PRESS RELEASE: Soprano Elaine Alvarez steps in as Aïda with Ricardo Muti and the Chicago Symphony Or
At the behest of Ricard Muti, Elaine Alvarez has been asked to step in last minute for an ailing colleague to sing the remaining performances of Verdi’s “Aïda” with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. The performances, which mark Ms. Alvarez’s CSO debut, are June 23rd and June 25th, 2019.
Ms. Alvarez previously sang with Maestro Muti in 2008 on tour with the Ravenna Festival performing the Soprano Soloist in Rossini's “Stabat Mater.” She made her Chicago debut in 2007 at the age of 27 as a last-minute replacement as Mimi in “La bohème” with the Lyric Opera of Chicago and returned again to the company in 2010 as Micaëla in Carmen.
This past spring, Ms. Alvarez prepared and debuted the role of “Aïda” at the Opéra Royal de Wallonie in Liege in a new production by Stefano Mazzonis di Pralafera and under the musical direction of Speranza Scappucci, who was previously Maestro Muti's assistant.
For more information on the performances, visit the CSO website: https://cso.org/ticketsandevents/production-details-2018-19/chicago-symphony-orchestra/muti-verdi-aida/
Press and Social Media for Elaine Alvarez
About Elaine Alvarez Cuban-American soprano Elaine Alvarez burst onto the international opera scene in 2007, making a break-out company debut with her soulful portrayal of Mimi in Puccini’s La bohème at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. Conducted by Sir Andrew Davis and directed by Renata Scotto, critics were unanimous with praise: “Conveying lyric pathos seems to come as naturally to Alvarez as breathing” (Chicago Tribune). Characterized by a distinct “buffed bronze soprano” (Opera News), Alvarez has blossomed into a true spinto d’agilita, delivering performances rich with “melting, voluminous sound” (Frankfurter Allgemeine), “spectacular agility” (Opera World Magazine), and “a profoundly genuine sentimentality” (Miami Herald).Recent engagements have featured Alvarez in numerous role and house debuts of iconic leading ladies including Tosca on tour with Choregies d’Orange, Kat’a Kabanova with Boston Lyric Opera, a return to Mimi for Opera National de Bordeaux, and major Verdi debuts as Elvira in Ernani and Helene in the rarely produced Jerusalem for Opera Royal de Wallonie: “The cast was dominated by the soprano Elaine Alvarez, whom we had already admired here in Liege in Ernani…what strength in her [Act I aria] ‘Ave Maria’, what power in her [Act II] aria ‘Quelle ivresse’, what temperament, above all!” (Crescendo Magazine)
Last season, Ms. Alvarez returned to the Metropolitan Opera covering the roles of Antonia and Stella in Les contes d’Hoffmann, after joining the company the previous season for La bohème. Alvarez also joined The Dallas Opera for Korngold’s Der Ring des Polykrates and made her role and company debut at San Diego Opera in the title role of Daniel Catan’s Florencia en el Amazonas. The 2018-2019 season includes a return to the Metropolitan Opera for La bohème as well as a house debut as Mimi for Finger Lakes Opera, a house debut as Tosca for Opera de Oviedo, and a return to Opéra Royal de Wallonie in back to back debuts of Verdi’s doomed princess Aïda and Donizetti’s infamous Tudor Queen, Anna Bolena, marking her first appearance in this bel canto masterpiece. Future seasons will see her return to Opéra Royal de Wallonie as well as appearances with Teatro de la Zarzuela in Madrid and Minnesota Opera.