This fall, Ailyn Pérez makes her anticipated Brazilian operatic debut at the Theatro Municipal de São Paulo, starring as Elisabetta di Valois in Verdi’s Don Carlo. The soprano last sang the role in 2022 at the Teatro di San Carlo, where Ópera Actual lauded her “sweetest melodic sensitivity” and “silvery color.”
Pérez’s interpretations of Verdi are consistently celebrated for their lush, golden warmth, intense emotional conviction, and exceptional text delivery. Over the course of her career, critics have noted how her lyric soprano has evolved to masterfully encompass both the nuanced, agile phrasing and the expansive dramatic weight required by Verdi’s heroines.
Conducted by Roberto Minczuk, the production features an alternating international double cast. Pérez shares the role of Elisabetta di Valois with Ludmilla Bauerfeldt, alongside Atalla Ayan and Matheus Pompeu alternating as Don Carlo, Luiz-Ottavio Faria and Sávio Sperandio as Filippo II, and Ana Lúcia Benedetti and Juliana Taino as Princess Eboli. The cast also stars Paulo Szot and Michel de Souza as Rodrigo, Marquis of Posa; Solomon Howard and Valeriano Lanchas as the Grand Inquisitor; Sávio Sperandio and Sérgio Righini as the Friar; Isabella Luchi and Núbia Eunice as Tebaldo; and Raquel Paulin and Lívia Berrêdo as the Voice from Heaven. Performing across all dates are Eduardo Góes as the Count of Lerma, Carlos Eduardo Santos as the Royal Herald, and Patrícia Vilela as the Countess of Aremberg. Pérez performs on September 18, 20, 23, and 26.