Katrien Baerts

Belgian soprano Katrien Baerts is known for her powerful, sensual voice and her deeply committed and sincere interpretations. Her repertoire spans the full range from classical to contemporary music, and she has developed a particular affinity for new music, opera and interdisciplinary projects.

Highlights of the 2026/2027 season include her debut with Opera Ballet Vlaanderen as Hadewijch in Louis Andriessen’s De Materie and her debut at Teatro alla Scala in Milan with Klangforum Wien in Grisey’s Quatre Chants pour Franchir le Seuil. In the autumn, she performs Judith in a new production of Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle with Oxalys, premiering at Festival 20/21 with further performances in Belgium and Germany. She also returns to Muziekgebouw Amsterdam with Het Muziek.

In opera, Katrien has performed Beatrice in Louis Andriessen’s De stad van Dis with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and made her Ruhrtriennale debut in the title role of Olga Neuwirth’s Bählamms Fest, where she was praised for her exceptional stage presence. Her passion for contemporary repertoire has led to notable performances including a staged version of Messiaen’s Harawi at the Spoleto Festival dei Due Mondi, Sie in Beat Furrer’s Begehren at the Salzburg Festival, eine Fünfzehnjährige in Lulu at Dutch National Opera, and The Woman in Kris Defoort’s House of the Sleeping Beauties in Tokyo. She has created numerous world premieres, including Clara in Theo Loevendie’s The Rise of Spinoza, the title role in Rob Zuidam’s Suster Bertken at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, and the title role in Tony Prabowo’s dance opera Gandari in Jakarta. Jan-Peter de Graaff wrote the monodrama Parallax specifically for her, exploring the ideas of a flat-Earther. Other operatic roles include Pamina in Die Zauberflöte, Micaëla in Carmen, Despina in Così fan tutte, Miss Wordsworth in Albert Herring, Stimme des Falken and Hüter der Schwelle in Die Frau ohne Schatten, and Amore and Valletto in L’incoronazione di Poppea. She has worked with directors including Pierre Audi, Lotte de Beer, Silvia Costa, Kenza Koutchoukali, Johan Simons and Floris Visser.

On the concert stage, Katrien moves freely between classical and contemporary repertoire, with everything in between. Her repertoire includes works by composers ranging from Bach, Mozart and Pergolesi to Brahms, Mahler, Britten, Grisey, Vivier and Ligeti. She has collaborated with leading orchestras and ensembles including the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic, Münchener Symphoniker, Ensemble Intercontemporain, WDR Sinfonieorchester and Klangforum Wien, working with conductors such as Richard Egarr, Vladimir Jurowski, Oliver Knussen, Reinbert de Leeuw, Carlo Rizzi, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Ilan Volkov and Bas Wiegers. Recent highlights include the world premiere of Rob Zuidam’s Orewoet with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam and Antwerp, Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem, and Thomas Larcher’s The Living Mountain at the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg and Philharmonie de Paris under the direction of Pierre Bleuse. Her recording of Grisey’s L’icône paradoxale with the WDR Sinfonieorchester was awarded the Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik.

A passionate chamber musician, Katrien regularly performs with ensembles including Het Collectief and appears at chamber music festivals. In 2025 she joined Splendor, Amsterdam’s creative music collective and meeting place, where she develops new projects in close dialogue with fellow artists and audiences.

Katrien studied at the Dutch National Opera Academy and the Royal Conservatoire of Brussels, where she obtained master’s degrees in both voice and violin. She was a semi-finalist in the Queen Elisabeth Competition and participated in the International Lied Masterclasses led by Udo Reinemann and guest teachers.