Soprano Katherine Manley studied at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music & Drama, Glasgow and the Benjamin Britten International Opera School at the Royal College of Music, London.
Recent seasons include the world premier’s of BlankOut, by Michel Van der Aa, Greece, Helsinki, China and Germany. The Last Hotel by Donnacha Dennehy (music) and Enda Walsh (text) at the Edinburgh Festival, London Covent Garden and New York St Ann's Warehouse and most recently performing and recording Dennehy's revised score of The Hunger with Nonesuch Records, in BAM, New York, the Kennedy Center Washington DC, St Louis Opera, and the MMCF with contemporary ensemble Alarm Will Sound, and in Ireland with Crash Ensemble.
Katherine revisited the role of Zenna Briggs in Van der Aa's Sunken Garden which she created at English National Opera 2013, at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Essen Philharmonie, and for Dallas Opera.
In addition to her growing reputation in the contemporary operatic repertoire, Katherine is already established as an outstanding performer of baroque music. She played Creuse in David McVicar’s production of Charpentier’s Medée, ENO. Atalanta, Serses for HändelFestSpiele, Badisches Staats Theatre. A number of Monteverdi roles include the title role in Poppea, conducted by Christian Curnyn. She made her US stage debut as Oriana in Handel’s Amadigi for Central City Opera, Colorado.
In past seasons Katherine has been a popular guest artist at the Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris, featuring in the leading roles of Eliza Doolittle, in Robert Carson's My Fair Lady, & Maria in The Sound of Music.
Her concert engagements include Judith Weir’s Natural History for Ludwigsburger Schlossfestspiele. Max Richter’s Memoryhouse, with the BBC Symphony Orchestra at the Barbican. Aci, Galatea e Polifemo with Capriccio Barockorchester, Saul with Daniel Reuss, Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5 at The Sage, Northern Sinfonia. She has sung Jephtha with The King’s Consort, & Israel in Egypt on tour with Musik Podium Stuttgart.
Katherine currently sings the role of Pat Nixon, in John Adams’ Nixon in China with Stuttgart Opera, Pamina in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte with Central City Opera, & Asenath Nicholson in Dennehy’s The Hunger. Future engagements /production revivals take her to Taiwan, Ireland, New York, Berlin and Boston.