Soprano Aylin Perez performs live at the 2013 Richard Tucker Music Gala. Photo by
Dario Acosta / Richard Tucker Foundation.
Ailyn Pérez is also using recordings to
celebrate her Mexican roots. This winter, Apple
Music will release an exclusive digital project
featuring the soprano and the celebrated
Chinese classical guitarist Xuefei Yang. Titled Mi
Corazón, the program will present mostly boleros
by such noted Mexican songwriters as Agustín
Lara and Armando Manzanero.
“This is music that speaks to me in a way that
has an operatic kind of feeling,” Ailyn states, “but
it’s a little more poetic, romantic and intimate.
There’s rarely a moment in opera to really feel that
kind of vibe. That’s what attracted me to revisit the
Mexican bolero tradition. And anytime I sing
Mexican music,” she adds, “it truly is ‘mi corazón.’
I put my heart and my family’s heritage into it, and
it’s as valid any other kind of music.”
Ailyn’s path to opera stardom began when
she tried out for a high school musical. “One had
to take voice lessons,” she remembers.“Because
I had played flute before, I could sight read the
music and because I spoke Spanish, I could read
the Italian required to sing a Puccini aria. I loved
the music from the beginning; I felt a strong
connection.”
She spent four years at Indiana University,
studying voice with Martina Arroyo, the first
Afro-Puerto Rican to win fame in opera. Arroyo
proved to be a strong role model for Ailyn, who
has dedicated her Mi Corazón recording to the
woman who served as her mentor. Then it was
four more years at Academy of Vocal Arts in
Philadelphia.
Ailyn Pérez. Photos by Chris Singer.
26 www. lat inastyle.com LATINAStyle Vol . 26, No. 1, 2020
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