Ashley Milanese

Praised for her “soaring lyric soprano capable of heart-stopping soft effects” (Philadelphia Magazine), Italian-American soprano Ashley Milanese is establishing herself on opera and concert stages across the United States and Europe. In the 2025/26 season, Ashley makes her Opera San Antonio debut as Erste Dame in Barry Kosky’s production of Die Zauberflöte, and returns to Sarasota Opera as Mimì in La bohème. She also portrays Serpina in La serva padrona with the Pennsylvania Sinfonia Orchestra and Elcia in Mosè in Egitto with Opera Southwest.

Recent highlights include the title role in Lucia di Lammermoor and Nedda in Pagliacci with Sarasota Opera, her debut as Mimì with Opera in the Heights, and covering Gilda in Rigoletto with the Metropolitan Opera. Additional engagements include the soprano soloist in Britten’s War Requiem with the LA Phil at Walt Disney Concert Hall, her New Orleans Opera debut as the Sandman in Hänsel und Gretel,  and Giorgetta in Il tabarro with On Site Opera. She also covered Johanna in Sweeney Todd with Opera Omaha and made her Metropolitan Opera debut in Dean’s Hamlet.

Internationally, Ms. Milanese appeared in Komische Oper Berlin’s touring production of Barrie Kosky’s Die Zauberflöte as Erste Dame, performing in Australia, New Zealand, and at the Mostly Mozart Festival in New York City. Her credits with Teatro Regio Torino include High Priestess (Aida), Giannetta (L’elisir d’amore), and Annina (La traviata). As an artist-in-residence at Teatro Regio Torino, she sang roles including Ines (Il trovatore), Cugina (Madama Butterfly), and Lisa (La sonnambula), and covered Elvira (L’italiana in Algeri) and Carlotta/Vespina (Agnese). She later performed Annina in La traviata at the Ljubljana Festival.

Passionate about new opera, Milanese has collaborated with many composers including Kevin Puts, Rene Orth, Tobias Picker, David T. Little, Daniel Schnyder and Nico Muhly. She covered leading roles in the premieres of David Hertzberg's The Wake World (Lola) and Missy Mazzoli's Breaking the Waves (Bess), and sang in Opera Philadelphia’s workshops of Charlie Parker’s Yardbird (Chan Parker) and Elizabeth Cree (Mortimer). 

Ashley’s first North American professional performances were as Frasquita (Carmen), Erste Dame (Die Zauberflöte), and Barbarina (Le nozze di Figaro) as a member of Opera Philadelphia’s Young Artists Program. Her repertoire also features Dede (A Quiet Place), Susanna (Le nozze di Figaro), Italian Singer (Capriccio), Manon, Yvette (La rondine), and Soeur Constance (Dialogues des Carmélites).

Past symphonic appearances include operatic selections with the National Orchestral Institute Philharmonic/Wolf Trap Opera and the Mainline Symphony Orchestra, Fauré’s Requiem with the Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra, and Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 with the Allentown Symphony Orchestra.

Ms. Milanese has participated in the Wolf Trap Opera Studio and Opera Theatre of Saint Louis summer festivals. She was a winner of the 2018 Opera Foundation Competition, receiving the Amber Capitol Scholarship and a residency with Teatro Regio Torino, and won the Laffont Competition district finals in New Orleans and Puerto Rico. She studied at The Juilliard School and the Curtis Institute of Music, where she earned her Bachelor of Music, Master of Music, and Artistic Diploma.