Ailyn Perez

Introduction

Ailyn Pérez is a graduate of the Academy of Vocal Arts and Indiana University. Her “inner radiance combined with vocal luster” has made her one of the most promising and exciting young artists today.

Ms Pérez has won awards in both opera and recital: second Prize in the 2006 Operalia Competition in Valencia, Spain, the George London Award in the 2006 George London Foundation Competition, and winner of the Shoshana Foundation Career in 2007. In 2005 she was placed second in the Loren L. Zachary Competition, received an encouragement award from Opera Index and was awarded second place from the Licia Albanese Puccini Foundation in 2004.

Ms. Pérez sang Leila in Les Pêcheurs de Perles with the Teatro Municipal in Santiago, Chile in 2009, followed by her debut at the Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin as Violetta in La Traviata to begin the 2009-2010 season. Engagements in the 09/10 season included Violetta in La Traviata at Hamburg State Opera, Pamina in Die Zauberflote with the Deutsche Staatsoper, where she returned to sing Amelia alongside Placido Domingo in Simon Boccanegra conducted by Daniel Barenboim, her debut at La Scala Milan with the same production of Simon Boccanegra, her Vienna State Opera debut as Violetta in La Traviata, Mimi in la Boheme for Cincinnati Opera, The Countess at the Ravinia Festival, and gala performances with Placido Domingo in Baku, Azerbaijan and with Jose Carreres in Sao Paolo, Brazil.

Engagements in the 10/11 season and further ahead include - Zerlina in Don Giovanni with Dallas Opera, the title role in Manon for Palau de les Arts in Valencia, Marguerite in Faust with San Diego Opera, Sante Fe Opera and at Hamburg State Opera, Amelia in Simon Boccanegra at Teatro alla Scala Milan, a return to Opera Company of Philadelphia as Juliette in Romeo et Juliette and Micaela in Carmen, Adina in L’elisir d’amore at the Wiener Staatsoper, Alice Ford in Falstaff  at the Glyndebourne Festival, Liu in Turandot and Violetta in La Traviata for the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, and a recital with husband Stephen Costello at the Laeiszhalle Hamburg.

Biography

For all media and press enquiries, including an updated biography, please contact
 
Karen Kriendler Nelson
KKN Enterprises:
 
Tel:  +1(212) 496-5154  
E-mail:  kknenterp@gmail.com / kknenterp@aol.com   
Skype:  karenkriendlernelson

Press Reviews

RECENT OPERA REVIEWS

Ravinia Opera Festival - Le nozze di Figaro, Countess

"The “Figaro” cast was also superb. Soprano Ailyn Perez was glowing as the Countess, her “Dove Sono,” sung with dignity as well as sorrow. Her voice was a golden filament that illuminated the nobility of spirit that would later lead the Countess to forgive her husband, the wayward Count."
The Pioneer Press, August 2010

"Also new to Ravinia was soprano Ailyn Perez. She was elegant as the unhappy Countess Almaviva, bringing a bright, ringing tone to the opera's soulful arias."
Chicago Sun-Times, August 2010

"And the Ravinia debuts of American sopranos Ailyn Perez as the Countess Almaviva and Lisette Oropesa as Susanna helped to bolster a vocal ensemble plagued by cancellations...a showstopping "Dove sono," all floating pianissimos and diminuendos and delicate pathos, that roused the sold-out crowd to a long, well-deserved ovation."
Chicago Tribune, August 2010

"Ailyn Perez as the Countess has a darker hue to her voice that takes on a gorgeous, creamy quality in her upper register. When their voices blended in the ethereal letter duet, the result was magical…”
Associated Press, August 2010

Cincinnati Opera - la Boheme

"Cincinnati Opera's fine, newer Bohemians:

...one could hardly wish for a finer ensemble of singing actors than these Bohemians, led by the poet Rodolfo, wonderfully sung by Stephen Costello, and the consumptive seamstress Mimi, a radiant Ailyn Pérez. It was impressive to see how beautifully they could sing...

Costello and Pérez, newlyweds in real life, communicated a chemistry and genuine quality that made them believable as the young lovers...

Pérez displayed Mimi's vulnerability, and the luster of her voice and depth of expression were assets from her first "Mi chiamano Mimi" (They call me Mimi). In the end, as she lay dying in an easy chair, her pure-toned recollection of their first meeting was heartbreaking. Mimi and Rodolfo's duet, "O soave fanciulla" was stunning for the singers' warmth of tone and effortless high notes."
The Enquirer, July 2010

"The music was well attended to by an outstanding cast of young singing actors, headed by tenor Stephen Costello and soprano Ailyn Perez as Rodolfo and Mimi, whose dreams of love are disappointed by the realities of life.  Married in real life, the two singers made an attractive and emotionally appealing couple, with fresh young voices that soared through the hall individually and together, often over the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra in full cry.

