A bright, accomplished singer on the opera and concert stages, coloratura soprano Katherine Jolly has appeared in leading roles with Opera Theatre Saint Louis, Florida Grand Opera, New York City Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Virginia Opera, Amarillo Opera, Piedmont Opera, Lyric Opera Cleveland, American Lyric Theatre, and others. Her recent CD Preach Sister Preach has received airtime on radio stations across the world and garnered rave reviews in publications and on websites such as Gramophone, Review Graveyard, Take Effect, and others.
In the concert arena, she has recently appeared with the Virginia Symphony, Cincinnati Song Initiative, the Orgue en Fété festival, in Bergerac, Chamber Project STL, Richmond Symphony, Phoenix Symphony, Sinfonia Gulf Coast, Northwest Florida Symphony, and Sacramento Choral Arts Society. She is a frequent collaborator with the esteemed baroque Kingsbury Ensemble and appears in recitals with arts organizations throughout the nation.
The Virginia Gazette wrote of her 2022 performances of Honey and Rue with the Virginia Symphony, “The six songs, carefully crafted to reflect the emotional lyrics through jazz, blues and spiritual idioms, were exquisitely sung by soprano Katherine Jolly. An acclaimed young singer who has made significant impact on opera and concert stages across the country, she sounded much like Battle in her prime with a crystalline, pure and focused voice.” Operaworld.com reviewed a world premiere of New Arrival, at Houston Grand Opera, “Katherine Jolly, also making her HGO debut, employed tender and expressive soprano vocals to make her portrayal of Iris poignant and unforgettable”. Following her debut performances in Cendrillon at New York City Opera, Variety wrote, “As the Fairy Godmother, coloratura soprano Katherine Jolly, delights with her endlessly flowing trills, runs and roulades.”
A winner of the 2006 Metropolitan Opera National Council Grand Finals, the New York Times mentioned, “Katherine Jolly used her agile, bright lyric soprano to superb effect in showpieces from Mozart’s Entführung aus dem Serail and Ariadne auf Naxos. Ms. Jolly returned to the Met to workshop An Enchanted Island and was featured with City Opera’s VOX series for new operas, in Acquanetta, and Josephine, broadcast on NPR. In addition to the Metropolitan Opera National Council Award, she has been the recipient of awards from organizations including the George London Foundation, Opera Theatre Saint Louis, the McAllister Foundation, and the National Association of Teachers of Singing.
More information can be found at: katherinejollysoprano.com. Dr. Jolly is currently an Associate Professor of Voice at Oberlin Conservatory, where she received the Excellence in Teaching Award for 2020-2021.