BIOGRAPHY
Steve Katona is a German countertenor, composer, actor, and artist based in Berlin. He studied opera at the Universität der Künste Berlin and works across various artistic fields.
He made his operatic debut in a leading role in Jamie Man’s Zelle: wenn es dunkel wird, which premiered at deSingel in Antwerp, with further performances at the Palau de les Arts in Valencia, the Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon, and Theater Casino Zug.
In 2024, he joined the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence as part of the Académie’s Multidisciplinary Residency, presenting a fragment of his composition Orbital – Tribute to Hildegard in the final concert. That same year, he was invited by the Moderna Museet to contribute to the Nordic Pavilion at the Biennale di Venezia, performing the role of The Eel in the Altersea Opera, a collaboration with Lap See Lam, Dr. Tze Yeung Ho, and Kholod Hawash.
As an actor, he appeared as Hermes in Michail Marmarinos’ production of Trackers by Sophocles, performed at the ancient theaters of Epidaurus, the Odeon of Herodes Atticus in Athens, and Mount Kyllene. In the 2023/24 and 2024/25 seasons, he performs in Theresa Thomasberger’s Männerfantasien, based on Klaus Theweleit’s work, at the Deutsches Theater Berlin.
His first composition, Strings, was presented at the "Musik Installationen" festival in Nuremberg. From 2022 to 2023, he was a fellow of the German Music Fund, where he focused on his own artistic research and compositions.
ARTISTIC APPROACH
His practice brings together music, performance, and experimentation, often blurring the lines between disciplines. His interest lies in creating works that move fluidly between genres and formats, opening space for collaboration and transformation.
Whether working with historical texts, contemporary opera, or his own compositions, his approach remains grounded in curiosity and care for form, voice, and presence. Through his work, he seeks to explore new ways of thinking and making, while remaining attentive to the quiet resonances between tradition and innovation — toward the core of culture: (ex)change.