Title Role of Ailyn Pérez in Daniel Catán’s Florencia en el Amazonas
Ailyn Pérez is a prominent American soprano known for her performances in the world’s top opera houses. While she often performs standard works by European composers, her most recent premiere in Florencia en el Amazonas at the Metropolitan Opera in New York has allowed her to take on a role closer to home. Portraying the title character of Florencia Grimaldi, Pérez describes the character as a mysterious diva on a journey to her home in Manaus in hopes of finding her beloved, Cristóbal.
The story of Florencia en el Amazonas is set in the early 20th century, at a time when Florencia had sacrificed love for fame, as she embarked on a journey that took her away from her roots in South America back to the Amazon. The opera revolves around the passengers and their intertwining desires and dreams as they travel down the river. Directed by Mary Zimmerman, the production captures the vibrant and threatening aspects of the setting.
The Florencia en el Amazonas production is significant as it is the first Spanish language opera to be staged at the Met in nearly a century, emphasizing the contemporary and diverse works embraced by the opera house in its current season. Singing in Spanish allows Pérez to express herself in new ways, drawing on her bilingual upbringing as the daughter of Mexican immigrants. She shared that singing in Spanish feels like an anchor to her true self and a meaningful expression of her identity.
Florencia en el Amazonas will be playing at the Met through Dec. 14 and will be broadcast live in HD in movie theaters nationwide on Dec. 9.