From: Jackson, Mississippi. LA Opera: Léontine in The Anonymous Lover (2020, debut); Ines in Il Trovatore (2021); soloist in Frankenstein with Live Orchestra (2022); Lucia in The Rape of Lucretia (2023); Voice of God 1 in Moses (2023); Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni (2023); First Companion in The Dwarf (2023). She was a member of the Domingo-Colburn-Stein Young Artist Program from 2019 to 2023.
Tiffany Townsend has been praised for her “powerhouse soprano and expressive presence” (Wall Street Journal) and “rich voice and interpretive talent” (Bachtrack).
In the 2022/23 season, in addition to her LA Opera appearances, Tiffany Townsend performed Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra. Other engagements of the season include the role of Idleness in the world premiere of Kate Soper's The Romance of the Rose with Long Beach Opera, the Verdi Requiem with the Bakersfield Symphony, and both Fauré’s Requiem and George Walker's Lilacs with the New Jersey Symphony.
In the summer of 2023, she reprised Lilacs with the National Orchestral Institute + Festival at Wolf Trap, and she also made her role debut as Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni with Wolf Trap Opera.
The 2021/22 season saw her return to Opera Philadelphia’s Emerging Artist Program as the featured soloist in George Walker's Lilacs, and a performance of Strauss' Four Last Songs with the Artosphere Festival Orchestra. She also made her Filene Artist debut with Wolf Trap Opera, where she performed Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915 with the National Orchestral Institute.
In the 2020/21 season, she made her LA Opera and role debut as Léontine in The Anonymous Lover, as well as her Opera Grand Rapids and role debut as Katherine Tate in Douglas Pew's Penny. That same season, she received the 2021 Richard F. Gold Career Grant from the Shoshana Foundation.
Ms. Townsend spent the summer of 2019 as an apprentice artist with Des Moines Metro Opera, where she covered Mimì in La Bohème. During the 2019/20 season, she was a member of Opera Philadelphia’s Emerging Artist Program, where she made her debut as Princess Ninetta in The Love for Three Oranges, before joining LA Opera's Domingo-Colburn-Stein Young Artist Program. She won the 2019 MONC-New Orleans District; at the Gulf Coast Region finals, she received an Encouragement Award.
Additional notable roles in her repertoire include Donna Anna in Don Giovanni, Tatyana in Eugene Onegin, the First Lady in The Magic Flute, the Countess in The Marriage of Figaro, Brenda in Rene Orth's Empty the House, Magda in La Rondine, and the Female Chorus in The Rape of Lucretia.
A native of Jackson, Mississippi, Ms. Townsend holds a professional studies certificate in opera from the Curtis Institute of Music, a master of music from the Juilliard School, and a bachelor of arts in music from Millsaps College.
Photo: Daniel Welch
