perform as Micaela in Carmen with Opera Southwest in Albuquerque. It opens Saturday.

Contact Veronica Cruz at 986-3042 or vcruz@sfnewmexican.com.