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The American soprano, Kristin Knutson-Berka, obtained her Bachelor of Music degree from The Juilliard School; and and pursued graduate studies at Manhattan School of Music. Post-graduate training includes the Vancouver Early Music Festival’s Baroque Vocal Programme, Lute Society of America’s Vocal Program, Aspen Opera Theatre Center, and the Chautauqua Institute. She studied with Connie Haas and Ellen Hargis. She was a finalist in the Handel Aria Competition (2015).
Kristin Knutson is a versatile musician praised for her "sparkling, fluid soprano with admirable flexibility" (Opera News). With a repertoire spanning the genres of opera, oratorio, and musical theatre, she maintains a special commitment to the field of Early Music. She is a founding member of the New Milwaukee Consort, with whom she appears regularly. Past credits include: Mermaid in Fresco Opera Theatre’s George Frideric Handel's Rinaldo and the Galactic Crusades, Gretel in Main Street Opera's Engelbert Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel, and soprano soloist in the Fireside Theatre’s A Fireside Christmas. Additional credits include Leonard Bernstein's Candide with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, Belinda in Dido and Aeneas, Musetta in La Bohème, Zerlina in W.A. Mozart's Don Giovanni, Antonio Vivaldi soloist (Orchestra of the Redeemer NYC), Georges Bizet soloist (Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall), J.S. Bach soloist with harpsichordist Kenneth Cooper. Recent engagements include Alessandro Scarlatti's L'Orfeo and Clérambault's Orphée with Indy Baroque Chamber Players and Alchemy Viols, Antonio Vivaldi's In Furore Iustissimae Irae and J.S. Bach's Cantata Non sa che sia dolore, BWV 209, with Sonata à Quattro (November 2019), Frasquita in Brew City Opera's production of Carmen, J.S. Bach's Coffee Cantata BWV 211 and BWV 209, with Great Lakes Baroque featuring harpsichordist Jory Vinikour, Ariane in the modern day premiere of Ariane et Bachus with Haymarket Opera, Ismaele in Agar et Ismaele esiliati with Haymarket Opera, and W.A. Mozart's Vesperae solennes de Dominica with Master Singers of Milwaukee. Additionally, she has appeared with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, Skylight Theatre, Florentine Opera Company, Fireside Theatre, The New Group (Off-Broadway), New York Musical Theatre Festival, Belle Ensemble.
The 2022-2023 season includes a return to Haymarket Opera as both Daniele in Stradella’s Susanna and Drusilla in L’Incoronazione di Poppea, alongside engagements with the Sheboygan Symphony, Wisconsin Baroque Ensemble, New Milwaukee Consort, Brew City Opera and a festive Sondheim Concert directed by rising local conductor, Tim Rebers. |
