Kammersängerin | Soprano Ricarda Merbeth Is Without Doubt One of the Most Important Soprano Voices of Our Time
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Ricarda Merbeth – Kammersängerin | Soprano Ricarda Merbeth is without doubt one of the most important soprano voices of our time. Delve into the impressive singing career of this engaging Kammersängerin, and discover the breadth and quality of her work! 1.) Education Having studied at the University of Theatre and Music “Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy” in Leipzig, soprano Ricarda Merbeth’s first engagements were at Städtische Bühnen Magdeburg and Deutsches Nationaltheater Weimar. She received her vocal training in Leipzig under Anemone Rau and works with Kammersänger Prof. Wolfgang Milgramm. 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 Holender in the Tea Salon 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, Myung-Whung 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 Welser- Möst, 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. 6.) Selected future projects 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.) 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 Book: Von Hertzen – möge es wieder zu Hertzen gehen – published by Haag+Herchen on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of Ricarda Merbeth’s stage debut 6.) Awards Ricarda Merbeth’s artistic achievements have been honoured with the following distinctions: 1993 Scholarship from the Braunschweig Richard Wagner Society 2001 Recipient of the Vienna State Opera’s Eberhard Waechter Medal (for her interpretation of Irene in Rienzi) 2008 Editor’s Choice for the month of May, awarded for her recording of Richard Strauss’s Four Last Songs and Brentano-Lieder (released on the NAXOS label) 2011 Awarded Kammersängerin status by the Vienna State Opera More Infos: www.ricardamerbeth.com.