Biography

For the time being, the future holds a return to Austria at the Theater an der Wien as Donna Irene in Johann Strauss’ “Spitzentuch der Königin” in January 2025 and further queens of the night at the Stuttgart State Opera.

Her debut at the Teatro Regio di Torino was scheduled for April 2023 as Queen of the Night.
At the Stuttgart State Opera she sang L’ANGE in Saint Francoise d’Assise by Olivier Messiaen.
A reunion with the beloved Lakmé (Lakme) took place in September 2023 at the National Centre of Performing Arts in Beijing.
Over the turn of the year, the Vienna Volksoper Symphony Orchestra performed New Year’s concerts in Japan, including at Suntory Hall Tokyo and Festival Hall Osaka.
Throughout the 23/24 season, Wiesbaden audiences were able to see Beate as Queen of the Night at the Hessian State Theatre and in Mahler’s 2nd Symphony at the International May Festival Wiesbaden 2024.

The post-pandemic era began with a reunion with the Vienna Volksoper as Gilda (Rigoletto). In autumn 2021, Beate Ritter made her debut as Sophie (Rosenkavalier) at the Stuttgart State Opera. She also appeared as Sophie at the Volksoper Vienna and as Queen of the Night at the Israeli Opera in Tel Aviv;
In spring 2022, she was back on stage as Zerbinetta (Ariadne auf Naxos) in Bielefeld, as well as a stand-in at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino under Daniele Gatti, and for the first time as L’Amour and La Folie in ‘Platée’ in Stuttgart.
Two role debuts – as Waldvogel in ‘Siegfried’ and Sophie in ‘Werther’ – were celebrated at the Stuttgart State Opera in autumn 2022.
The year 2022 was rounded off with a stand-in as Gilda at the Gärtnerplatz Theatre in Munich, Adele in Die Fledermaus in Stuttgart under GMD Cornelius Meister and finally the recital with Virginie Dejos at the piano (postponed due to Covid), which featured a colourful programme with Schubert, Wolf, Strauss from the German repertoire and Debussy, Milhaud and Boulanger from the French repertoire.

In autumn 2019, Olympia (Les Contes d’Hoffmann) took her to Lausanne, to the Opéra de Lausanne, and further guest appearances as the Queen of the Night took her back to the Vienna Volksoper.
An international TV audience was able to experience her in December 2019 at ‘Christmas in Vienna’ at the Vienna Konzerthaus with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra under Sascha Götzel.
In Stuttgart, she appeared on stage as Musetta (La Bohème), Gilda (Rigoletto) and Queen of the Night (Die Zauberflöte), as well as at the New Year’s Concert under the direction of GMD Cornelius Meister.
Unfortunately, most of the rest of the season and the following season fell victim to the pandemic.
Exceptions were a live stream as Zerbinetta from Ludwigsburg of ‘Ariadne auf Naxos’, with the Stuttgart Ensemble and Orchestra and Cornelius Meister.

From 2018, she was engaged at the Stuttgart State Opera, where she made her house and role debut as Gilda (Rigoletto). Other roles in her first season included Musetta (La Bohème), Olympia (Les Contes d’Hoffmann) and Zerbinetta (Ariadne auf Naxos). The German roles all took place under the musical direction of GMD Cornelius Meister.

In autumn 2017, Beate made her debut as the title role in Lakmé at Malmö Opera.
At home in Vienna, the programme included Rosina (“der Barbier von Sevilla”), Queen of the Night and Adele.

The 2016/17 season brought Olympia in the new production of The Tales of Hoffmann and Walther in La Wally at the Volksoper Vienna, and her debut as Zerbinetta (Ariadne auf Naxos) at the Opéra National de Lorainne in Nancy.

In 2015/16, engagements took her to France as Adele at the Auditorium with the Orchestre National de Lyon, and she was heard again as Queen of the Night at the Leipzig Opera and the Komische Oper Berlin.
With the Volksoper Wien she sang Adele (Die Fledermaus) and Comtesse Stasi (Die Csárdásfürstin) to Japanese audiences in Tokyo. Back in Vienna, she sang Annika in “Eine Nacht in Venedig” and “Königin der Nacht.”

In 2014/15 she made her debut as Susanna (La Nozze di Figaro) at the Dallas Opera, Texas, and in April 2015 as Fiakermilli (Arabella, Richard Strauss) at the Cologne Opera. She also sang the Queen of the Night at the Leipzig Opera.

