Ailyn Pérez heads to Europe this week for a special gala concert performance of Puccini’s La Boheme, where she portrays what is quickly becoming her signature character, the ill-fated seamstress Mimi. Daniele Gatti leads the Vienna Philharmonic for the special outdoor benefit performance on August 23 at Salzburg’s Großen Festspielhaus.
This performance finishes off what has been a very busy and successful summer season for Pérez, including a run of performances in her hometown of Chicago in Mozart’s The Magic Flute, which lead the Chicago Tribune to rave that that she “brought a luscious soprano, affecting tonal shadings and a touching characterization to the role of Pamina.” Pérez also sang in Cincinnati Opera’s production of La Traviata, where she earned acclaim from the Cincinnati Inquirer: “Pérez delivered as complete a portrait as one could wish for, and was in beautiful voice all evening.”