BIOGRAPHY
American vocalist Katerina Burton, acclaimed for her “vocal fire and dramatic conviction” (Isthmus) is a 2024 winner of the George and Nora London Competition and a recipient of the prestigious Sara Tucker Study Grant from the Richard Tucker Foundation. She is a graduate of the Cafritz Young Artist program at Washington National Opera, where she gained recognition for making a thrilling Mainstage debut jumping in for the role of Micaëla in Francesca Zambello’s production of Carmen. This upcoming season sees both a role and company debut for Ms. Burton as Serena in Porgy and Bess at Lyric Opera of Kansas City, as well as a debut with the New Orchestra of Washington as the soprano soloist in Beethoven’s famous Ninth Symphony in collaboration with the Denyce Graves Foundation.
The 2024-2025 season featured many role & principal debuts for Ms. Burton, including Mimì in La bohème with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, as well as Donna Anna in Don Giovanni with Madison Opera. Recent engagements have seen Ms. Burton on both the operatic and concert stage, most notably at Aspen Music Festival playing the role of Alice Ford in Verdi’s Falstaff opposite Bass-Baritone Bryn Terfel.
"Katerina Burton is a standout..."
- ST. LOUIS TODAY
Ms. Burton also had the pleasure of being the featured soprano soloist for the Kennedy Center premiere of Adolphus Hailstork’s JFK: The Last Speech alongside the National Symphony Orchestra with Tony Award® winner Phylicia Rashad, who provided narration. Burton also joined the U.S. Naval Academy as a soloist for their production of Britten’s War Requiem at the Strathmore Music Center. Previously, she has performed Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 to much acclaim with the National Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Gianandrea Noseda. Burton has seen much success as an international competitor, having placed in the 2024 Dallas Opera National Vocal Competition as well as being chosen as a Grand Finalist in the Concours Tenor Viñas presented by the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, Spain. Ms. Burton was a semifinalist for the prestigious Queen Sonja Singing Competition in Oslo, Norway, and was also a semifinalist for the Concours Musical International de Montréal in 2025.
Additional career highlights include Ms. Burton’s work on the world-premiere recording of Jeanine Tesori’s Blue, which was awarded “Best New Opera”of 2020 (Music Critics Association of America). Burton also originated the roles of Verna, Young Lovely, and Evelyn in the world premiere of Terence Blanchard’s Fire Shut Up In My Bones with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, and later that season completed her first engagement at The Metropolitan Opera, hand-selected as an ensemble member for their GRAMMY Award-winning production of Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess.
Burton completed her graduate studies at The Juilliard School, and holds a Bachelor’s degree in vocal performance from Towson University. She is a proud recipient of multiple grants including the 2021 William Matheus Sullivan Foundation Award (in memory of Rose Bampton), the Novick Career Advancement Grant, as well as the Gaddes Career Award presented by Opera Theatre of Saint Louis.