Kate Ladner

Australian soprano, Kate Ladner resides in France and has performed throughout Europe and Australasia in opera houses including; Staatstheater, Stuttgart (Blondchen Die entführung aus dem Serail); Glyndebourne Touring Opera (Konstanze Die entführung aus dem Serail); Graz Oper (Micaela Carmen); Macedonia Opera, Skopje (Violetta La traviata) Opera Holland Park, London (Violetta La traviata, Magda La rondine, La Contessa, Le nozze di Figaro); English Touring Opera (Massenet Manon, Violetta La traviata); NZ Opera (Zerlina Don Giovanni); Opera Australia, Sydney Opera House (Donna Anna Don Giovanni; Vitellia La clemenza di Tito; Violetta La traviata; Desdemona Otello).

Also in Australia, Kate enjoyed a huge success with her debut roles as Salome, Richard Strauss; Marguerite in Gounod’s Faust, and Floria Tosca in Puccini’s Tosca .

She has also had the rare opportunity to participate in two complete Wagner Ring Cycles performing the roles of Waldvogel, Woglinde, Freia, Helmwige and Third Norn, conducted by Jeffrey Tate and later with Asher Fisch.

Kate has also performed in China, where she sang the role of La Contessa in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro with the Xi’an Symphony Orchestra (this was the first time this opera was seen in mainland China).

In more recent years, Kate has gained a reputation as an early Verdi specialist. Her performances of the title roles in Alzira, Giovanna D’Arco, and as Lady Macbeth in Verdi’s 1847 version of Macbeth were all critically acclaimed. These formed a trilogy of rare Verdi operas directed by world renowned opera director Elijah Moshinsky for the Buxton International Opera Festival.

Since then in France, Kate has made her debut as Cio Cio San in Madama Butterfly and regularly performs on the concert platform including Mahler’s 4th Symphony. She has performed opera galas at the Royal Albert Hall, London, Mozart Requiems with the English Chamber Orchestra in London’s Barbican Centre and with the Ulster Orchestra in Northern Ireland, as well as the Beethoven 9 Symphony in Auditorio Nacional de Música, Madrid.

Kate was last seen in Australia when she performed Eva in Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg for State Opera South Australia.