[4] His carefully chosen roles range from Wolfram (Tannhäuser), Amfortas (Parsifal), Kurwenal (Tristan) and Orest (Electra) right up to the title roles in Alban Berg's Wozzeck, Bartók's Bluebeard's Castle, Hindemith's Mathis der Maler and Reimann's Lear.

In Lieder settings, he has worked with many pre-eminent pianists, including Alfred Brendel, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Daniil Trifonov and Seong-Jin Cho.

The head of the jury, composer and pianist Aribert Reimann, introduced him to Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, whom Goerne considered his idol and the greatest artist he knew.

[6] Goerne made his professional début in Leipzig in 1990 after being invited by Kurt Masur to sing in Johann Sebastian Bach's St. Matthew Passion.

The final volume, published in December 2014, received the highest rating in BBC Music magazine and a Diapason d'Or.

From 2012 to 2013, Goerne sang Wolfram at the Bavarian State Opera and Amfortas in concert with the Teatro Real in Madrid.

[13] Concert highlights included appearances with the Orchestre de Paris (Bluebeard), Berlin Philharmonic (War Requiem), Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra (Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony), Filarmonica del Teatro alla Scala (Mahler Lieder), Israel Philharmonic, and San Francisco Symphony (Wagner arias) as well as song recitals with Pierre-Laurent Aimard and Schubert cycles with Christoph Eschenbach at the Vienna Musikverein.

In 2020, Goerne signed with Deutsche Grammophon for a trilogy of Lieder albums released in 2020, 2021 and 2022 with pianists Jan Lisiecki, Seong-Jin Cho and Daniil Trifonov, respectively.