Melliangee Pérez-Maldonado (born ca. 21 June 1976) is a Puerto Rican

lyric soprano A lyric soprano is a type of operatic soprano voice that has a warm quality with a bright, full timbre that can be heard over an orchestra. The lyric soprano voice generally has a higher tessitura than a soubrette and usually plays ingenues and ot ...

singer of classical music and opera as well as other music genres.

Early years

Pérez was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico. She graduated from Dr. Pila High School in Ponce in 1994. She studied at the

Conservatory of Music of Puerto Rico The Puerto Rico Conservatory of Music ( es, Conservatorio de Música de Puerto Rico) is a public conservatory in San Juan, Puerto Rico.Conservatorio de Musica de Puerto RicoSOBRE EL CONSERVATORIO DE MÚSICA DE PUERTO RICO: Información General d ...

as well as studying voice under Zoraida Lopez and Justino Díaz.

Career

Pérez has represented Puerto Rico at various festivals in Europe. She has performed with all the opera companies in the Island as well as performing in Europe, the United States, Central America, and the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean S ...

. In August 2010, she was soprano soloist at the performance of

Beethoven's Ninth Symphony The Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125, is a choral symphony, the final complete symphony by Ludwig van Beethoven, composed between 1822 and 1824. It was first performed in Vienna on 7 May 1824. The symphony is regarded by many critics and music ...

with the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic and made her debut at the Teatro Nacional Eduardo Brito under the musical direction José Antonio Molina.

Repertoire

Pérez's opera roles include Donna Anna ('' Don Giovanni''), Mimi (''

La bohème ''La bohème'' (; ) is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions '' quadri'', '' tableaux'' or "images", rather than ''atti'' (acts). composed by Giacomo Puccini between 1893 and 1895 to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giusepp ...

''), Contessa Almaviva (''

Le nozze di Figaro ''The Marriage of Figaro'' ( it, Le nozze di Figaro, links=no, ), K. 492, is a ''commedia per musica'' ( opera buffa) in four acts composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with an Italian libretto written by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It premi ...

''), Micaela ('' Carmen''), Elvira (''Macías''), Lauretta and Nella ('' Gianni Schicchi''), Suzel ('' L'amico Fritz''), Princess Patricia (''El espejo de la reina''), Isabelle / Madeline ('' The Face on the Barroom Floor''), Little Red Riding Hood ('' La caperucita roja''), Euridice ('' Orfeo ed Euridice''), among others. In the

zarzuela () is a Spanish lyric-dramatic genre that alternates between spoken and sung scenes, the latter incorporating operatic and popular songs, as well as dance. The etymology of the name is uncertain, but some propose it may derive from the name of ...

genre, her roles include Cecilia Valdés (''

Cecilia Valdés ''Cecilia Valdés'' is both a novel by the Cuban writer Cirilo Villaverde (1812–1894), and a zarzuela based on the novel. It is a work of importance for its quality, and its revelation of the interaction of classes and races in Havana, Cub ...

''), Santa (''

Alma Llanera "Alma Llanera" ("Soul of the Plains") is a Venezuelan song, a joropo, created by Venezuelan musicians Pedro Elías Gutiérrez (composer) and Rafael Bolívar Coronado (lyricist). It was originally part of a zarzuela whose premiere was on September ...

''), Constance (''El huésped del sevillano''), and Aurora (''Las leandras''). She has also participated in several zarzuela anthologies: ''Entre claveles y faroles'', ''Antología de Zarzuela en el Chotis'', ''Viva Madrid'' and ''Zarzuelada''. She made her debut as a soloist with the Orquesta Sinfónica de Puerto Rico in a concert entitled ''Music of Broadway'', conducted by Roselin Pabón, who is also the general manager of the Arturo Somohano Philharmonic Orchestra of Puerto Rico.

Humanitarian works and initiatives

In 2009 Pérez collaborated with Cuarzo Blanco and others in a special project named "Leamos todos juntos" (Let's Read All Together), to encourage children to read in Puerto Rico as part of UNESCO's World Book Day.

Awards

;1994 Resolution in the Puerto Rico Senate (1994) highlighting her accomplishments and talent in opera. ;1999 * Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions (District of Puerto Rico)''Melliangee Pérez y Fabián Robles rumbo a España.''
El Nuevo Dia. San Juan, Puerto Rico. 17 January 2008. Retrieved 9 December 2011. ;2003 * Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions (District of Puerto Rico) *Resolution in the Puerto Rico House of Representatives (2003) highlighting her accomplishments and talent in opera. ;2004 * Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions (District of Puerto Rico) ;2005 * Semi-finalist at the International Francisco Viñas Competition in Barcelona ;2008 * Semi-finalist at the International Francisco Viñas Competition in Barcelona * ''Soprano of the Year'' award by UNESCO ;2009 *"Honorary Member" of the Banda Municipal de Ponce Juan Morel Campos with which she has recorded a DVD celebrating the 125th anniversary of its founding.

Banda Municipal de Ponce The Ponce Municipal Band (Spanish: ''Banda Municipal de Ponce''), also known as ''Centenaria Banda Municipal de Ponce'', is the band of the municipality of Ponce, Puerto Rico. The band is the oldest continuously-performing band in the Caribbean ...

: 125 años de Tradicion y Cultura. Published by Amigos de la Banda, Patrimonio Cultural Ponceño, Inc. 2008. Printed/Pressed by Compañia de Turismo and

Porta Caribe Porta Caribe is a tourism region in southern Puerto Rico. It was established in 2003 by the Puerto Rico Tourism Company, an agency of the Government of Puerto Rico. When created in 2003 it consisted of 14 municipalities in the south central zone ...

. ISBN/UPC: 8-84501-04934-4.