...The chemistry between Costello and Perez was potent, from their first meeting to ignite Mimi's quenched candle to their heart-breaking farewell as she succumbed to tuberculosis.  They made it obvious that Mimi and Rodolfo already had their eyes on each another, as he swooped her into his apartment and she conveniently "lost" her key to prolong their initial encounter.  As they sang of parting, but "not until springtime," Marcello and Musetta quarreled visibly behind a second-story window.  The effect was ineffably tender."
Music in Cincinnati, July 2010

Vienna State Opera - La Traviata, Violetta

“The real sensation of the evening was Ailyn Pérez, who had already proven herself at the Salzburg Festival.  She portrays Violetta as a young woman boundlessly in love with Alfredo, whom she believes to be the love of her life.  Her sumptuous lyric soprano voice, with its remarkable coloratura powers, displays every nuance of expression and emotion.  This singer is destined to portray the great, passionate Verdi and Puccini heroines.”
Kronenzeitung, May 2010

“Ailyn Pérez gives a very believable portrait of the doomed Violetta Valéry.  At first, the young Mexican[-American] soprano, in her Company debut, seemed somewhat nervous, yet as the evening went on she rose wonderfully to the occasion.  With her beautiful, well-controlled lyric soprano she created a deeply touching Violetta that was highly acclaimed by the audience.”
Kurier, May 2010

“As Violetta, State Opera debutante Ailyn Pérez displays all the coloratura facility and the delicate pianissimi needed to be memorable in the role.”
Der Standard, May 2010

 “Ailyn Pérez succeeded admirably in the title role.  Apart from her graceful appearance, she presented perfect coloraturas and heartbreaking, delicate pianissimi.  What a joy to get such a beautiful voice as a replacement!  Let’s hope she will return to the Vienna State Opera very often.”
Der neue Merker, May 2010

San Diego Opera - Juliette

“An added attraction was having the title roles sung by a married couple: Ailyn Perez and Stephen Costello. In their company debuts, during which they portrayed Romeo and Juliet together for the first time, they sang attractively, acted persuasively and made the kissing look refreshingly real, particularly on their wedding night. An exceptionally pretty Juliet, Perez had a voice that was surprisingly large for someone so petite. If her trills were sometimes a matter of good intentions rather than follow-though, she consistently displayed bright and supple coloratura, as in the youthful urgency of ‘Je veux vivre”
Opera Magazine, August 2010

 "Juliet is sung by American soprano Ailyn Pérez, who, surprisingly for such a small woman, has a big, powerful, beautiful, lyrical and endlessly supple voice.  She is lovely to look at, a fine actress, and looks to be the absolute star of the show...

In the course of the opera, Romeo and Juliet have four love duets, each more lovely than the last, and four are not too many.  Pérez also sings, to great effect and with no apparent difficulty, Juliet’s “poison” aria, which is sometimes cut because it’s beyond the abilities of sopranos with less powerful voices."
San Diego New Network, March 2010

"A cast of vocally robust young singers, lithe and animated direction, and lush orchestral support make this Romeo and Juliet a rewarding, even exciting night at the opera. In Ailyn Pérez’s Juliet and Stephen Costello’s Romeo we easily see the Bard’s impetuous, enraptured young lovers, but more importantly we hear a fullness and warmth in their voices that make Gounod’s opulent lines soar...Pérez won over the open-night audience with her sparkling “Je veux vivre” aria, establishing immediately her coloratura credentials and her character’s volatile nature."
San Diego Arts, San Diego.com, March 2010

Interview with Ailyn about Juliette for San Diego Opera.

Interview with Ailyn and Stephen about a married couple performing Romeo and Juliette.

Opera Company of Philadephia - Gianni Schicchi

"Schicchi (featuring the glamorous young Philadelphia-based couple Stephen Costello and Ailyn Perez) was right at every turn...The Perez/Costello pairing was unsurprisingly captivating, Perez going for fresh text readings at every phrase and Costello delivering some tantalizing darker colors that hint at what he'll be when he graduates from the "promising" stage. I love the way they complement each other. Even as a student, Perez's musical personality was fully formed; she has simply discovered more ways to use it. Costello, at this point, is more of a tabula rasa on which many possible characters can be formed, albeit a bit vaguely.
Inquirer Classical Music Critic, April 2009

