Ailyn Pérez

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. As The Washington Post observes, remarked, she is “a beautifully self-possessed singer, with a wonderfully expressive instrument.” Internationally celebrated for her signature artistry, as the winner of the 2012 Richard Tucker Award, Ms. Pérez became the first Hispanic recipient in the award’s history. Ailyn continues to captivate audiences worldwide in the 2025–26 season, with an exciting lineup of operatic and concert engagements. She makes an anticipated return to the stage of The Metropolitan Opera in the title role of Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, returns to Santa Fe Opera as Contessa Almaviva in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro, and makes an exciting role debut as Verdi’s Aida at Semperoper Dresden. She also appears in two semi-staged performances of Tosca with the NAC in Ottawa. She returns to the Bayerische Staatsoper several times this season, beginning with Desdemona in Verdi’s Otello, on tour in Shanghai. She will reprise her “sophisticated, technically brilliant” (Klassik begeistert) portrayal of Nedda in Francesco Micheli’s production of Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci, appears in the concert Oper für Alle, bows as Marguerite in Gounod’s Faust, and sings the title role in Puccini’s Tosca. On the concert stage, Ms. Pérez appears at Saratoga Performing Arts, joining the Philadelphia orchestra for Verdi’s Messa di Requiem, before joining the Enescu Festival for Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9. Later this season, she sings Verdi’s Requiem at Rome’s Sala Santa Cecilia and acts as soloist for the world premiere of Jake Heggie’s EARTH: A Choral Symphony, a commission by the Madison Symphony Orchestra. Career highlights include Violetta (La traviata) at Opernhaus Zürich, the Hamburgische Staatsoper, Staatsoper Berlin, Bayerische Staatsoper, San Francisco Opera, Teatro alla Scala, and the Royal Ballet and Opera – 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; Leonora (Il trovatore) at Houston Grand Opera; Adina (L’elisir d’amore) for the Bayerische Staatsoper, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Wiener Staatsoper, Lyric Opera of Chicago, and Washington National Opera; Contessa Almaviva (Le nozze di Figaro) for Houston Grand Opera (having made her house debut there as Desdemona in Otello); Violetta and title role of Manon on a tour of Japan with the Royal Opera House; Tatyana Bakst in the world premiere of Jake Heggie’s Great Scott (featured on an acclaimed Erato recording release) and Manon for The Dallas Opera; house debuts at the Bolshoi Theatre as Mimì (La bohème) and at Glyndebourne as Alice Ford (Falstaff); Marguerite (Faust) in Santa Fe and Amelia Grimaldi (Simon Boccanegra) at Teatro alla Scala and Staatsoper Berlin, and Opernhaus Zürich. In concert, Ms. Pérez has performed Verdi’s Requiem with the Orchestre Métropolitain in Montréal 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 the Essen Philharmoniker. In recent seasons, Ailyn has made guest appearances at gala concerts for The Metropolitan Opera and the Royal Ballet and Opera. Ailyn has also appeared in recital for London’s Rosenblatt Recitals at Wigmore Hall, Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center, and with the Santa Fe Desert Chorale. Ailyn Pérez is a graduate of Philadelphia’s Academy of Vocal Arts and Indiana University. She serves as an Artistic Advisor and on the faculty for the Vincerò Academy, and is an Opera for Peace Ambassador. Her many accolades include the Metropolitan Opera’s Beverly Sills Artist Award (2016), George London Foundation’s Leonie Rysanek Award (2006), Shoshana Foundation Career Grant (2007), 2nd place in the 2006 Operalia Competition, and honors from the Loren L. Zachary Foundation, Opera Index, and the Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation.