Czech soprano Kateřina Kněžíková, with her “darkly timbred yet crystalline soprano, highly emotional, shining from within” (Onlinemerker) “especially moving, warmly romantic with a burnished tone” (The Classic Review), has drawn superlative praise for her “willowy, seductive voice and natural interpretative skill, drawn straight from the heart, always in full technical control but with a timbre that, enlivened by seductive vibrato, is ideally soft and warm.” (Gramophone Magazine)

A long-time resident artist at the Prague National Opera, and one of the most sought-after singers in her native Czech Republic, Kateřina appears regularly with all the Czech and Slovakian opera houses, and further afield at La Monnaie Brussels, Opéra Royal de Versailles, Opéra de Dijon, and many others. With a strong background in baroque and Classical repertoire (including Handel’s Almirena, Aristea in Mysliveček’s L‘Olimpiade, and Mozart’s Susanna, Ilia, Contessa, Donna Elvira, Vitellia and Pamina), and Italianate roles including Verdi’s Gilda and Nannetta, Adina (Donizetti L’elisir d‘amore) and Rosina in Rossini‘s Il barbiere di Siviglia, she has developed naturally into the lyric repertoire, notably as Rusalka (Dvořák), Mařenka (Smetana’s The Bartered Bride), Janacek’s Vixen, Martinů’s Julietta and Mirandolina, Barče (Smetana The Kiss), Terinka (Dvořák: The Jacobin), and Gounod’s Marguerite. In 2021, she made her debut as Káťa Kabanová at the prestigious Glyndebourne Opera Festival, and returns for this role in 2025. In 2024, her repertoire with the Prague National Opera includes Fiordiligi in Cosi fan tutte, Mimi in La Boheme, Micaela in Carmen, and her debut as Janacek’s Jenufa. She will also debut the title role in Smetana’s Libuse and the Fox in Janacek’s Cunning Little Vixen in concert with the Czech Philharmonic.

Kateřina’s core symphonic repertoire includes Janáček’s Glagolitic Mass, Dvořák’s Requiem (“sympathetic soprano Kněžíková rose to the biggest challenges – lyric, limpid but always capable of projecting above large forces…” [The ArtsDesk]), Dvořák’s oratorio Svatá Ludmila, Stabat Mater and Te Deum, Martinů’s Epic of Gilgamesh, Mahler’s symphonies 2, 4 and 8, Brahms’ German Requiem, and works by Beethoven and Mozart. She is a dedicated performer of orchestral songs, ranging from Mahler’s Des Knaben Wunderhorn, Strauss’ Four Last Songs, Ravel’s Shéherezade, Martinů’s Magic Nights and songs by Duparc, Schubert and Brahms. She has appeared as a guest soloist with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Wiener Symphoniker, Bamberger Symphoniker, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, London Philharmonic Orchestra, National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra, ORF Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, HR-Sinfonieorchester Frankfurt, Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, Camerata Salzburg, and Orquesta Filarmonica de Gran Canaria, with renowned conductors, including Jiří Bělohlávek, Manfred Honeck, John Nelson, Karina Canellakis, Jonathan Nott, Serge Baudo, Jakub Hrůša, Domingo Hindoyan, Robin Ticciati, Oksana Lyniv, James Gaffigan, and Tomáš Netopil.

Her recitals featuring songs by Janáček, Dvořák, Martinů, Ravel, Debussy, Fauré, Liszt, Schubert, and Schumann have been praised by audiences and critics alike. In 2021, she released her first solo album “Phidylé” on the Supraphon label which was named as Editor’s Choice and The Best Classical Albums of 2021 in Gramophone Magazine and won the prestigious BBC Magazine Music “Vocal” Award category in 2022. Her discography also includes Dvorak’s Te Deum with the Czech Philharmonic and Jakub Hrůša for Decca Classics, Martinu’s Bouquet of Flowers, Stravinsky’s Les Noces and Richter’s La Deposizione dalla Croce di Gesu Cristo, and a duo recital of Smetana and Dvorak arias and duets with baritone Adam Plachetka for Supraphon, and Donna Elvira in Mozart’s Don Giovanni for Opus Arte DVD, as well as solo recital discs with pianist David Svec and harpist Katerina Englichova for Radioservis.