Ailyn Perez and Stephen Costello to Return for Recital with the Dallas Opera 9/14 at the Eisemann

The Dallas Opera is delighted to bring the hottest young couple in opera back to North Texas for a ravishing recital in a fabulous new venue for TDO: the Eisemann Center. These acclaimed American artists, soprano Ailyn Pérez (Don Giovanni) and tenor Stephen Costello (Moby-Dick) will perform selections from their newly released Warner Classics CD, Love Duets.

Ms. Pérez and Mr. Costello, who are married, have thrilled audiences across the globe, both on and off the opera stage. Now music lovers have an exciting opportunity to experience their combined artistry, up close and personal, on Sunday, September 14, 2014 at 2:00 p.m. in the intimate setting of the Bank of America Theatre at the Charles W. Eisemann Center for Performing Arts and Corporate Presentations, (2351 Performance Dr, Richardson, TX 75082).

The program will include works featured on the CD from the operas La bohème, La traviata, and The Elixir of Love, as well as classic love songs from Broadway's Carousel and Bernstein's West Side Story. Additional romantic favorites from composers Hahn, Falla, Tosti, and Heggie will also be performed.

Ms. Pérez and Mr. Costello will be accompanied by pianist Danielle Orlando. General admission tickets, priced at just $25, are available now through the Dallas Opera Ticket Office at 214.443.1000 or online, 24/7, at www.dallasopera.org.

"It's a great pleasure to be able to bring these two extremely popular artists back to North Texas for this romantic recital," says Dallas Opera General Director and CEO Keith Cerny. "Their performances on the opera and concert stage consistently earn rave reviews and legions of fans, so there's much to look forward to in this exclusive and intimate event."

"The talent, chemistry and the chosen repertoire of this extraordinary duo will make for a spectacular recital -- one sure to please opera lovers as well as those merely seeking an afternoon of marvelous entertainment," adds Mr. Cerny.

"I'm excited to be singing alongside Stephen in Dallas for the first time! They have such a great audience there, and I can't wait to share this wonderful music with them," exclaims Ailyn Pérez.

"It's going to be great to be back in Dallas," says Stephen Costello. They were one of the first companies to hire me and it's always been a pleasure to return there -- especially this time with Ailyn and the wonderful Danielle Orlando."

Ms. Pérez appeared with the Dallas Opera in 2010 as Zerlina in Don Giovanni. This latest project continues to help catapult her career. According to the Associated Press, "Perez's lyric soprano is pure and honeyed in tone, and she deploys it with elegance and tenderness." Hailed by the New York Times as "a beautiful woman who commands the stage" and "a major soprano," Ailyn Pérez is increasingly in demand at the world's leading opera houses and cultural capitals. She has won both the 15th annual Plácido Domingo Award and the 2012 Richard Tucker Award, thereby becoming the only Hispanic recipient in the award's 35-year history. As Opera News observes, "The phrase 'an embarrassment of riches' might have been invented to describe the combination of talents that belong to Ailyn Pérez...who truly seems to have it all."

Mr. Costello has frequently performed at the Dallas Opera since his debut here as Robert Dudley in 2007's Mary Queen of Scots and his career continues to skyrocket. As the Associated Press observes, Stephen Costello is "a prodigiously gifted singer whose voice makes an immediate impact." The Philadelphia-born tenor quickly established a reputation as a "first-class talent" (Opera News) after coming to national attention in 2007, when, at age 26, he made his Metropolitan Opera debut on the company's season-opening night. Two years later Costello won the prestigious Richard Tucker Award, and he has since appeared at many of the world's most important opera houses and music festivals, including London's Royal Opera House; Covent Garden; the Deutsche Oper Berlin; the Vienna State Opera; and the Salzburg Festival. In 2010 he created the role of Greenhorn (Ishmael) in the Dallas Opera's celebrated world-premiere production of Jake Heggie and Gene Scheer's Moby-Dick, prompting Opera magazine to hail him as "a tenor of ineffable sensitivity, with unfailing elegance in singing and a disconcerting ease in producing notes in head-voice."

Danielle Orlando, pianist and master vocal coach, is enjoying an active career as an accompanist to many international opera singers as well as serving as a distinguished vocal coach and artistic consultant to many prestigious organizations throughout the musical world. She is presently the Principal Opera Coach of The Curtis Institute of Music and a Master Coach for the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia. Ms. Orlando has collaborated with Luciano Pavarotti on his international voice competitions and worked extensively with Gian Carlo Menotti on the Festival Dei Due Mondi.

After debuting at number three on the United Kingdom Classical Chart in May, Love Duets had its digital release in the U.S. on June 3 and the CD release on June 10. This is the first recording together for "America's fastest-rising husband-and-wife opera stars" (Associated Press). The new Warner Classics album has already taken London by storm, being named "Album of the Week" by the Mail on Sunday, Classic FM, and the Sunday Times, which proclaimed it "a disc that should win these hugely likeable young stars a lot of new friends." In Tune pronounced them "opera's most in-demand couple."

General admission tickets for the Eisemann Center recital are priced at $25 and may be purchased through the Dallas Opera website, www.dallasopera.org or by contacting the friendly customer service professionals in the Dallas Opera Ticket Office at 214-443-1000.

The Charles W. Eisemann Center for Performing Arts and Corporate Presentations is conveniently located in the Galatyn Park Urban Center in the heart of Richardson's business and technology area. This recital will be held in the 395-seat Bank of America Theatre.

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