ABOUT
Rylee Worstell is a mezzo-soprano currently located in Dallas, TX. Passionate about contemporary opera, Rylee most recently performed at the Operation Opera Festival in Sacramento, premiering new roles in 4 operas during her time there. She performed with the UNL Opera Theatre as Amahl in Amahl and the Night Visitors, Flora in La Traviata, and Second Lady in The Magic Flute. She also was a featured ensemble member in UNL Opera’s She Loves Me and a heavily featured artist in the Opera Scenes programs over her two years there. Rylee won first place in the International Great Composer’s Competition in both the Art Song and Opera categories.
A 2020 graduate of the vocal performance program at the University of Tennessee, Rylee has performed with many Knoxville area companies. She has performed in productions of Le Nozze di Figaro, L’Elisir d’amore, Carmen, Amelia al Ballo and Zoom Speed Dating Tonight! with the UT Opera Theatre. During the 2019-2020 season, Rylee was a chorus member in the Knoxville Opera, performing in Lucia di Lammermoor and Cavalleria Rusticana. As part of the Knoxville Symphony’s Young People’s Concert Series Rylee had the pleasure of playing Hansel in Humperdinck’s Hansel und Gretel. She served as the President of VolOpera, the undergraduate opera scenes program at the University of Tennessee, in which she helped produce and premiere the title role in composer Aaron Hunt’s opera Pinocchio. She also participated in multiple scenes and concert programs with VolOpera, including playing Cherubino in a truncated version of Le Nozze di Figaro.
Outside of the Tennessee area, Rylee has performed across Virginia and North Carolina. She was a part of the Angels Vocal Arts program in Los Angeles, California, as well as the Harrower Summer Opera Program in Atlanta, Georgia. Through these, Rylee gained experience in both roles and chorus work in shows such as Gianni Schicchi, Suor Angelica, Florencia en el Amazonas and Little Women. This summer, she will attend the Vienna Summer Music Festival and premiere the role of Mars in Michael Polo’s new opera Pluto. She will also cover the role of Cherubino in Le Nozze di Figaro.
Rylee is from Williamsburg, Virginia. She started her musical journey at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts as a part of their high school voice program. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Vocal Performance from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville in the Fall of 2020 and graduated with her Master’s of Music in Vocal Performance from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 2023.