Praised for her “ravishing coloratura” and “vivid” singing, soprano Ariel Downs makes an impression with her adventurous repertoire and intense stage presence. This season includes her role debuts as Musetta (La Boheme) and Lucy (The Telephone) with Midwest Opera Theater, Lauretta (Gianni Schicchi) with Mid-Ohio Civic Opera, and a self-produced film production of Debussy’s cantata La damoiselle élue.

 

As a strong interpreter of new works, Ariel has originated several roles, including Queen Amarosa (The Bucket), Chrissy (percs.), and Gale (The Nightingale and the Rose). In 2022, she joins Thompson Street Opera to cover She in the American premiere of The Kamikaze Mind and the cover of Recipe in the stage premiere of Would You Eat Me? Ariel has also been an apprentice artist with the Cortona Sessions for New Music and New Music on the Point where she premiered numerous art songs and chamber music.

 

Within the standard repertoire, her roles have included Miss Wordsworth (Albert Herring), Adele (Die Fledermaus), and Belinda (Dido and Aeneas) with the University of Missouri Kansas City, Despina (Cosi fan tutte) with Mid-Ohio Civic Opera, Nannetta (Falstaff) with Lawrence Opera Theatre, and Taumännchen/Gretel (Hänsel und Gretel) with the Bar Harbor Music Festival.

 

Ariel is a recipient of the Koch Cultural Trust Artist Grant, the Sigma Alpha Iota Professional Development Grant, and a two-time recipient of the UMKC Women’s Council Graduate Assistance Fund. She was a finalist in the 2021 Artist Presentation Society Competition, the 2019 Coeur d’Alene Symphony Orchestra Young Artist Competition, and the 2019 University of Missouri Kansas City Concerto Aria Competition.

 

Ariel received her degrees in Voice Performance from the University of Missouri Kansas City under the tutelage of Maria Kanyova. She resides in Chicago with her partner and her tabby cat Snicklefritz.