Meet the 2012 Richard Tucker Award-Winner, Soprano Ailyn Pérez

(Photo: Paul Mitchell)

"For most New York opera-goers, Ailyn Pérez may not be a name that's instantly recognized, but it should be. The 32-year-old soprano has been cleaning up on the awards front—as of this morning, she's the 2012 recipient of the Richard Tucker Award, named after the late American tenor and given annually to a singer 'at the threshold of a major international career.' And with a resume that has paired her with the likes of Plácido Domingo (La Scala’s Simon Boccanegra), Rolando Villazón (Salzburg’s Romèo et Juliette) and her husband, tenor and 2009 Richard Tucker Award-winner Stephen Costello (the two recently sang La traviata together at Covent Garden, with Pérez performing on two days’ notice), it’s safe to bank on the fact that Gotham will be seeing more of Pérez soon, even with a Met debut planned for an upcoming season. Fresh from her own notification about the award, Pérez, the daughter of factory workers, took some time to give Operavore an exclusive interview on being the first Hispanic singer to win the award in its 34-year history. She also discussed her road to musical joy and moonlighting as a judge on the Food Network’s Cupcake Wars. No rest for the weary, however: on Thursday, she sings Poulenc’s Gloria with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra." [Source] Read the whole interview by clicking here.