Further guest engagements brought Ritter to the Komische Oper Berlin as “Königin der Nacht” in 2012/13 and to the Angers Opera Nantes as Blonde in 2013.
Projects in the 2013/14 season included the Queen of the Night again at the Volksoper Vienna, at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein, Duisburg, as well as at the Komische Oper Berlin, where Beate Ritter also appeared on stage as Olympia (Les Contes d’Hoffmann); she performed the Missa Solemnis (L. v. Beethoven) and the St Matthew Passion in the Netherlands with the NNO.

As Blonde, she appeared on the stage of the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma in April 2011. She made her debut as the Queen of the Night (‘Die Zauberflöte’) in 2011 in Sankt Gallen, Switzerland; concert programmes and masses have already taken her to Switzerland, Germany and the Netherlands, as well as to France, Korea and New York, USA.
As part of the Volksoper Vienna’s guest performance at Bunka Kaikan, Tokyo, in May 2012, she performed Adele (Die Fledermaus) and Anna Reich (Die Lustigen Weiber von Windsor) in Tokyo.

In the children’s operas of the Vienna State Opera, she was seen as Schlafittchen (‘Traumfresserchen’), Waldvöglein (‘Nibelungenring für Kinder’) and Princess Badr al Budur(‘Aladdin’).

In June 2010, she made her debut as Blonde (‘Die Entführung aus dem Serail’) at the Volksoper Vienna, where she has been a member of the soloist ensemble since autumn 2010 (2010- 2014, including Adele – ‘Die Fledermaus’, Frasquita – ‘Carmen’, Papagena, Queen of the Night – ‘Die Zauberflöte’, Anna – ‘Die Lustige Weiber von Windsor’, Soprano in ‘Carmina Burana’, Belotte – ‘Madame Pompadour’, Galas…)

In the 2009/10 season, she was once again on stage at the Theater an der Wien in J. Haydn’s ‘Philemon and Baucis’ as Narcissa and in C. Monteverdi’s ‘L’incoronazione di Poppea’ as Damigella.

She made her operatic debut at the Theater an der Wien in January 2009 as Yniold in C. Debussy’s ‘Pélleas et Mélisande’ under Bertrand de Billy.

She has also appeared as a soloist with the ‘Vienna Vocalists’ in Vienna and Korea and in productions with the Vienna State Opera Chorus at the Salzburg Festival (in L. Nono’s ‘Al Gran Sole Carico d’Amore’, G. Rossini’s ‘Moises et Pharaon’ and L. v. Beethoven’s ‘Fidelio’).

In September 2009, she won first prize and the audience prize at the ‘Klassik Mania’ competition in Vienna.

In 2008 she sang the role of Uranio in the revival of F.A.M.Pistocchi’s ‘Il Narciso’ in Vienna after 300 years.

Beate Ritter then studied classical solo singing at the Conservatory Private University Vienna (2006 – 2011) with Kai Wessel and subsequently attended the Lied class of Birgid Steinberger and Carolyn Hague.

Her repertoire mainly includes colouratura roles such as Olympia (‘Les Contes d’Hoffmann’), Blonde (‘Die Entführung aus dem Serail’), Fiakermilli (‘Arabella’), Cunegunde (‘Candide’), Zerbinetta (‘Ariadne auf Naxos’) and Lakmé (‘Lakmé’).

A broad concert and oratorio repertoire with works by J.S.Bach (the Passions, ‘Jauchzet Gott’, cantatas), G.F.Händel, W.A.Mozart (‘Exsultate jubilate’, Mass in C minor, concert arias) and J. Haydn, song programmes from Romanticism (F.Schubert, H.Wolf, M.Reger, R.Strauss) to contemporary modernism (M.Kagel, A.Reimann) as well as a comprehensive song programme. Haydn, song programmes from the Romantic period (F. Schubert, H. Wolf, M. Reger, R. Strauss) to contemporary modernism (M. Kagel, A. Reimann) as well as a comprehensive operetta repertoire round off their skills.

The Austrian soprano first completed her musical theatre training at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, which was followed by engagements at festivals (including Eponine in ‘Les Misérables’ at the Steyr Music Festival in 2007, Audrey in ‘Little Shop of Horrors’ at the Bad Hall Municipal Theatre in 2007).