Catherine Foster (born 1975) is an English operatic soprano, who has appeared internationally, mostly in European opera houses. Her repertoire has focused on dramatic soprano roles in stage works by

Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer, conductor, pianist, and violinist. Considered a leading composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras, he has been described as a successor of Richard Wag ...

and

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...

, such as the title role of ''

Elektra Electra was a daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra in Greek mythology. Electra or Elektra may also refer to: Greek mythology *Electra (Pleiad), one of the Pleiades * Electra, one of the Danaids, daughter of Danaus and Polyxo * Electra (Oc ...

'', and Brünnhilde in '' Der Ring des Nibelungen'', a role which she performed at the

Bayreuth Festival The Bayreuth Festival (german: link=no, Bayreuther Festspiele) is a music festival held annually in Bayreuth, Germany, at which performances of operas by the 19th-century German composer Richard Wagner are presented. Wagner himself conceived ...

in 2013 for Wagner's bicentenary.

Career

Born in Nottingham, Foster played several musical instruments as a girl, and was a lead chorister in the choir of the village church from age 15. She worked first as a nurse and midwife for 15 years. Beginning in 1993 she studied voice with Pamela Cook, who trained her until her death in 2013. Foster studied at the Birmingham Conservatoire from 1995. As a recipient of the

Dame Eva Turner Awards ''Dame'' is an honorific title and the feminine form of address for the honour of damehood in many Christian chivalric orders, as well as the British honours system and those of several other Commonwealth realms, such as Australia and New ...

, she studied on a scholarship at the

Royal Northern College of Music The Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) is a conservatoire located in Manchester, England. It is one of four conservatoires associated with the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music. In addition to being a centre of music education ...

and completed her studies at the National Opera Studio in London in 1999. During her studies, she performed as the Queen of the Night in Mozart's '' The Magic Flute'' at the

Opera of Northern Ireland Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

in 1998 and the Welsh National Opera. She repeated the role when she sang at the English National Opera for the first time in 2000. She became a member of the Nationaltheater Weimar in 2001, where she first performed roles such as Mimi in Puccini's '' La Bohème'', Elisabeth in Wagner's '' Tannhäuser'', Leonore in both Beethoven's '' Fidelio'' and Verdi's '' Il trovatore'', Senta in Wagner's '' Der Fliegende Holländer'', Abigaille in Verdi's '' Nabucco'' and Elektra in Mozart's '' Idomeneo''. She changed to the

dramatic Dramatic may refer to: * Drama, a literary form involving parts for actors * Dramatic, a voice type classification in European classical music, describing a specific vocal weight and range at the lower end of a given voice part * Dramatic soprano, ...

repertory, appearing in title roles of ''

'' by Richard Strauss, Wagner's '' Tristan und Isolde'' and Puccini's '' Turandot''. In 2007, she performed the role of Brünnhilde in Wagner's '' Der Ring des Nibelungen'' in three parts of the cycle. The production was recorded on DVD and made her known. From 2011, she has worked as a freelance singer. She made her debut at the

in 2013 as Brünnhilde in the ''Ring'' production staged by Frank Castorf, on the occasion of the bicentenary of Wagner's birth. She performed the role also in the following years, conducted by Kirill Petrenko, Marek Janowski and Plácido Domingo. The production was recorded and broadcast internationally in 2016. She said in an interview that she never received acting training, but "I worked for almost 15 years in a hospital and had many experiences with young and old people, with children, rich and poor, happy and sad people. This is the experience I bring to the stage." She appeared as Brünnhilde also at the

Staatstheater Wiesbaden The Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden ('Hessian State Theatre Wiesbaden') is a German theatre located in Wiesbaden, in the German state Hesse. The company produces operas, plays, ballets, musicals and concerts on four stages. Known also as the ...

, in 2017 as part of the

Internationale Maifestspiele The Internationale Maifestspiele Wiesbaden (International May Festival, IMF) is a theater festival in Wiesbaden, Germany. Established in the late 19th century after the Bayreuth Festival, the festival is one of the most distinguished internation ...

. A critic wrote after a performance of ''Götterdämmerung'': "Phrasing, understanding and pronunciation of the text, secure intonation and scenic presence are on an unusually high level! This evening, Ms. Foster succeeded in everything! Her voice was perfectly controlled in all registers up to 'C'" ("Phrasierung, Texterfassung und -Verständlichkeit, Intonationssicherheit, szenische Präsenz sind auf auf einem außerordentlich hohen Niveau! An diesem Abend gelang Frau Foster alles! Die Stimme blieb in allen Lagen perfekt kontrolliert bis rauf zum 'C'"). In concert, she sang in Mahler's Eighth Symphony at the Wiener Musikverein, in his Fourth Symphony in the UK. She performed Wagner's Wesendonck Lieder in the US. In August 2022 she sang the role of Isolde in the Bayreuth production of Tristan und Isolde conducted by Markus Poschner and her performance was well received both by the audience and by the critics.

Recordings

* 2000: ''

The Martyr of Antioch ''The Martyr of Antioch'' is a choral work described as a "Sacred Musical Drama" by the English composer Arthur Sullivan. It was first performed on 15 October 1880 at the triennial Leeds Music Festival, having been composed specifically for that ...

'', by Arthur Sullivan, Symposium Record for the Buxton Festival * 2008: ''Die Walküre'', live from Weimar * 2008: ''Siegfried'', live from Weimar * 2008: ''Götterdämmerung'', live from WeimarWagner, R.: Gotterdammerung (Deutsches Nationaltheater, Weimar, 2008) (Blu-ray, Full-HD)
Naxos * 2009: ''Siegfried'', live from Hamburg

References

External links

*
Catherine Foster
Operabase *
Catherine Foster
hilbert.de
Wagner, R.: Walkure (Die) (Deutsches Nationaltheater, Weimar, 2008) (NTSC)
Naxos {{DEFAULTSORT:Foster, Catherine 1975 births Living people English operatic sopranos English midwives Alumni of the Royal Northern College of Music Musicians from Nottingham 21st-century British women opera singers Alumni of the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire