“I am happy to report that soprano Ailyn Pérez’ role debut as Tatyana in Eugene Onegin at the Met was a joy. Not only was she vocally thrilling in all registers throughout Tchaikovsky’s score, but she was able to render the character’s emotional arcs in exquisite detail. The Letter Scene, with its adolescent emotional switchbacks, was a highlight, as was the final parting scene, whose range between anguished pianissimo and resolved fortissimo was striking. But even in the second act party scene, where Tatyana is limited to a few asides, every time Pérez sang we heard a character with a fully musically realized inner life.”
“Rarely has it felt so sweet to be inside the gilded Met, has opera seemed — whatever you thought of a given work, singer or production — so much a gift. A groundswell of gratitude was palpable throughout the season … There were sympathetic soprano star turns from Ailyn Pérez as a fiery soloist in the Sept. 11 Requiem and a girlish Tatiana in “Eugene Onegin’ …”
“Pérez, however, left no doubt about the effect his words were having on her. She was a radiant Tatiana, singing with luscious, chiaroscuro tone and holding the audience rapt in the letter scene. Balancing introspection and restlessness, Pérez allowed her inner turmoil to be transparent as she moved from conviction to indecision while grappling with the onrush of unfamiliar feelings. The difference between her awkward discomfort at being the center of attention at her name-day celebration and the serene, poised princess she becomes in Act III (looking smashing in Chloe Obolensky’s red velvet gown) was striking.”
“[Pérez’s] Tatiana was utterly credible and endearing in the earlier two acts… the Letter Scene — appealingly acted and beautifully vocalized by Pérez…”
Classical Voice America