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Ricarda Merbeth – Kammersängerin
Soprano Ricarda Merbeth is without doubt one of the most important soprano voices of our time.
1.) Education
She studied at the University of Theatre and Music “Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy” in Leipzig.
2.) From debutant to Kammersängerin
From 1999 to 2005 Ricarda Merbeth was an ensemble member at the Vienna State Opera. It
was there that she made her debut as Marzelline in Fidelio, which was followed by roles
including Contessa, Donna Anna, Pamina, Fiordiligi, Chrysothemis, Elisabeth, Eva, Irene, Elsa,
Marschallin and Jenůfa. Regular engagements have maintained her strong connection with
the Vienna State Opera. In 2011 Ricarda Merbeth was appointed as an Austrian
Kammersängerin by Director Ioan Holendern at the Vienna State Opera House.
3.) Ricarda & Conductors
Ricarda Merbeth has worked with renowned conductors including Philippe Jordan, Susanna
Mälkki, Marek Janowski, Seiji Ozawa, Ingo Metzmacher, Pinchas Steinberg, Daniele Gatti,
Pierre Boulez, Bernard Haitink, Rossen Milanov, Kirill Petrenko, Philippe Auguin, MyungWhung Chung, Andrew Litton, Marco Armiliato, Peter Schneider, Christian Thielemann,
Riccardo Chailly, Donald Runnicles, Asher Fish, Simone Young, Marcello Viotti, Fabio Luisi,
Bertrand de Billy, Ádám Fischer, Franz WelserMöst, Walther Weller, Semyon Bychkov,
Gianluigi Gelmetti and Mark Albrecht. Engagements and guest performances alike take her
to all leading German opera houses, as well as to centres of musical culture such as Milan,
Paris, Toulouse, Marseille, Barcelona, Helsinki, Stockholm, Zurich, Sydney, Tokyo and New
York.
4.) The highlights to date
The years 2000 and 2001 saw Ricarda Merbeth sing parts including Freia and Gutrune in
Jürgen Flimm’s production of the Ring Cycle in Bayreuth. It is there that she was not only cast
as Elisabeth in Tannhäuser in 2002-2005 and 2007, but has also played the role of Senta in
the new production of The Flying Dutchman since 2013 – in both cases under the baton of
Christian Thielemann. Other career highlights include her Daphne in the new production at
the Vienna State Opera (2004) and performances as The Egyptian Helena at Deutsche Oper
Berlin (2009) and in the roles of Marietta (The Dead City), Sieglinde (The Valkyrie, both
2009/10) and the eponymous heroine in Ariadne on Naxos (2010/11) at the Opéra Bastille in
Paris. The 2010/11 season also saw her sing Senta in concert performances of The Flying
Dutchman under Marek Janowski and debut as Leonore (Fidelio) in Zurich. Two concert
performances of Daphne at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona rounded off a highly
successful season. In 2012 Ricarda returned to the New National Theatre Tokyo to perform
the role of Else in a new production of Lohengrin, and in the same year she also sang a
number of Wagnerian parts at a song recital in Luxemburg and at the Berliner Philharmonie
(Freia in Das Rheingold). She also took the role of Leonore in a Vienna State Opera
production of Fidelio. Engagements as Emilia Marty (The Makropulos Affair) and
Chrysothemis (Elektra) at the Opéra Bastille in Paris were particular highlights in 2013. In
what was a glistening season, Ricarda gave acclaimed performances of Wagnerian roles in
Hamburg, Berlin and Budapest, sang the Wesendonck Lieder and Isolde’s Liebestod with the
Weimarer Staatskapelle under Georg Alexander Albrecht and give a recital of songs by
composers including Berg, Richard and Strauss in the Amphithéâtre at the Opéra Bastille
accompanied by Alexander Schmalcz.
2014 took Ricarda Merbeth to the Tonhalle in Zurich for two performances of Beethoven’s
Missa Solemnis under Bernard Haitink, as well as to the Bavarian State Opera in the role of
Ariadne(conducted by Asher Fisch). Further roles and performances included Senta in
Bayreuth, Senta at the Vienna State Opera, Stabat Mater at the Wiener Musikverein (under
Vladimir Fedoseyev), L. Janacek’s Glagolitic Mass (under Philippe Jordan) and R. Strauss’s
Four Last Songs at the Opera de Oviedo, Empress in The Woman Without A Shadow under
Kirill Petrenko at the Bavarian State Opera in Munich (December 2014), Senta in The Flying
Dutchman under Iimori Taijiro at the New National Theatre Tokyo – January 2015  Venus
and Elisabeth in Tannhäuser under Donald Runnicles at the Deutsche Oper Berlin – February
2015  Lidoine in Dialogues des Carmélites at the Hamburg State Opera – February 2015.
5.) Future engagements include: Chrysothemis (Elektra) at Vienna State Opera – April 2014,
Senta (Flying Dutchman) at Opera Marseille – April 2015, Chrysothemis (Elektra) at the
Bavarian State Opera in Munich, Senta (Flying Dutchman) in Bayreuth – July /August 2015
and Senta as well at Vienna State Opera – September 2015.
Furthermore Ricarda Merbeth will make her debut as Marie (Wozzeck) at Teatro alla Scala
– October / November 2015 and her debut as Isolde(Tristan &Isolde) at Hamburg State
Opera – April 2016.
6.) Releases and publications
Listeners and critics from around the world were particularly glowing in their response to
Ricarda Merbeth’s CD of Richard Strauss’s Four Last Songs and Brentano-Lieder, which was
recorded at Staatskapelle Weimar under Michael Halász and released on the NAXOS label.
CDs:  The Flying Dutchman conducted by Marek Janowski – released on the Pentatone label
 Rheingold conducted by Marek Janowski – released on the Pentatone label  Four Last
Songs by Richard Strauss – released on the NAXOS label  Symphony No. 8 by Gustav Mahler,
conducted by Bertrand de Billy – released on the NAXOS label DVDs:  The Flying Dutchman –
recorded at Bayreuth Festival  Symphony No. 8 by Gustav Mahler, conducted by Riccardo
Chailly – released on the NAXOS label  Symphony No. 2 by Gustav Mahler, conducted by
Mariss Jansons – released on the NAXOS label