Hailing from Toowoomba, mezzo-soprano Aylish Ryan has recently completed a Bachelor of Music at the Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University (QCGU), graduating with distinction.

During her studies, Aylish was the recipient of the prestigious Opera Australia Regional Vocal Scholarship (2019), the Victoria Chalmers Education Award, the Elizabeth Muir Memorial Award, and the Sir Mostyn Hanger Opera Prize, and was an artist in the Lisa Gasteen National Opera Program (2023-2024). She performed the role of Orfeo in Orpheus! and Underworld: A Journey to Hell and Back (2023), the latter with accomplished director and playwright Michael Gow and Maestro Johannes Fritzsch. She worked with director Stuart Maunder as Leila in Iolanthe, repeating the role in the Lisa Gasteen National Opera Program’s Opera Scenes (2024) under the baton of Felice Venanzoni.

Also in 2024, Aylish performed the role of Ruth in Kirkman and Scott’s production of The Pirates of Penzance, and worked with director Lindy Hume and Maestro Johannes Fritzsch as La Maestra delle Novizie in Puccini’s Suor Angelica (QCGU).

Aylish joins the Opera Queensland Young Artist Program in 2025 and makes her company debut in Petite Messe Solennelle.