American vocalist Katherine Goforth shares her “noble, colorful and iridescent vocal sound” (Magazin Klassik) in strong and heartfelt performances. “Goforth, with [her] virile voice, does not hold back," (The New York Times) offering vivid character portraits sung with the utmost commitment and finesse. Winner of the 2019 Oregon District Metropolitan Opera National Council auditions and the 2019 National Association of Teachers of Singing Artist Awards regional competition, she is a distinctive vocalist, representing the best of next generation operatic talent. 

​

A transgender woman, Goforth excels in a wide-range of roles across the gender spectrum. She is a proud representative of LGBTQ community and advocates for the inclusion of all voices in the performing arts. A member of the International Opera Studio of Oper Köln for the 2018/19 season, Katherine sang Il Conte di Bandiera in Salieri’s La Scuola dei Gelosi in the Kammeroper, Tamino in Die Zauberflöte für Kinder and 3rd Jew in Salome on the main stage. Of these performances, The German Stage noted that Katherine was “stunningly charming,” the General-Anzeiger wrote that her “tenor projects clearly… (and her) piano passages reveal lyric qualities as well,” and Opern Magazin stated that she “rose to the highest form.”

​

Other recently acclaimed roles include performances with the Aquilon Festival as Tamino in Die Zauberflöte, Don Basilio in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro, and Le Musicien in Lully’s La chûte de Phaëton. She has also appeared as a soloist with the Oregon and Seattle Symphonies, Opera Theater Oregon, the Portland Chamber Orchestra, in live radio broadcast on All Classical Portland, and in concert with Pink Martini. Goforth sang in the World Premiere of Matthew Aucoin’s celebrated new opera Crossing, as part of a small ensemble cast directed by Diane Paulus, with performances at the Brooklyn Academy of Music and American Repertory Theatre.

​

A graduate of the Juilliard School and St. Olaf College, Goforth also participated in master courses at Franz Schubert Institut, Britten-Pears Young Artist Programme, Heidelberger Frühling Liedakademie, Georg Solti Accademia, and masterclasses sponsored by the Richard Tucker Foundation. She is an Instructor of Voice at Clark College, has taught at the Aquilon Music Festival, and formerly served on the board of Opera Theater Oregon where she was actively involved in producing new operatic work. Prior performances may also be found under her birth name, William Goforth.

​

Learn more about Katherine at katherinegoforth.com