Robert Ashley (March 28, 1930 in Ann Arbor, Michigan – March 3, 2014 in Manhattan, New York) was a distinguished figure in American contemporary music, holding an international reputation for his work in new forms of opera and multi-disciplinary projects. His recorded works are acknowledged classics of language in a musical setting. He pioneered opera-for-television. The operatic works of Robert Ashley are distinctly original in style, and distinctly American in their subject matter and in their use of American language. Read more on Last.fm