Lauded for her “soaring lyric soprano capable of heart-stopping soft effects” (Philadelphia Magazine), Italian-American Ashley Milanese is quickly emerging as an exciting young presence in the operatic world.

In the 2025–2026 season, she sings Elcia in Mosè in Egitto with Opera Southwest, Serpina in La serva padrona with the Pennsylvania Sinfonia Orchestra, makes her Opera San Antonio debut as Erste Dame in Die Zauberflöte, and returns to Sarasota Opera as Mimì in La bohème.

In the 2024–2025 season, Ms. Milanese covered the role of Gilda in Rigoletto with the Metropolitan Opera and returned to Sarasota Opera as Nedda in Pagliacci, following her 2023–2024 season in which she joined Sarasota Opera as the title role in Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor and made her company debut with Opera in the Heights as Mimì in La bohème, earning praise for her “luscious voice, velvet with impeccable diction” (Houston Press).

In recent seasons, Ms. Milanese made her New Orleans Opera debut as the Sandman in Hansel and Gretel, appeared with the LA Phil and the National Children’s Chorus of the United States of America as the soprano soloist in Britten’s War Requiem at Walt Disney Concert Hall, and joined On Site Opera as Giorgetta in Il tabarro. She also joined the roster of the Metropolitan Opera, where she made her debut as Pit Singer (Soprano 2) in Dean’s Hamlet.

Ms. Milanese was notably part of Komische Oper Berlin’s touring production of Barrie Kosky’s Die Zauberflöte, singing Erste Dame with performances at the Perth Festival, Adelaide Music Festival, Auckland Festival, and the Mostly Mozart Festival in New York City. She enjoys a long-standing relationship with Teatro Regio Torino, where she has appeared as Lisa in La sonnambula, Ines in Il trovatore, the High Priestess in Aida, Giannetta in L’elisir d’amore, and Annina in La traviata, and performed Adina in the company’s production of L’elisir d’amore as part of their Piccolo Regio series. She toured with the company in Henning Brockhaus’ production of La traviata, making her debut at the Ljubljana Festival as Annina.

Her North American performances include Frasquita in Carmen, Erste Dame in Die Zauberflöte, and Barbarina in Le nozze di Figaro as an emerging artist with Opera Philadelphia. Additional operatic credits include Dede (A Quiet Place), Susanna (Le nozze di Figaro), the Italian Singer (Capriccio), Manon (Manon), Yvette (La rondine), and Soeur Constance (Dialogues des Carmélites).

Ms. Milanese has collaborated with composers including Kevin Puts, René Orth, Tobias Picker, David T. Little, Daniel Schnyder, Nico Muhly, David Hertzberg, and Missy Mazzoli. She has covered leading roles in the premieres of Lola in The Wake World with Opera Philadelphia and Bess McNeil in Breaking the Waves with Opera Philadelphia and The Beth Morrison Project Prototype Festival. Symphonic appearances include performances with the National Orchestral Institute Philharmonic/Wolf Trap Opera, Mainline Symphony Orchestra, Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra (Fauré Requiem), and Allentown Symphony Orchestra (Mahler Symphony No. 2).

Ms. Milanese participated in Opera Theatre of Saint Louis in 2015 and the Wolf Trap Opera Studio in 2017. She was a winner of the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition New Orleans and Puerto Rico District in both 2017 and 2018, and received the 2018 Opera Foundation Award, including the Amber Capitol Scholarship and a residency with Teatro Regio Torino. She studied at The Juilliard School and Curtis Institute of Music, where she completed her Bachelor of Music, Master of Music, and Artistic Diploma.