For critically acclaimed Katie Bird, singing is storytelling. Whether embodying Puccini’s fragile Mimì, the sparkling wit of Eliza Doolittle, or the vivacious Hanna Glawari, she approaches every role as both singer and actress.

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Following triumphs with the company as Hanna Glawari in The Merry Widow, Mimì in  La bohème and Nedda in I Pagliacci, Katie returned to Opera North in the 2024/25 season to sing Musetta in La bohème and Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady, a critically acclaimed performance hailed as “pure inspiration… irresistibly sung” (The Guardian) and “a powerhouse performance… phenomenal power and sensitivity” (Always Time for Theatre). In 2022, Katie recorded for and appeared in Netflix series, The Crown and also starred as Mimì in La bohème at Opera Holland Park, where OperaWire praised her “gossamer top C gleaming like moonlight” and her “glorious evenness and lyrical polish.”

Other notable performances include Suzel in L’Amico Fritz at Opera Holland Park, where The Telegraph admired her “wholesome warmth… as ripe for the picking as her orchards.” and repeated praise in La bohème as Mimì at Nevill Holt Opera and Longborough Festival Opera. Also with Nevill Holt Opera, Adina in The Elixir of Love. More with Opera North, includung Kate Pinkerton (Madama Butterfly) and Suor Osmina (Suor Angelica). The Governess (The Turn of the Screw) for Northern Ireland Opera, Cio-Cio San (Madama Butterfly) for West Green Opera and has worked with English National Opera in David Alden’s The Queen of Spades as Masha/Chloe where she also covered Mimì, Madame Butterfly and Tatyana in Eugene Onegin.

On the concert platform, Katie has appeared as a soloist with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra for BBC Radio 3, and is a regular guest soloist with the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra, notably at the annual open-air Leeds Castle Classical Concerts.

Katie trained at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, the Royal Academy of Music, and the National Opera Studio, where she was sponsored by English National Opera, The Boltini Trust, the John S Cohen Foundation, and the Winship Foundation. She is a Samling Foundation Scholar, a recipient of the Norma Greig Prize for French Song, and has worked closely with Malcolm Martineau as a Crear Scholar.