Elena Rivkina studied architecture and decoration at Moscow University from 1981 to 1987. She was assistant to Franca Squarciapino for several productions, including Sleeping Beauty at the Paris Opera, Nabucco at the Memorial Opera House in San Francisco, and Lucia di Lammermoor at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. She collaborated with Catherine Leterrier on some of the costumes for Luc Besson's film Joan of Arc. She designed the costumes for the historic re-creation of Tosca at the Washington Opera, directed by Frank Cosaro. In December 2001, she designed the costumes for Così fan tutte, directed by Josep María Flotats, at Madrid's Teatro Real and Barcelona's Gran Teatre del Liceu. At the Opéra national de Paris: Falstaff, 1999; Mavra (costume design), 2001; Don Quichotte (ballet), 2002