Ailyn Pérez, soprano
Hailed by the New York Times as “a beautiful woman who commands the stage” and “a major soprano,” Ailyn Pérez is in demand at the world’s leading opera houses and cultural capitals. She has won both the 2012 Richard Tucker Award, thereby becoming the first Hispanic recipient in the award’s 35-year history. As Opera News observes, “The phrase ‘an embarrassment of riches’ might have been invented to describe the combination of talents that belong to Ailyn Pérez, … who truly seems to have it all.”
Career highlights include Violetta La traviata for Opernhaus Zürich, Hamburgische Staatsoper, Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin, Bayerische Staatsoper, San Francisco Opera, Teatro all Scala Milan, and the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, where she was hailed as “an ideal Violetta” (Observer, UK). Pérez then went on to appear at Covent Garden in the same season, as the title role in Massenet’s Manon, and for her role debut as Liù Turandot. Other highlights include Thaïs, Mimì and Musetta La bohème and Juliette Roméo et Juliette at the Metropolitan Opera; Adina L’elisir d’amore for the Bayerische Staatsoper, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Wiener Staatsoper and Washington National Opera; Countess Le nozze di Figaro for Houston Grand Opera (having made her house debut as Desdemona Otello in 2015); Violetta and title role Manon on a tour of Japan with the Royal Opera House; Tatyana Bakst in the World Premiere of Jake Heggie’s Great Scott and Manon for Dallas Opera; house debuts at the Bolshoi Theatre as Mimì La bohème and at Glyndebourne as Alice Ford; Countess Le nozze di Figaro and Marguerite Faust for Hamburgische Staatsoper; Marguerite Faust in Santa Fe and Amelia Grimaldi Simon Boccanegra at Teatro alla Scala, the Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin and opposite Leo Nucci at Opernhaus Zürich.
In concert Ailyn has performed Verdi’s Requiem with the Orchestre Métropolitain in Montreal conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin; Mozart’s Requiem with Antonio Pappano and the Accademia Santa Cecilia Orchestra in Rome and Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 with Essen Philharmoniker. In recent seasons Ailyn has sung opposite Carreras, Bocelli and with Plácido Domingo in gala concerts at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, and has made guest appearances at several gala concerts for the Metropolitan Opera. Ailyn has also appeared in recital at London’s Rosenblatt Recitals, at Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center, and for Santa Fe Desert Chorale. Her debut album, Poème d’un jour (a program of French and Italian songs on the Opus Arte label) was released to rave reviews; with the UK’s Independent newspaper awarding it five stars, while International Record Review confessed, “Every so often, a singer comes along who completely bowls you over.”
Her voice has a distinctive timbre, with plaintive richness blended into its youthful bloom ... Ms. Pérez, a beautiful woman who commands the stage, has the makings of a major soprano.
During her triumphant 2018/19 season, Ailyn made two significant role debuts; Donna Anna Don Giovanni at the Houston Grand Opera, praised by the Houston Chronicle as “magnificent“ and Elvira Ernani at Teatro alla Scala Milan. She also made her house debut as Violetta at the Opéra de Paris and made several appearances at the Metropolitan Opera; firstly as Mimì, followed by Alice Ford Falstaff. She finished her operatic season by making an eagerly-awaited return to the Royal Opera House Covent Garden as Micaëla Carmen and appearing as Violetta at the summer festival of the Bayerische Staatsoper Munich.
Notable engagements of this season include role debuts as Antonia Les contes d’Hoffmann at the Opéra de Paris, the title role Rusalka at the Sante Fe Opera and Nedda in a new production of Pagliacci at Dutch National Opera. She will return to the Wiener Staatsoper as the title role Manon, to the Palau de les Arts Valencia as Marguerite Faust, to the Bayerische Staatsoper as Violetta La Traviata, and to the Metropolitan Opera for both Mimì and Amelia Grimaldi Simon Boccanegra. In recital, she will make appearances at the San Diego Opera and with the Santa Fe Desert Chorale.
Ailyn Pérez is a graduate of Philadelphia’s Academy of Vocal Arts and Indiana University. Her many accolades include the George London Foundation’s Leonie Rysanek Award, Shoshana Foundation Career Grant 2007, 2nd place in the 2006 Plácido Domingo Operalia Competition, and honors from the Loren L. Zachary Foundation, Opera Index, and the Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation.
For the most up-to-date biography, please contact Askonas Holt. This biography should not be edited without permission from Askonas Holt / CALLAN COUGHLAN / AUGUST 2019