ABOUT

Opera News calls her “a natural actress…[a] powerhouse mezzo with thrilling, laser-like focus” and “luminous tone.” Opera magazine praises her voice as “stunningly rich.”

Katharine Goeldner's unique gifts have taken her to stages throughout the world in an astonishing range of repertory.

Katharine's return to the Santa Fe Opera in their 2021 season, as Madame Larina in Eugene Onegin, was described in The New Mexican as “a bit of luxury casting.” That summer, she also presented Warning: Mezzo Ahead!, a series of two recitals with pianist Carol Anderson for the Santa Fe Wagner Society. In January 2022, she makes her Atlanta Opera debut in a new role –– Ruth in The Pirates of Penzance. She then debuts at Tulsa Opera as Herodias in Salome. In June, she will create the role of Iris in the world premiere of Tobias Picker and Aryeh Lev Stollman’s Awakenings at Opera Theater of Saint Louis,  followed in October by a concert performance of the new opera Arkhipov by Peter Knell and Stephanie Fleischmann, with Katharine singing the role of Olga Arkhipova.

Katharine’s performances in 2019 and 2020 included her role debut as a “deliciously slippery,” “snake-like” Annina in Der Rosenkavalier at The Metropolitan Opera, directed by Robert Carsen and conducted by Sir Simon Rattle; an exciting last-minute performance as the Marquise de Berkenfeld in Laurent Pelly’s production of La fille du Regiment, also at the Met, costarring Kathleen Turner, Pretty Yende, and Javier Camarena and conducted by Enrique Mazzola; a “powerful and velvety” Fricka in Die Walküre in Augsburg; Berio's Folk Songs with the Mozarteum Orchestra of Salzburg; Verdi’s Requiem with the Jacksonville Symphony; and a "heady and dark" Brigitta (wanderersite.com) in Die tote Stadt in Toulouse and with RTÉ Dublin. Critics have described Katharine’s performances as Ma Joad in Ricky Ian Gordon and Michael Korie’s The Grapes of Wrath as “consistently stunning” and “a perfect marriage of artist and role.” She created the roles of both Jackie Onassis in David T. Little and Royce Vavrek’s JFK and Peggy Ophuls in Jack Perla’s Shalimar the Clown. 

the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and with Andrew Litton and the Minnesota Orchestra; a DVD of K.A. Hartmann’s Erste Sinfonie with Lothar Zagrosek and the Bavarian Radio Orchestra; a recording of Schumann's Das Paradies und die Peri with Leon Botstein and the American Symphony Orchestra; Mahler’s Symphony No. 3 with Timothy Hankewich and Orchestra Iowa; and multiple performances with RSO-Vienna, Berlin Symphony, Filarmonica Toscanini, Real Filharmonia de Galicia, Prague Radio Symphony, Orchestre Philharmonie de Radio France, and the Basel Sinfonietta, with such distinguished conductors as Sir Charles Mackerras, Hans Graf, Dennis Russell Davies, Michael Schønwandt, Jesus Lopez-Cobos, Marek Janowski, and Adam Fischer.

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A specialist in classical art song, Katharine has presented recitals at the Kennedy Center, the Salzburg Mozart Festival, Vienna’s Festival Ravel, the Théâtre du Capitole Toulouse, for the Wagner Society of Santa Fe, Drake University, and her alma mater, the University of Iowa. As a member of the chamber trio The Prairie Song Project, she has commissioned two works for mezzo, flute and piano: Peter Ash’s Paradox and Rory Boyle’s A Handful of Leaves.

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Born in Sigourney, Iowa, Katharine received her Bachelor of Music Education from the University of Iowa. She was extremely honored to be named an Alumni Fellow by the University’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences in 2012. She also holds a Magister Diplom/Masters Degree with High Honors in Lieder and Oratorio from Salzburg’s Mozarteum University. Katharine believes strongly in the importance of supporting young singers and shares her passion for vocal education by maintaining a private studio and presenting master classes for such distinguished institutions as the University of Iowa, Abilene Christian University, The University of Wisconsin at Stevens Point, Florida International University, Drake University, the University of Northern Iowa, Florida International University, the AIMS institute in Graz, and the University of Miami Summer in Salzburg program.

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Katharine lives in Salzburg, Austria with her husband, daughter, and two very loving Abyssinian cats.

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Updated: January 2022