Soprano, Ashley Townsley, is a native of Houston, Texas. She holds degrees from the University of North Texas and McNeese State University. In 2012, Ms. Townsley made a significant debut with the Houston Grand Opera, giving the world the premiere of Jake Heggie’s Pieces of 9/11: Memories from Houston. Since then, she has performed roles such as The Rose in The Little Prince (The Dallas Opera), Despina in Three Little Pigs (The Dallas Opera), Pamina in Die Zauberflöte (LAHSOW), Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro, Stella in A Streetcar Named Desire, La Fée in Cendrillon, Amor in Orfeo ed Euridice (UNT Opera) and Despina in Così fan tutte (Opera Arlington).
Ms. Townsley has distinguished herself in concert repertoire as a consistent and reliable soloist, appearing in works including Mozart’s Krönungsmesse, Handel’s Messiah, and Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass with various orchestras and ensembles including the UNT Symphony Orchestra, Louisiana Choral Foundation, and Lake Charles Messiah Chorus.
This season, Ashley makes her debut with The Dallas Opera as The Rose in the main stage production of Rachel Portman’s The Little Prince. On the concert stage Ashley returns to perform with the professional choral group, Orpheus Chamber Singers, in their holiday series, Christmas with Orpheus and makes her Plano Civic Chorus debut as the soprano soloist in Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass.
Ashley holds a Master of Music in Vocal Performance with a related field in Opera an Artist Certificate from the University of North Texas where she studied with tenor, Richard Croft and soprano, Carol Wilson.
Upcoming engagements include joining the professional choral ensemble Trinitas and performing as The Innkeeper’s Wife/The Jay in The Dallas Opera’s upcoming production of Leoš Janáček‘s The Cunning Little Vixen
