It was announced today that Ailyn Pérez will make her much-anticipated debut at England’s storied Glyndebourne Festival this summer as Alice Ford in Verdi’s Falstaff. These Glydebourne performances also mark her role debut as one of the objects of Sir John Falstaff’s mis-guided affection. Mark Elder conducts the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, and a cast that also features Laurent Naouri in the title role, Roman Burdenko as Ford, and Lucia Cirillo as Meg Page. The production, by Richard Jones, debuted at Glyndebourne in 2009 to rave reviews and was released on DVD by Opus Arte.
Pérez is no stranger to performing world-class opera in the UK, having made several star turns with London’s Royal Opera House Covent Garden, including her 2011 run as Violetta in La Traviata. The Observer declared Pérez “an ideal Violetta … the bewitching young American soprano puts her heart into every twist of the drama, from the impetuousness of her love for Alfredo…to the febrile emergency of her death…her performance was glorious, the quiet passages magical.”