Following high school, Goerke attended SUNY Fredonia for one semester in the fall of 1986 as a music education major with a concentration in clarinet.
[2] Goerke began her career singing minor roles at the Metropolitan Opera as part of the company's Young Artist Program.
[3] Among other roles, she appeared as the First Lady in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, the High Priestess in Verdi's Aida, and the Ship's Doctor/Space Twin in Philip Glass' The Voyage.
[7] Goerke has developed a relationship with the Edinburgh International Festival, making her debut in the role of Brünnhilde in 2017's Die Walküre,[8] returning for Siegfried in 2018[9] and concluding with Götterdämmerung in 2019.
[11] Goerke had previously performed in Fidelio (2013), Elektra (2014), and Twilight: Gods (2020, a pandemic-era production under new artistic director Yuval Sharon), and since sang the role of Santuzza in Cavalleria Rusticana.
[12] Upcoming (2022) performances with Detroit Opera include Brünnhilde in The Valkyries and Amneris in Aida In Concert alongside Angel Blue singing the title role.