It helped — a lot — that by then she had met Soloman Howard.
In 2016, Pérez starred as Juliette in “Roméo,” and her colleagues included Howard, a bass-baritone, as the duke.
At one point, Santa Fe Opera asked Pérez to tape herself singing “Song to the Moon” from “Rusalka,” and Howard said, “‘We are going to make a video,’” she recalled.
She doesn’t really remember that night — “I was out of my body” — but others do.
Gelb, who said, “You can’t fake Verdi,” remembered her sounding “absolutely magnificent.” Nézet-Séguin, called it “a performance for the ages.”
Persons:
Peter Gelb, ”, Pérez, “ Simon Boccanegra ”, Soloman Howard, Juliette, “, Howard, Ball, ’ ”, Gelb, Verdi
Organizations:
Met, Vienna, Santa Fe Opera, Goods
Locations:
Santa Fe, Chicago, Santa, “