Edita Gruberová
Edita Gruberová | |
|---|---|
 Gruberová in 2013 | |
| Born | 23 December 1946 Rača, Bratislava, Czechoslovakia |
| Occupation | Operatic soprano |
| Years active | 1968–2020 |
| Organisation | Vienna State Opera |
| Title | Kammersängerin |
Edita Gruberová (born 23 December 1946)[1] is a Slovak coloratura soprano. She enjoyed huge success internationally in roles such as Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos and Queen of the Night in The Magic Flute. In her later career, she explored heavier roles in the Italian bel canto repertoire, such as the title role in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor, Elvira in Bellini's I puritani, and Elisabetta in Roberto Devereux.
Education[]
Born in Rača, Bratislava,[1] Gruberová began her musical studies at the Bratislava Conservatory (Konzervatórium v Bratislave),[2][3] where she was a student of Mária Medvecká. She then continued at the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava (VŠMU). While studying, she was a singer of the Lúčnica folk ensemble and appeared several times in the Slovak National Theatre.[4]
Career[]
In 1968, Gruberová made her operatic debut in Bratislava as Rosina in Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia.[5][6] After winning a singing competition in Toulouse, she was then engaged as a soloist of the opera ensemble of the J. G. Tajovský Theatre in Banská Bystrica, Slovakia, from 1968 to 1970.[2][7] Since communist Czechoslovakia was going through normalisation, during which the borders were closed with non-communist countries, Medvecká surreptitiously arranged for an audition for Gruberová in the summer of 1969 at the Vienna State Opera, which immediately engaged her. The following year, she made her breakthrough when she sang the Queen of the Night in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte.[6] Gruberová then decided to emigrate to the West. In subsequent years, she became a soloist in Vienna and was invited to sing at many of the most important opera houses in the world, especially in coloratura roles.[4]
Gruberová made her debut at Glyndebourne in 1973 as the Queen of the Night.[4][8] She achieved international recognition in 1976 when she sang Zerbinetta in the premiere of a new production of Ariadne auf Naxos by Richard Strauss.[2] She first appeared at the Metropolitan Opera in 1977,[9] again as the Queen of the Night. In 1977, she first appeared at the Salzburg Festival, as Thibault in Verdi's Don Carlo, conducted by Herbert von Karajan. She appeared as Gilda in Jean-Pierre Ponnelle's 1982 film of Rigoletto opposite Ingvar Wixell and Luciano Pavarotti,[10] and in his 1988 film of Mozart's Così fan tutte opposite Delores Ziegler and Ferruccio Furlanetto.[11] Gruberová made her Royal Opera House debut as Giulietta in Bellini's I Capuleti e i Montecchi in 1984. Other important roles include the title role of Verdi's La traviata ad Donizetti's in Lucia di Lammermoor, Konstanze in Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail, the title role in Massenet's Manon and Oscar in Verdi' Un ballo in maschera. She appeared as Donna Anna in Mozart's Don Giovanni at La Scala in Milan in 1987, as Marie in Doizetti's La fille du régiment in 1987, in the title role of Rossini's Semiramide in Zürich in 1982, and as Elizabeth I in Donizetti's Roberto Devereux in Vienna in 1990. In 2006, she added the title role in Bellini's Norma to her repertoire, at the Bavarian State Opera.[2]
In 2001, she withdrew all her performances at the Zürich Opera, after Alexander Pereira, then intendant of the company, refused to claim responsibility for her dancer daughter's injury, which ruined her career but was not considered an occupational accident.[2] She had not performed at the theatre until replacing Jonas Kaufmann in a recital on 11 May 2012.[12] Later that year, after Pereira's departure, she finally performed in staged opera with the company again, in a revival of Roberto Devereux.[13]
She gave her last opera performance on 27 March 2019 as Elizabeth I in Roberto Devereux at the Bavarian State Opera, after which she focused on concerts and masterclasses.[14][3] She officially retired from the stage in September 2020, in part due to delays related to the COVID-19 pandemic which made planning further performances difficult.[15] Her last performance was in Gersthofen on 20 December 2019,[16] as the two planned farewell performances in semi-staged Roberto Devereux at the State Theatre Košice at the end of November 2020 were eventually cancelled as well due to the pandemic.[17]
Gruberová is an Austrian and Bavarian Kammersängerin and honorary member of the Vienna State Opera.[6][3] Gruberová has made many recordings, most notably in full-length opera recordings and extended selections from Donizetti's Tudor Queens' trilogy and other bel canto operas, lately exclusively on Nightingale label.
