Arizona Opera Cast Members & Creatives

American soprano Katie Van Kooten’s operatic and concert appearances continue to thrill audiences and earn her praise for using her “powerful, gleaming soprano” to bring vibrancy and life to all of her performances.  Of her recent role debut as Tatyana in Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin, the Houston Chronicle wrote, “Her singing is extraordinary in is radiance, power and sheer expressiveness. Her "Letter Scene" alone, would be reason enough to attend.”

In the current season Ms. Van Kooten makes her house debut at Dallas Opera as Donna Elvira in Mozart’s Don Giovanni, under the baton of music director Emmanuel Villaume. On the concert stage, she retunrs to the Boston Symphony Orchestra at the Tanglewood Festival for Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony conducted by Andris Nelsons and sings the piece with the Rochester Phlharmonic.

In the 2016/17 season Ms. Van Kooten returned to the Lyric Opera of Kansas City Opera to reprise her portrayal of the Countess in Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro, and returned to both the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra for Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony conducted by music director, Marin Asop and the Oregon Symphony for Mozart’s Requiem, conducted by Jean-Marie Zeitouni.

Operatic highlights from recent seasons include Tatayana in Eugene Onegin at Houston Grand Opera, where she has also appeared as Elisabetta in Donizetti’s Maria Stuarda opposite Joyce DiDonato Antonia in The Tales of Hoffmann , Mimi in La bohème, and Ellen Orford in Britten’s Peter Grimes in a new production by Neil Armfield.  She has performed Liù in Turandot with Opera New Orleans, Elettra in Idomeneo and Vitellia in La Clemenza di Tito at Oper Frankfurt, Mimi and the Countess at Lyric Opera of Kansas City, the Countess with Atlanta Opera, and Donna Elvira with Opera Grand Rapids.  Ms. Van Kooten made her house debuts at the Metropolitan Opera in the acclaimed Nicolas Joël production of La Rondine as Magda and at Houston Grand Opera as Helena in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. She made her debut at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in as Magda in La Rondine and return performances there have included Antonia in The Tales of Hoffmann opposite Rolando Villazón and led by Antonio Pappano, Pamina in The Magic Flute, Mimi in La Bohème, and Marguerite in Faust. She made her Japanese debut as Micaëla in Carmen under the direction of Seiji Ozawa, and her United States debut performing Marguerite in Gounod’s Faust with the Metropolitan Opera on the Great Lawn of Central Park.

Notable appearances on the concert stage include performances with the San Francisco Symphony for Beethoven’s 9th Symphony with Michael Tilson Thomas and Handel’s Messiah led by Ragnar Bohlin, as well as a New Year’s Eve program with Dimitry Sitkovetsky.  She has performed the Beethoven 9 with the Baltimore Symphony, conducted by Nicholas McGegan, the Philadelphia Chamber Orchestra, Charlotte Symphony Orchestra, Oregon Symphony and the Louisville Symphony.  She has performed Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis with Tucson Symphony Orchestra, Mozart’s Requiem with the London Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Vladimir Jurowski and Strauss’ Four Last Songs with the Halle Orchestra led by Edward Gardner. She made her Minnesota Orchestra and role debut as the Marschallin in Der Rosenkavalier under the direction of Andrew Litton and returned for Strauss’ Four Last Songs and Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 under the baton of music director Osmo Vänskä.  She has sung the Marschallin in excerpts from Strauss’ Der Rosenkavalier alongside Heidi Grant Murphy with Tucson Symphony.

A graduate of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, Ms. Van Kooten studies voice with Rudolf Piernay. She received her Bachelor’s degree in vocal performance from Biola University where she studied with Dr. Jeanne Robison and is a graduate and perpetual member of the Torrey Honors Institute.