For soprano Ailyn Perez, new opera roles and new marriage

For soprano Ailyn Perez, being rejected by the man she loves is all part of the job onstage

NEW YORK -- For soprano Ailyn Perez, being rejected by the man she loves is all part of the job these days. But accepting a marriage proposal in front of a live audience? That was once in a lifetime.

Perez is currently starring at the Metropolitan Opera as Tatiana, the shy country girl who is smitten at first sight of the haughty title character in Tchaikovsky’s “Eugene Onegin” — only to be promptly rebuffed.

In between performances, she’s engaged in a much happier romantic venture, planning her wedding to bass Soloman Howard. Now that opera houses are back in business, it’s rare for two in-demand singers to be in the same place, but Perez said they hope to make it happen before September.

Howard’s proposal last September during the curtain call after Puccini’s “Tosca” in San Francisco was captured on video and made headlines. The couple had been together since before the pandemic and this was the first return to live performances in the U.S. for both.