Biography - Katherine Watson, Soprano
Praised for her “lyricism and sublimity” (Gramophone Magazine), British soprano Katherine Watson was a choral scholar at Trinity College, Cambridge, before starting her career as a young artist in Le Jardin de Voix. She has since appeared internationally with William Christie and Les Arts Florissants as well as other leading conductors including Emmanuelle Haim, Hervé Niquet, Laurence Cummings, Harry Christophers, and Raphaël Pichon.
Katherine was awarded Glyndebourne's coveted John Christie Award and subsequently performed as Diana Hippolyte et Aricie at the festival. Opera highlights since then include Iphis Jephtha at the Opéra National de Paris, Theodora at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Armelite Zoroastre at Komischer Oper, Cassandra La Didone in Caen, Luxembourg and Paris, and appearances at Teatro Real, Opéra Comique and Opéra National de Bordeaux.
Katherine enjoys a busy concert career with notable performances including tours of Handel’s Messiah with Les Arts Florissants and the Freiburger Barockorchester, and Pergolesi with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment at the Lincoln Centre, in addition to appearances at the Carnegie Hall, the Wigmore Hall and the BBC Proms. A keen recitalist, Katherine has enjoyed recitals of Handel with the OAE, and French baroque repertoire with Alexis Kossenko/Les Ambassadeurs and Le Concert d’Astrée.
She recently released her first solo recording, L’Opera du Roi Soleil, with Alexis Kossenko and the CMBV. Other recordings include Bach’s Christmas Oratorio (Layton/OAE), Handel’s Messiah (Niquet/Le Concert Spirituel), and the title roles in Isbe and Hypermnestre. She appears on DVD recordings as the title role in Theodora (Warner Classics) as well as in Dardanus (Harmonia Mundi) and Hyppolyte et Aricie (Opus Arte).
Promoters please note: if you wish to include this biography in a concert programme etc, please contact Rayfield Allied to make sure you receive the most up to date version.
Performing as the goddess Diana at Glyndebourne 2013 (copyright The Sunday Times)
With Jonathan Cohen rehearsing at The Wigmore Hall
Katherine lives in London and is a keen gardener in her spare time as well as spending time walking and sailing at the end of the earth on The Isle of Lewis.
Promoters please note: if you wish to include this biography in a concert programme etc, please contact Rayfield Allied to make sure you receive the most up to date version.