Edita Gruberová

Edita Gruberová
Edita Gruberová
	Gruberová in 2013
Born	23 December 1946 (age 77); Rača, Bratislava, Czechoslovakia
Occupation	Opera singer (soprano)
Years active	1968–present

Edita Gruberová (born 23 December 1946)^[1] is a Slovak coloratura soprano. She had enjoyed huge success in roles such as Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos and Queen of the Night in The Magic Flute. In her later career, she explores heavier roles in the Italian bel canto repertoire, such as the title role in Lucia di Lammermoor, Elvira in Bellini's I Puritani, or Elisabetta in Donizetti's Roberto Devereux.

Education

Born in Rača, Bratislava,^[1] Gruberová began her musical studies at the Bratislava Conservatory (Konzervatórium v Bratislave),^[2] 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.

Career

In 1968, Gruberová made her operatic debut in Bratislava as Rosina in The Barber of Seville.^[3] 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.^[4] Since communist Czechoslovakia was going through a period called normalization, during which the borders were closed with non-communist countries, Medvecká surreptitiously arranged for an audition for Gruberová in the summer of 1969 at Vienna State Opera, which immediately engaged her. The following year, she made her first major breakthrough when she sang the Queen of the Night. 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.

Gruberová made her debut at Glyndebourne in 1973^[5] and at the Metropolitan Opera in 1977,^[6] both as the Queen of the Night. In 1977, she first appeared at the Salzburg Festival, as Thibault in Don Carlo, under Herbert von Karajan. In 1982, she appeared opposite Ingvar Wixell and Luciano Pavarotti in Jean-Pierre Ponnelle's film of Rigoletto.^[7] Gruberová made her Royal Opera House debut as Giulietta in Bellini's I Capuleti e i Montecchi in 1984. Other important roles she has sung include Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos, Gilda in Rigoletto, Violetta in La traviata, Lucia in Lucia di Lammermoor, Konstanze in Die Entführung aus dem Serail, the title role in Massenet's Manon and Oscar in Un ballo in maschera; she sang Donna Anna in Don Giovanni at La Scala in 1987, Marie in La fille du régiment in 1987, the title role in Semiramide in 1992 in Zürich, Queen Elizabeth I in Donizetti's Roberto Devereux in Vienna in 1990. In 2003, she added the title role in Norma to her repertoire, and sang it in Munich in 2008/09.

She gave her last staged opera performance on 27 March 2019 as Queen Elizabeth I in Roberto Devereux at the Bavarian State Opera.^[8]

She is an Austrian and Bavarian Kammersängerin and honorary member of the Vienna State Opera.^[9]^[2]

Gruberová has made many recordings, most notably in recent years full-length recordings and extended selections from Donizetti's Tudor Queens trilogy and other bel canto operas, lately exclusively on Nightingale label. More than a dozen of her filmed and televised opera appearances have been released on DVD, including I Puritani, Die Zauberflöte, Così fan tutte, Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Ariadne auf Naxos, Norma, Manon, Beatrice di Tenda, Lucrezia Borgia, and Linda di Chamounix.

