A Victorian Holiday

Soprano Katherine Bruton’s clear voice and vibrant characterization bring opera and art song to life. Her nuanced musicality and virtuosic vocal fireworks have earned her the roles of Miss Silverpeal/The Impresario, Mabel/The Pirates of Penzance, Le feu (The Fire)/L’enfant et les sortileges (The Child and the Spells), and Virtù (Virtue)/L’incoronazione di Poppea (The Coronation of Poppea), among others. She has also appeared with Pasadena Opera, the critically-acclaimed Pacific Opera Project, and OperaUCLA, among others.

An advocate of new opera, Ms. Bruton has been a part of several operatic premieres. Recently, Ms. Bruton has performed in the Chicago premieres of contemporary one-act operas as Darling Donnis/The Final Battle for Love by Philip Thompson, Sang Kancil the Mouse Deer/The Mouse Deer and the Crocodile by Hong-Da Chin, and Wing Tip/The Rootabaga Stories by Yvonne Freckmann with Thompson Street Opera Company. She also had the privilege of creating the role of “La Saborini” in the world premiere of The Dove and The Nightingale by American composer Roger Bourland. Upcoming performances include the world premiere of Ross Crean’s opera Lost Daughters as The Queen of the Night with Another Voice Collaborative in partnership with Resonanz Opera and future engagements with Thompson Street Opera Company.

Ms. Bruton also has a passion for art song, especially new art song. She has given premieres of several art songs and art song cycles, including Littles by Michelle Isaac and Personal Weather by Pin Hsing Lin. While at SongFest in Los Angeles, CA, Ms. Bruton had the privilege of working with fabulous collaborative pianists Graham Johnson, Martin Katz, Margo Garrett, and Kathleen Tagg. She has also performed in concert with American composer John Musto. Her passion for art song also extends to Russian art song, which she has performed consistently since Russian baritone Vladimir Chernov introduced her to the language and repertoire during her undergraduate studies at UCLA.

Ms. Bruton is pursuing her Masters of Music degree from the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University, where she studies with soprano Judith Haddon. She also received bachelors’ degrees in vocal performance and music education from UCLA, where she studied with Vladimir Chernov. She is a proud OperaWorks alumna and has also attended Songfest in Los Angeles, CA and the Summer in Payerbach Opera Intensive in Austria.