Press

On April 2 and 5, 2026, Ricarda Merbeth starred as Kundry in Richard Wagner’s Parsifal at the Tiroler Festspiele Erl. Following semi-staged performances with the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra in 2023, this marked her first staged engagement with the role – one that was met with enthusiasm by audiences and critics alike. Klassik Begeistert described her performance as “sensational,” while Der Neue Merker wrote of a “sensational role debut as Kundry,” in which the “highly experienced singer” “drew impressively on the full range of her outstanding artistry.” According to Opera Journal CZ, Ricarda Merbeth convinced “with a highly dramatic portrayal and secure vocal technique, which allowed her to move quite naturally between the highest soprano register and full-sounding lower depths.” For Loudd, her performance in Act II was “undoubtedly one of the most convincing moments of the entire performance,” while Kurier described her Kundry as “charged with energy” and “expressive.”

“Speaking of Kundry: Ricarda Merbeth delivered another sensational performance in this almost unsingable role, which oscillates somewhere between mezzo and soprano. With musically fitting bite, she fearlessly turned her notes into music. Her voice shone across all the role’s many-layered registers and held both the Knights of the Grail and the audience spellbound with every tone of her commanding singing. She was equally impressive dramatically: every glance and every movement of her Kundry seemed carefully considered and effective.”
Johannes Karl Fischer, Klassik Begeistert

“The renowned soprano Ricarda Merbeth celebrated a sensational role debut as Kundry!
The highly experienced singer drew impressively on the full range of her outstanding artistry and knew how to deploy her enormous voice economically and intelligently, presenting a completely balanced, differentiated, and highly musical vocal character from the extreme depths to the perfectly placed top notes. She made the transition from seductress to furious woman, then penitent and ultimately redeemed figure, seem entirely authentic.
The great scene between Kundry and Parsifal in Act II was, thanks to both singers, one of the most suspenseful moments of the evening.”
Marisa Altmann-Althausen, Online Merker

“Ricarda Merbeth was in optimal vocal and interpretive form for the demanding role of Kundry. She convinced with a highly dramatic portrayal and secure vocal technique, which allowed her to move quite naturally between the highest soprano register and full-sounding lower depths — supported by an exceptionally carrying middle register that she has systematically developed over the course of her career.
Beyond this technical assurance, what impressed above all was her expressive power and compelling authenticity. Merbeth does not shy away from using almost inhuman-sounding cries of pain or moans — devices that many interpreters of the role avoid out of concern for the voice.
In Act III, where the role offers less textual space, she also proved herself an experienced artist: with gripping stage presence, she sustained the dramatic tension and created a convincing, deeply human portrait of a figure in transformation, who ultimately finds inner peace.”
Opera Journal CZ

“In her function as an evil instrument in Klingsor’s hands, she too longs for redemption and sees in Parsifal both a victim and a possible redeemer. Ricarda Merbeth succeeds superbly in conveying this ambivalence, and her performance in this act is undoubtedly one of the most convincing moments of the entire production.”
Luca Franceschini, Loudd

“Ricarda Merbeth turns the ambiguity of her character into an expression of insight that cannot be divided into a black-and-white either-or. On the contrary, she displays an unusual, at times almost unguarded energy in Kundry’s daylight form as the penitent servant of the Grail, while the serpent-like seductive nocturnal apparition — subject to Klingsor — at the same time appears above all vulnerable and maternal.”
Roberta Pedrotti, L’Ape Musicale

“It was not ritual but drama that shaped both the singing and the acting. As an experienced Brünnhilde, Merbeth possesses a glowing chest register, the necessary stamina, and also the agility to sing the tricky high B on ‘lachte’ securely.”
Peter Quantrill, Bachtrack

“Falk Struckmann, who stepped in at short notice as Titurel, also did very well. As did Ricarda Merbeth as Kundry.”
Isabella Schmid, Kultura Extra

“… charged with energy … expressive …”
Helmut Christian Mayer, Kurier

[Photo by Xiamara Bender]