Annika Schlicht was born in Stuttgart and until the summer of 2015 the young mezzo-soprano studied at the Hanns Eisler College of Music with Prof. Renate Faltin. She has drawn significant artistic input for her professional career from master classes with Julia Varady and her late husband Kammersänger Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, as well as from Brigitte Fassbaender, Deborah Polaski and Patricia McCaffrey, all of whom have been honoured with the title Kammersängerin. Annika Schlicht is a recipient of the Richard Wagner Association bursary and won many prizes in the course of her study years, including the Grand Prix and a number of special prizes at the International Giulio Perotti Competition in 2012, third prize in the Lieder category at the 2012 DEBUT Competition and the advancement award of the Bronnbach Society, second prize at the 2013 Anneliese Rothenberger Competition and in June 2016 third prize at the International Wilhelm Stenhammar Competition in Sweden.

While studying Annika Schlicht was engaged, as a grant recipient of the Liz Mohn Cultural Foundation, by the International Opera Studio at the State Opera House in Berlin and made her debut there during the 2013/14 and 2014/15 seasons in a number of roles such as Flosshilde / REIN GOLD (Elfriede Jelinek), Dryad / ARIADNE AUF NAXOS, 2nd Lady / THE MAGIC FLUTE, Flower Maiden, Knave and Voice from Above / PARSIFAL, Annina / LA TRAVIATA, Paquette/ CANDIDE, Judy/ PUNCH AND JUDY (Harrison Birtwistle) and Stepmother/ CINDERELLA (Wolf-Ferrari).

In 2014 Annika Schlicht made her debut at the Young Singers Project at the Salzburg Festival in the lead role of the childrenʼs opera CENERENTOLA (Cinderella) by Rossini and in the premiere of Marc-André Dalbavieʼs CHARLOTTE SALOMON as “an Art Student from Tirol”. That same summer, she was invited by Kammersängerin Brigitte Fassbaender to perform the Lieder matinee at the Appiano Summer Lieder Festival, singing works by Richard Strauss.

2015 saw her debut in the role of Dorabella / COSI FAN TUTTE at the Bregenz Festival and in 2016 she was invited to take part again, this time playing Inge/MAKE NO NOISE (Miroslav Srnka) and singing in Donizettiʼs MESSA DA REQUIEM, a seldom performed work.

Annika Schlicht has been an ensemble member of the Deutsche Oper Berlin since the 2015/16 season, where in her first season she played the roles Maddalena / RIGOLETTO, Foresterʼs Wife / THE CUNNING LITTLE VIXEN, Auntie / PETER GRIMES, First Maid / ELEKTRA, Page / SALOME and Musico / MANON LESCAUT.

The roles she will be playing in the current season include Flosshilde / THE RHINEGOLD and THE TWILIGHT OF THE GODS, Siegrune / THE VALKYRIE, Hansel / HANSEL AND GRETEL, Olga / EUGENE ONEGIN, Maddalena de Coigny / ANDREA CHENIER, Mercedes / CARMEN and Innkeeper / BORIS GODUNOV.

Annika Schlicht augments her extensive opera career by giving concerts and Lieder recitals, including performances of Pergolesiʼs STABAT MATER, J.S. Bachʼs CHRISTMAS ORATORIO, Wagnerʼs WESENDONCK LIEDER, Antonio Vivaldiʼs GLORIA, Mozartʼs REQUIEM and. Mendelssohnʼs ST PAUL and ELIJAH, to name but a few in her repertoire to date.

Annika Schlicht has so far worked together with renowned conductors such as Daniel Barenboim, Zubin Mehta, Donald Runnicles, Alondra de la Parra, Enrique Mazzola, Ingo Metzmacher, Christopher Moulds, Stefan Soltesz, Sebastian Weigle and opera directors Harry Kupfer, Hans Neuenfels, Luc Bondy, Claus Guth, Dmitri Tcherniakov and Johannes Erath. The orchestras she has worked with include the Staatskapelle of Berlin, the Vienna Symphony, the Radio Symphony Orchestra of Berlin, the German Symphony Orchestra of Berlin, the Saxon Staatskapelle of Dresden and Ensemble Modern.

In 2016 she stepped in at short notice in PARSIFAL and SALOME, thereby making her house debuts at the Opera House in Leipzig and the Dresden Semperoper respectively.

Upcoming engagements include 2nd Lady / THE MAGIC FLUTE at the Opéra National de Paris and at the Bavarian State Opera Munich, and Auntie / PETER GRIMES at the International Bergen Festival.