Soprano Ailyn Pérez is this year's recipient of the illustrious Beverly Sills Artist Award. The honor is presented to young singers who have appeared in solos at the Metropolitan Opera.
The award is a $50,000 grant to help foster the careers of the young singers who receive it. Ms. Pérez, a rising singer in the operatic arena, also won the 2012 Richard Tucker Award. A Chicago-born singer, she cited Ms. Sills as an overarching talent that has served as a major influence for her to become an opera star.
In a statement, Ms. Pérez said:
"[Ms. Sills] presented the operatic voice as something we could be fascinated and awed by, and with her great sense of humor, she was 'Bubbles,' the diva we could all relate to. I also feel a great responsibility to be an active part of continuing that tradition, and to find innovative ways to engage new audiences through social media and working in our schools
"Opera will survive and thrive if we embrace it as an important part of our collective culture."
For Ms. Pérez, her mission in the field has been to bring opera to under-served communities. She is the daughter of Mexican immigrants and is so far the only Hispanic to win the Tucker Award. She made her debut at the Met in 2015 in a production of Carmen and will return next season to star in La Boheme.
Previous winners of the Beverly Sills Award include Nathan Gunn (2006), Joyce DiDonato (2007), Matthew Polenzani (2008), John Relyea (2009), Susanna Phillips (2010), Isabel Leonard (2011), Angela Meade (2012), Brian Hymel (2013), Michael Fabiano (2014), and Quinn Kelsey (2015).
We congratulate Ms. Pérez on the most resounding award and hope to see her continue to debut with orchestras and opera companies across the globe.
But if you haven't heard her singer before then please check out a performance by Ms. Pérez below.
