Australian mezzo-soprano Ashlyn Tymms performs a broad repertoire across opera, concert, chamber music and recital. Her engagements have included appearances with Opera Australia, West Australian Opera, Opera Queensland, New Zealand Opera, State Opera South Australia and Pinchgut Opera. As a concert soloist she has performed with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, West Australian Symphony Orchestra, Queensland Symphony Orchestra, Christchurch Symphony Orchestra and Canberra Symphony Orchestra, as well as Sydney Philharmonia Choirs, Adelaide Baroque Orchestra and numerous leading ensembles throughout Australia.

The 2026 season marks her role debut as Olga in Eugene Onegin for West Australian Opera, her Pinchgut Opera debut as Cain in Scarlatti’s Il primo omicidio and a return to Opera Queensland as Ježibaba in Rusalka. On the concert platform, Ashlyn makes her debut with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra and New Zealand Symphony Orchestra in Auckland.

Recent operatic highlights include her Opera Australia debut as Dorothée in Laurent Pelly’s celebrated production of Cendrillon, followed by a return to the company as Ježibaba in Sarah Giles’ acclaimed production of Rusalka. She also made her debut with State Opera South Australia as the Stewardess in Jonathan Dove’s Flight, directed by Stephen Barlow.

Her recent seasons have included Ježibaba in Rusalka, Dido in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, Fanny Price in Jonathan Dove’s Mansfield Park and the title role in Carmen. Critics have praised the expressive warmth of her singing and dramatic commitment, with Limelight describing her Ježibaba as a “near opera-stealing performance”, applauding her “velvet mezzo” that was “by turns powerful and playful.”

Ashlyn enjoys a long-standing relationship with West Australian Opera, where her repertoire has included Carmen, Olga in Eugene Onegin, Flora in La traviata, Santuzza in Cavalleria rusticana, Dorabella in Così fan tutte, Emilia in Otello, Hansel in Hansel and Gretel, and Lapák and Mrs Paskova in Janáček’s The Cunning Little Vixen.

Recent performances on the concert platform include Mahler’s Symphonies Nos. 3 and 8, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, Verdi’s Requiem, Mozart’s Requiem, Bach’s St John Passion, Rossini’s Petite messe solennelle and Handel’s Messiah.

Ashlyn has appeared at the Bendigo Chamber Music Festival and Oberon Chamber Music Festival, collaborating with many of Australia’s leading chamber musicians, and has premiered works by Melody Eötvös, Hope. Fear. Anything., and Katy Abbott, Splitting the Ambivalence, with Flinders Quartet at Melbourne Recital Centre.

International highlights include Rosimonda in Handel’s Faramondo at the London Handel Festival, Vaughan Williams’ Serenade to Music at Buckingham Palace, a recital tour of South Korea with the London Cello Orchestra and performances in Japan with Opera Australia.

Ashlyn graduated from the University of Melbourne Conservatorium of Music before completing a Master of Vocal Performance with Distinction at the Royal College of Music, London, where she was an HF Music Scholar. She is the recipient of the Royal Over-Seas League Outstanding Australian Musician Award, the Basil Coleman Award, the Tait Louise Worthington Award and the Joan Carden Award, and has received support from the Tait Memorial Trust, the Ian Potter Cultural Trust, the Sylvia Harris Award and the PPCA Performers’ Trust Foundation.

In 2025 Ashlyn was awarded the Australian Opera Awards YMFA Prize.

UK & European enquiries: Hancock Artists.
Australian management: Patrick Togher Artists’ Management.

Please note that this biography is not to be used for programmes. Current information is available on request.