Elena Zhidkova made her professional debut at the Deutsche Oper Berlin. She appeared at the Bayreuth Festival. Claudio Abbado invited her for the concert version of Parsifal, for Schumann’s Faustszenen and for his farewell concert at the Berlin Philharmonic where she appeared again in Händel’s Jephta under the baton of Nikolaus Harnoncourt.

At the Teatro Real in Madrid she debuted as Waltraute (Götterdämmerung) and as Brangäne in Tristan und Isolde. She debuted very successfully as Judith in Bartok’s Duke Bluebeard’s Castle at the Teatro alla Scala. Her interpretation of Judith (Duke Bluebeard’s Castle) at the Mariinsky Theatre gained her the Golden Mask award.

She could be seen as Venus in Tannhäuser at the Semperoper Dresden and sang Marie (Wozzeck) at the Deutsche Oper under Donald Runnicles. Successful performances include furthermore La Principessa di Bouillon (Adriana Lecouvreur), Pr. Eboli (Don Carlo) and Kundry (Parsifal) at the Wiener Staatsoper, Charlotte (Werther) under Michel Plasson, as well as her debut as Ortrud (Lohengrin).

She enjoyed great success as Didon in Berlioz’ Les Troyens and as Amneris in Aida at the Hamburgische Staatsoper and as Santuzza in Cavalleria Rusticana at the Deutsche Oper Berlin and the Opéra Bastille Paris.

Elena Zhidkova takes over the role of Venus in the new production (Tobias Kratzer) of Richard Wagner’s Tannhäuser at the Bayreuth Festival 2019 (musical director Valery Gergiev).

In 2009, she made her Bolshoi Theatre debut as Marie (Berg’s Wozzeck). In 2011, she sang the role of Marina Mnishek (Boris Godunov), in 2019 – the role of Princess Eboli (Don Carlo).