'Miss Perez Conquers' article in COMMANDOpera, March 2010 

Michigan Opera - L'Elisir d'amore

"Soprano Ailyn Perez (who happens to be Costello's wife) sang Adina with perky security...Given the financial crunch that has hit Michigan's arts organizations with a special vehemence during these dire economic times, it was consoling to witness the sunny success of this L'Elisir."
Opera News Online, March 2009

"I don't recall the last time I witnessed an opera audience connect with a comedy so immediately and with such sustained, wide-eyed enthusiasm as MOT's opening night crowd did Friday. Matter of fact, both the onstage doings and the audience's bubbly response were more suggestive of Broadway than opera...much of it in brilliant duets for Nemorino and Adina - the vivacious and vocally agile soprano Ailyn Perez."
The Detroit News, March 2009

“Michigan Opera Theatre’s charming new production of Donizetti’s “The Elixir of Love,” which updates the action from early-19th century Europe to small-town America around 1917, is beautifully conceived and staged, eloquently sung by a fresh-voiced young cast and saturated with heartfelt song, real laughs and honest romantic yearning. It is, to put it another way, as alluring as the first flush of spring...The quack Doctor Dulcamara stirs the plot with his faux love potion, and there's also the famous furtive tear that prompts one of the most beloved tenor anthems in the repertoire — and which on Friday showed off the remarkably assured and sweet-voiced 29-year-old Stephen Costello...But the gorgeous singing, lucid acting and palpable chemistry between Costello’s Nemorino and Ailyn Pérez’s Adina elevated the evening to a higher plane. (The singers are married in real life.) You rooted for Costello’s Nemorino, not because you were supposed to but because he made you. His opening cavatina “Quanto e bella” revealed a bright voice with a warm and charismatic core and an ear for long-breathed, Italianate phrasing. His “Furtive Tear” was an eloquently shaped expression of tenderness, with only a brief moment when you heard the labor. Otherwise, butter. Tall and handsome, he also showed a gift for physical comedy and wordless expression, from a drunken dance medley (part soft-shoe, part Charleston) to a slumped shoulder poignancy recalling Chaplin’s Little Tramp. A winsome Adina, Pérez’s soprano brought a graceful élan and subtle gradations of color to Donizetti’s agile melodies. Baritone Dalibor Jenis’ Belcore and bass Burak Bilgili’s Dulcamara were both drawn more broadly and humorously but never slipped into mere silliness, and each showed a rich and attractive voice. The chorus sounded fine. I wish the MOT orchestra, conducted by Stephen Lord, had played with more intensity and plusher textures, but the big moments came alive. From beginning to end, I had a smile on my face.”
Free Press Music Critic, March 2009

Opera Company of Philadelphia - Fidelio

“Ailyn Perez couldn't have been a more theatrically adept Marzelline.... It was a triumph. Critics don't usually cheer. But I did. ”.
The Philadelphia Enquirer, October 2008

Repertoire

Operatic Repertoire

BELLINI - I Capuleti e i Montechi, Giulietta

BEETHOVEN - Fidelio, Marzelline

BIZET - Les Pecheurs de Perles, Leila

BIZET - Carmen, Micaela

DONIZETTI - L'elisir d'amore, Adina

GOUNOD - Faust, Marguerite

GOUNOD - Romeo et Juliette, Juliette

MASSENET - Manon, Manon

MOZART - Don Giovanni, Zerlina + Donna Elvira

MOZART - Idomeneo, Ilia

MOZART - Le nozze di Figaro, Countess

MOZART - Die Zauberflote, Pamina

OFFENBACH - Les Contes d'Hoffmann, Four Heroines

POULENC - Les dialogues des Carmelites, Blanche

PUCCINI - La boheme, Mimi

PUCCINI - Turandot, Liu

PUCCINI - Le Villi, Anna

VERDI - Otello, Desdemona

VERDI - Simon Boccanegra, Amelia

VERDI - La Traviata, Violetta

Links

Ailyn Perez's Homepage

Karen Nelson - Publicist

Contact

Joel Thomas

Rachel Walters

Worldwide management

For all media and press enquiries, including an updated biography, please contact
 
Karen Kriendler Nelson
KKN Enterprises:
 
Tel:  +1(212) 496-5154  
E-mail:  kknenterp@gmail.com / kknenterp@aol.com   
Skype:  karenkriendlernelson

Schedule

Dallas Opera
22 October 2010 19.30

Dallas Opera
24 October 2010 14.00

Dallas Opera
27 October 2010 19.30

Dallas Opera
30 October 2010 19.30

Dallas Opera
5 November 2010 19.30

Dallas Opera
7 November 2010 14.00