Discography[]
Recordings with Gruberová include:[18][19]
References[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b Kesting, Jürgen (30 March 2019). "Ich regiere nicht mehr. Geht!". Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (in German). Frankfurt. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Hanning, Ilona (19 December 2016). ""Einfach Rauf und Runter" – Die Sopranistin Edita Gruberová". BR-Klassik.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c "Die Gruberova beendet ihre Opernkarriere". Die Zeit (in German). Hamburg. dpa. 27 March 2019. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c Patmore, David. "Elena Gruberová". Naxos Records. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
- ^ Thiel, Markus (29 March 2019). "Edita Gruberova: Die Königin dankt ab". Merkur (in German). Munich. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c "Kammersängerin Edita Gruberova", profile at Vienna State Opera (Archive)
- ^ App, Rolf (23 December 2016). "OPER: Die bescheidene Königin". St. Galler Tagblatt (in German). St. Gallen. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
- ^ "The Opera Archive". glyndebourne.com. Glyndebourne. 2013. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
- ^ Kozinn, Allan (7 November 1989). "Reviews/Music; Edita Gruberova in Recital". The New York Times. New York City. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
- ^ Rigoletto (1982) at IMDb
- ^ Così fan tutte (1988) at IMDb
- ^ "Comeback von Edita Gruberova". Neue Zürcher Zeitung. 9 May 2012.
- ^ Schneider, Oliver (1 October 2012). "Die triumphale Rückkehr von Edita Gruberova". DrehPunktKultur.
- ^ Salazar, Francisco (20 March 2019). "Edita Gruberova Gives Final Performances At The Bayerische Staatsoper". OperaWire.
- ^ Dörfner, Antje (14 September 2020). "Star-Sopranistin Edita Gruberová beendet Karriere: Zum Jahresende ist Schluss". BR-Klassik. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
- ^ "Clap de fin pour Edita Gruberová ?". Forumopera.com. 14 September 2020.
- ^ Bejda, Róbert (18 November 2020). "Operná diva Edita Gruberová definitívne končí kariéru". Korzár (in Slovak). Retrieved 28 March 2021.
- ^ Recordings with Edita Gruberova Naxos Records
- ^ Discography AllMusic
- ^ "CD Preview".
Further reading[]
- Niel Rishoi, Edita Gruberová. Ein Portrait, Atlantis Musikbuch, Zürich and Mayence, 1996, ISBN 3-254-00192-3 (in German)
- Thiel, Markus (June 2012). Edita Gruberova – "Der Gesang ist mein Geschenk". Henschel Verlag. ISBN 978-3-89487-915-0.
External links[]
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Edita Gruberová. |
- Official website
- Literature by and about Edita Gruberová in the German National Library catalogue
- Edita Gruberová at IMDb
- Edita Gruberová discography at Discogs
- Edita Gruberová (management) Hilbert
- Archive Bayerische Staatsoper Mediathek
- Trevor Gillis: Edita Gruberová (video of Queen of the Night) 1 December 2016
- Edita Gruberova as Zerbinetta Live at the MET (17/02/1979) [InHouse Recording] on YouTube
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- 1946 births
- Living people
- Slovak operatic sopranos
- Musicians from Bratislava
- Czechoslovak emigrants to Austria
- Österreichischer Kammersänger
- Herbert von Karajan Music Prize winners
- 20th-century women opera singers
- 20th-century opera singers
- 20th-century Slovak women
- 21st-century women opera singers
- 21st-century opera singers
- 21st-century Slovak women