Kate Applin is lauded for her passionate work in the operatic community. In 2010, at age 23, Kate founded Metro Youth Opera, offering Young Artists in Toronto their first opportunities to perform complete roles and be compensated. In addition to her role as Artistic Director of MYOpera Kate has performed the roles of Despina in Così fan tutte in MYOpera’s April 2011 production, and Adina in The Elixir of Love in March 2012. In 2013, she will perform Serpina in La serva padrona as part of MYOpera’s 3 Season, 3 Operas triple bill.
Kate holds a Bachelor of Music and a Diploma in Operatic Performance from Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, ON, where she studied under the tutelage of Kimberley Barber and Christiane Riel. She continues private studies with Joel Katz in Toronto. She has studied at Opera NUOVA (Edmonton, AB), where she performed Héro in Berlioz’s Béatrice et Bénédict and the Centre for Opera Studies in Italy (Sulmona, Abruzzo), where she performed Zerlina in Don Giovanni. During her time with Opera Laurier, Kate was seen as Anne Egerman (A Little Night Music), Sister Mathilde (Dialogues of the Carmelites), and First Witch (Dido and Æneas) among others. With her own Metro Youth Opera, Kate has performed Despina (Così fan tutte) and Adina (L’elisir d’amore). In October 2012, she was a featured soloist with Musica Reflecta, performing James Rolfe’s Six Songs for Voice and String Quartet.
For nearly a decade, Kate sang with the Canadian Children’s Opera Company, performing in various productions including Little Red Riding Hood in Sondheim’s Into the Woods, Carrie in Rodgers’ Carousel and children’s chorus in Hansel and Gretel (COC, 1997), which cemented Kate’s love of opera for life. Noted for her strong acting, Kate has been described as “intriguingly intense” (The Cord Weekly), “compelling and powerful” and “filled with raw emotion” (The Imprint).