Catherine Foster is internationally regarded as one of the foremost dramatic sopranos of her generation and a leading interpreter of the great Wagner and Strauss heroines. Over more than a decade at the Bayreuth Festival (2013–2025), she has established herself as a definitive Brünnhilde, a role that has become central to her international reputation.

Following early success as Queen of the Night with Welsh National Opera and English National Opera, she moved to Germany where her repertoire rapidly expanded, beginning with Elisabeth in Tannhäuser under Alexander George Albrecht. She went on to build an exceptionally broad and demanding repertoire, encompassing roles such as Mimì, Leonore (Fidelio), Leonora (Il trovatore), Elisabetta (Don Carlo), Tosca, the Kaiserin, Senta (Der fliegende Holländer), and Turandot, before focusing increasingly on the most dramatic roles of the repertoire including Brünnhilde, Isolde, Elektra and the Färberin.

Her performances have taken her to many of the world’s leading opera houses and concert stages, including appearances across Europe, Asia and Australia, with engagements in London (Royal Ballet and Opera), Berlin, Munich, Dresden, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Madrid, Barcelona, Amsterdam, Tokyo, Shanghai, Melbourne and beyond. She has collaborated with many of today’s most distinguished conductors, including Simone Young, Kirill Petrenko, Marek Janowski, Sir Donald Runnicles, Andris Nelsons, Daniel Barenboim, Kent Nagano and Iván Fischer.

In concert, she is equally in demand, appearing in works such as Verdi’s Requiem, Mahler’s Eighth Symphony, Britten’s War Requiem and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.

Her achievements have been recognised with numerous honours, including an Honorary Fellowship of the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, the Reginald Goodall Award from the Wagner Society of London, and the Australian Green Room Award (2022) for her portrayal of Elektra.

The 2024/25 season concluded with a highly acclaimed return to Bayreuth as Brünnhilde under Simone Young. Engagements in the 2025/26 season include Tristan und Isolde with the Korean National Opera under Jaap van Zweden, Brünnhilde in a Bayreuth Festival production in Shanghai directed by Katharina Wagner, and revivals of Elektra, Götterdämmerung and Turandot at Deutsche Oper Berlin. Concert appearances include engagements with the Konzerthausorchester Berlin and the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra.