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 performed recently in a world premiere, Immigrant Stories, with Imani Winds, Honey and Rue, with Virginia Symphony, an Americana concert with Cincinnati Song Initiative, three concerts with the Orgue en Fété festival, in Bergerac, a world premiere, Absent An Adjustment, with Chamber Project STL, and in Handel’s The Messiah with the Evansville Philharmonic, the Richmond Symphony, and the Phoenix Symphony.
Jolly was featured with the Phoenix Symphony in staged performances of Brundibar, Knoxville: Summer of 1915, with Sinfonia Gulf Coast, Carmina Burana, with Northwest Florida Symphony, and Mozart’s Mass in C Minor, the Fauré Requiem, and Vivaldi’s Gloria with the 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.
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. Dr. 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.
Dr. Jolly is currently an Associate Professor of Voice at Oberlin Conservatory, where she received the Excellence in Teaching Award for 2020-2021.