The German-American soprano Annika Rioux initially studied with Prof. Elisabeth Gyöngyi Kovacs at the Nuremberg University of Music, where she also earned her diplomas, before continuing her studies with Prof. Lioba Braun at the Cologne University of Music. She also received further artistic inspiration from, among others, Prof. Edda Moser, Prof. Hanno Blaschke, and Prof. Peter Maus.

 

In addition to her Master's degree in Vocal Performance, she completed a second Master's degree in International Arts Management, also at the Cologne University of Music, culminating in a thesis on marketing concepts in the field of classical music.

 

She gained her first experience as an opera singer in various university productions, appearing in works such as Britten's Albert Herring at the Fürth City Theatre, Purcell's Dido and Aeneas, and Haydn's Lo Speziale.

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As a soloist, she has performed with orchestras including the Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra, the South Westphalia Philharmonic, the New Westphalia Philharmonic, the Vogtland Philharmonic Greiz-Reichenbach, the Thuringia Philharmonic Gotha-Eisenach, the Wernigerode Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra, and the Thuringian Symphony Orchestra Saalfeld-Rudolstadt.

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Her wide-ranging repertoire encompasses oratorio, opera, operetta, and art song. As a performer of contemporary music, Annika has appeared in several world premieres.

Numerous guest appearances both in Germany and abroad, including in England, France, Austria, Finland, and the Czech Republic, as well as radio and television recordings, complete her profile.

 

From 2015 to 2021, Annika was a regular guest performer at the Thuringian State Theatre in Rudolstadt. The versatile artist covered a wide range of genres and performed as a soloist in various concert series of the Thuringian Symphony Orchestra as well as in diverse productions.

She collaborated with directors such as Mario Holetzeck and Herbert Olschok, as well as with the Berlin-based TheaterFusion.

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As arts administrator, she also worked for many years as an orchestra manager before taking over as managing director of the schola cantorum weimar from 2021 to 2025.

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In addition to her artistic work, teaching has been a long-standing passion of hers.

From 2019 to 2022, she worked as a choral vocal coach and singing teacher at the Protestant City Church in Bad Hersfeld; in the 2020/21 season, she also provided project-based vocal training for the acting ensemble of the Rudolstadt Theater.

Since 2025, Annika has worked as a singing teacher and lecturer in choral vocal training in Bavaria and serves as a singing teacher and vocal coach for the Jena Madrigal Circle.

 

Annika was a member of the Bavarian Singing Academy and a scholarship recipient of Yehudi Menuhin's Live Music Now.

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