On the heels of making her role debut as Tosca at San Francisco Opera and singing the Verdi Requeim at the Metropolitan Opera, Ailyn Pérez returns to her native Chicago for performances of Donizetti’s The Elixir of Love at Lyric Opera. Pérez joins Oliver to discuss the privilege of participating in the emotionally charged Verdi’s Requiem: The Met Remembers 9/11; the joyful collaboration of Jake Heggie and Terrence McNally’s Great Scott; and championing art song in Spanish.
In the interview, Oliver references this video of Pérez singing Desdemona’s “Willow Song” and “Ave Maria” from Verdi’s Otello.