Ricarda Merbeth

German soprano Ricarda Merbeth is in demand worldwide as an interpreter of Wagner and Strauss. After studying at the "Mendelssohn Bartholdy" Academy of Music in Leipzig, she began her career in Magdeburg and Weimar. In 1999, she made her debut as Marzelline in Fidelio at the Vienna State Opera and was a member of the ensemble until 2005. A particular highlight was her Daphne in a new production at the Vienna State Opera in 2004, Merbeth achieved her international breakthrough with this title role by Richard Strauss. In 2001 she was honoured with the Eberhard Waechter Medal and in 2010 she was appointed Austrian Kammersängerin.

Merbeth has made important role debuts, including Isolde at the Hamburg State Opera in 2016 and Brünnhilde in Siegfried at the Deutsche Oper Berlin in 2017/2018. In recent years, she has worked on her current most important roles - including Isolde, Brünnhilden, Senta, Elektra, Färberin, Ortrud, Turandot - together with Prof. Ks Wolfgang Millgramm in Berlin. She has appeared at leading opera houses, including the Staatsoper Unter den Linden Berlin, Bayreuth Festival, Bavarian State Opera, Vienna State Opera, Staatsoper Unter den Linden, New National Theatre Tokyo and Opera Nationale de Paris. She has worked with the conductors Daniel Barenboim, Pierre Boulez, Semyon Bychkov, Daniele Gatti, Edward Gardner, Ingo Metzmacher, Kent Nagano, Christian Thielemann, Franz Welser-Möst and many more.

Major roles are also on the calendar for 2024/2025: Färberin in Die Frau ohne Schatten at the Théâtre du Capitole Toulouse, Elektra at the Leipzig Opera House, Brünnhilde in the Ring Cycle at the Deutsche Oper Berlin and Gustav Mahler's Symphony no. 8 with the Staatskapelle in Dresden.