OPERA THURSDAY
AT VILLA TRONCO
Opera Thursday brings the beauty and excitement of live opera to an intimate dining experience at Villa Tronco Italian Restaurant. Created to delight lifelong opera lovers while welcoming those discovering opera for the first time, each evening features exceptional Midlands-area vocalists performing beloved opera arias, Broadway favorites, and more.
For more than 15 years, Opera Thursday has celebrated great voices and great food in the heart of Columbia. The enthusiasm for these performances continues to grow, with tables frequently selling out and waitlists forming for upcoming evenings.
Next Opera Thursday is:
October 1, 2026
featuring
Ashley Briggs Oakey, Soprano and Grant Ebert, Baritone
with Eddie Huss, Pianist
Soprano Ashley Briggs Oakey is recognized for her expressive performances in both opera and concert repertoire. She holds a Master of Music in Opera Performance from the University of Maryland and a Bachelor of Music from the University of South Carolina. Operatic highlights include Giorgetta in Il tabarro, Lady with a Cake Box in Dominick Argento's Postcard from Morocco, Georgiana in Miss Havisham's Fire, Emily in Our Town, and Papagena in Die Zauberflöte. While at the University of Maryland's Maryland Opera Studio, she also appeared in the chorus of Florencia en el Amazonas, participated in a workshop reading of Reading Lolita in Tehran as Azin, and performed scenes from Carmen, L'incoronazione di Poppea, Die Zauberflöte, and The Gondoliers. An active concert soloist, Ashley's repertoire includes Brahms' Ein Deutsches Requiem, Haydn's Harmoniemesse and Lord Nelson Mass, Mozart's Requiem, Rossini's Stabat Mater, Beethoven's Mass in C Major, and Vivaldi's Gloria. She has performed throughout Maryland, Washington, D.C., and South Carolina, and was featured as soprano soloist in a Prelude to the Olympics concert tour of China featuring Vivaldi's Gloria. In 2012, Ashley was honored to perform the National Anthem at the Lincoln Memorial during the wreath-laying ceremony commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Morrill Act. She is also a recipient of a First Place Award from the South Carolina District Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.
Baritone Grant Ebert, from Peru, Indiana, is pursuing his DMA in Vocal Performance at The University of South Carolina where he studies with Professor Dominic Armstrong. He has had the pleasure of performing roles which include the title role in Carlisle Floyd’s Markheim, Theatre Director in Les Mamelles de Tirésias, L’ours in Les malheurs d'Orphée, Betto in Gianni Schicchi, and Sir Roderick in Ruddigore with Opera at USC. Before pursuing his doctorate, Grant performed the roles Gianni Schicchi in Gianni Schicchi and Escamillo in Carmen with Varna International Music Academy; Curtius in Sister Act and Pepper in Mamma Mia with Wabash Community Theater in Indiana; The Narrator in The Invention of Morel with Manchester University; Dick Deadeye in H.M.S. Pinafore with Prairie Fire Theatre in Illinois; and Marcello in La bohème with University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. In his undergraduate at Manchester University, he performed the Husband in Amelia Goes to the Ball, Cinderella’s Prince in Into the Woods, and title role of Don Giovanni. While pursuing his DMA in voice, Grant is pursuing a minor in Conducting. His teacher is Dr. Clinton Smith and under his tutelage, Grant will be assisting with Opera at USC’s upcoming production of Alcina. Grant previous conducting experience was with Manchester University’s production of The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
Opera Thursday has celebrated great voices and great food right here in Columbia!
Come and discover why this event has become one of the capital city's most enchanting evenings out.
Dinner begins at 6:00 PM. Performance at 7:00 PM
Reservations are required.
To reserve your table, please call Villa Tronco at 803-256-7677.
Villa Tronco Italian Restaurant
1213 Blanding Street
Columbia, SC 29201