About this Artist

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 only Hispanic recipient in the award’s 35-year history, and the 15th annual Plácido Domingo Award. 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 Mimi,Musetta La bohème 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.”

During her triumphant 2017/8 season, Ailyn returned to the Metropolitan Opera for her role debut as Thaïs, a stellar performance about which classical source praised her “vocal brilliance and dynamic presence“. She made two further appearances at the Met, firstly as the Countess Le nozze di Figaro, to similarly rave reviews, before finishing with Juliette Roméo et Juliette later in the season. She also appeared at the Lyric Opera of Chicago for Marguerite Faust and made appearances at the Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin and Opernhaus Zürich as Violetta.

Notable engagements of this season include her role debut as Elvira Ernani for Teatro alla Scala, Mimi La bohème and Alice Ford Falstaff at the Metropolitan Opera, Donna Anna Don Giovanni for the Houston Grand Opera, Micaëla for the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, as well as concert appearances with the Minnesota Orchestra for Verdi’s Requiem under Maestro Ed Gardner and Beethoven‘s Mass in C with the Los Angeles Philharmonic under Maestro Gustavo Dudamel.

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 honours from the Loren L. Zachary Foundation, Opera Index, and the Licia Albanese- Puccini Foundation.