L'incoronazione di Poppea
Later that year, Asawa became the first countertenor to win the Operalia International Opera Competition, and made debuts at the Metropolitan Opera as the Voice of Apollo in Benjamin Britten's "Death in Venice" and at Glimmerglass Opera as Ottone in Claudio Monteverdi's "L'incoronazione di Poppea". He was chosen Seattle Opera's Artist of the Year for the 1996–97 season.