Ricarda Merbeth grew up in Chemnitz, Germany. In 1989, upon completing her studies in voice and education at the Felix-Mendelssohn-Bartholdy conservatory in Leipzig, she was offered a contract as lyric soprano with the Municipal Theater in Magdeburg (Germany). Her roles there included Mimi in "La Boheme", the Countess in "Le nozze di Figaro", Tatiana in "Eugen Onegin", Marzelline in "Fidelio", Antonia in "Les Contes d´Hoffmann", Agathe in "Der Freischütz", Elisabeth in "Tannhäuser", and Eva in "Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg". In 1993 she appeared in Leipzig in Grétry´s "Zémire et Azor", a special produktion to mark the 300 th anniversary of the Leipzig Opera. In 1995 she sang the role of Agnes in the German premiere of the opera "Ein Traumspiel" by the Swedish composer Ingwar Lindholm. From 1997 to 1999 Ricarda Merbeth was engaged at the German National Theater in Weimar. Here she was able to add more roles to her already varied repertoire, for example Marguerite in Gounod´s "Faust", a role which she also sang as a guest in several other theaters. Since 1999 Ricarda Merbeth has belonged to the ensemble of the Vienna State Opera, where she made her debut as Marzelline in "Fidelio". She has since been heard in Vienna as Freia in "Das Rheingold", Gerhilde in "Die Walküre", Third Norn and Gutrune in "Götterdämmerung", Giulietta in "Les Contes d´Hoffmann", Countess in "Le nozze di Figaro", Donna Anna in "Don Giovanni", Pamina in "Die Zauberflöte" and Chrysothemis in "Elektra". In the new produktion of "Der Ring des Nibelungen" at the Richard Wagner Festival in Bayreuth (2000-2001), Ricarda Merbeth was seen as Freia, Gerhilde/ Helmwige and Gutrune. In 2002/2003 she sang the role of Elisabeth in the new produktion of "Tannhäuser", conducted by Christian Thielemann, which will open the Bayreuth Festival.