Discography

Year	Opera Role	Other Cast	Conductor Orchestra and Chorus	Label
1976	Richard Strauss Ariadne auf Naxos (Zerbinetta)	Gundula Janowitz Agnes Baltsa James King Walter Berry	Karl Böhm Orchestra der Wiener Staatsoper Live performance	Orfeo
1977	Richard Strauss Ariadne auf Naxos (Zerbinetta)	Leontyne Price Tatiana Troyanos René Kollo Walter Berry Barry McDaniel	Georg Solti London Philharmonic Orchestra	London Records Decca Records
1978	Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Die Entführung aus dem Serail (Konstanze)	Francisco Araiza Roland Bracht Gudrun Ebel Norbert Orth Harald Leipnitz	Heinz Wallberg Münchner Rundfunkorchester Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks	Eurodisc
1978	Engelbert Humperdinck Hänsel und Gretel (Taumännchen)	Lucia Popp Julia Hamari Walter Berry Brigitte Fassbaender Anny Schlemm Norma Burrowes	Georg Solti Wiener Philharmoniker Wiener Sängerknaben	Decca Records
1979	Giuseppe Verdi Don Carlo (four acts) (Tebaldo)	José Carreras Mirella Freni Agnes Baltsa Nicolai Ghiaurov Piero Cappuccilli Ruggero Raimondi José van Dam	Herbert von Karajan Chor der Deutsche Oper Berlin, Berliner Philharmoniker	EMI Classics
1979/80	Giuseppe Verdi Un ballo in maschera (Oscar)	Plácido Domingo Renato Bruson Katia Ricciarelli Elena Obraztsova	Claudio Abbado Coro e Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala	Deutsche Grammophon
1980	Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Die Entführung aus dem Serail (Konstanze)	Reri Grist Francisco Araiza Norbert Orth Martti Talvela	Karl Böhm Symphonie-Orchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks	Deutsche Grammophon DVD
1981	Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Die Zauberflöte (Königin der Nacht)	Wolfgang Brendel Roland Bracht Lucia Popp Brigitte Linder Heinz Zednik Siegfried Jerusalem	Bernard Haitink Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Tölzer Knabenchor	EMI Classics Angel Records
1981	Christoph Willibald Gluck Orfeo ed Euridice (Vienna Version 1762) (Amore)	Agnes Baltsa Margaret Marshall	Riccardo Muti Ambrosian Opera Chorus Philharmonia Orchestra	His Master's Voice
1982	Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Die Zauberflöte (Königin der Nacht)	Ileana Cotrubaș Peter Schreier Martti Talvela Christian Boesch Gudrun Sieber Horst Hiestermann	James Levine Konzertvereinigung Wiener Staatsopernchor, Wiener Philharmoniker Filmed at the 1982 Salzburg Festival	TDK
1983	Gaetano Donizetti Lucia di Lammermoor (Lucia)	Alfredo Kraus Kathleen Kuhlmann Robert Lloyd (bass) Renato Bruson Bruno Lazzaretti	Nicola Rescigno Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Ambrosian Singers	EMI Classics
1983	Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Idomeneo (Elettra)	Luciano Pavarotti Agnes Baltsa Lucia Popp Leo Nucci	John Pritchard Wiener Philharmoniker, Konzertvereinigung Wiener Staatsopernchor	Decca Records
1984	Vincenzo Bellini I Capuleti e i Montecchi (Giulietta)	Agnes Baltsa Gwynne Howell Dano Raffanti John Tomlinson	Riccardo Muti Chorus and Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Recorded live over several performances May 1984	EMI Classics
1984	Giuseppe Verdi Rigoletto (Gilda)	Renato Bruson Neil Shicoff Brigitte Fassbaender Robert Lloyd	Giuseppe Sinopoli Coro e Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia	Philips Classics Records
1985	Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Die Entführung aus dem Serail (Konstanze)	Kathleen Battle Gösta Winbergh Heinz Zednik Martti Talvela	Georg Solti Chor des Wiener Staatsoper, Wiener Philharmoniker	Decca Records
1988	Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Die Zauberflöte (Königin der Nacht)	Barbara Bonney Marjana Lipovšek Peter Keller Thomas Moser Thomas Hampson Matti Salminen Hans Peter Blochwitz Anton Scharinger	Nikolaus Harnoncourt Chor und Orchester des Opernhaus Zürich	Teldec^[10]
1988	Richard Strauss Ariadne auf Naxos (Zerbinetta)	Jessye Norman Júlia Várady Paul Frey Olaf Bär Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau Rudolf Amsus	Kurt Masur Gewandhausorchester Leipzig Recorded at Neues Gewandhaus, Leipzig, January 1988	Philips Classics Records
1989	Gaetano Donizetti Maria Stuarda (Maria Stuarda)	Agnes Baltsa Francisco Araiza Francesco Ellero d'Artegna Simone Alaimo Iris Vermillion	Giuseppe Patanè Münchner Rundfunkorchester Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks	Philips Classics Records
1989	Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Lucio Silla (Giunia)	Cecilia Bartoli Peter Schreier Dawn Upshaw Yvonne Kenny	Nikolaus Harnoncourt Arnold Schoenberg Chor, Concentus Musicus Wien	Teldec
1989	Jacques Offenbach Les contes d'Hoffmann (Olympia, Antonia, Giulietta)	Plácido Domingo Claudia Eder Gabriel Bacquier James Morris Justino Díaz	Seiji Ozawa Chœurs de Radio France, Orchestre National de France	Deutsche Grammophon
1991	Gaetano Donizetti Lucia di Lammermoor (Lucia)	Neil Shicoff Alexandru Agache Alastair Miles Bernard Lombardo Francesco Piccoli	Richard Bonynge Ambrosian Singers, London Symphony Orchestra Recorded St Augustine's Church, London September 1991	Teldec
1992	Vincenzo Bellini Beatrice di Tenda (Beatrice)	Vesselina Kasarova Igor Morosow Don Bernardini	Pinchas Steinberg Wiener Jeunesse-Chor, ORF-Symphonieorchester Live performance at the Wiener Konzerthaus 30/1 & 1/2 1992	Nightingale Classics
1992	Giuseppe Verdi La traviata (Violetta)	Neil Shicoff Giorgio Zancanaro	Carlo Rizzi London Symphony Orchestra Ambrosian Singers	Teldec
1992	Giuseppe Verdi La traviata (Violetta)	Neil Shicoff Giorgio Zancanaro	Carlo Rizzi Filmed live at La Fenice, Venice in December	Warner Music Vision DVD
1993	Engelbert Humperdinck Hänsel und Gretel (Gretel)	Ann Murray Christa Ludwig Gwyneth Jones Franz Grundheber Barbara Bonney Christiane Oelze	Colin Davis Staatskapelle Dresden Kinderchor der Staatsoper Dresden, Damen des Dresdner Opernchores	Philips Classics Records
1993	Gaetano Donizetti Linda di Chamounix (Linda)	Dan Bernardini Ettore Kim Monica Groop Stefano Palatchi Anders Melander	Friedrich Haider Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Mikaeli Chamber Choir	Nightingale Classics
1994	Gaetano Donizetti Roberto Devereux (Elisabetta)	Delores Ziegler Don Bernardini Ettore Kim	Friedrich Haider Chœurs de l'Opéra du Rhin, Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg Live recording	Nightingale Classics
1994	Gaetano Donizetti Anna Bolena (Anna Bolena)	Delores Ziegler Stefano Palatchi José Bros Igor Morosow Helene Schneiderman	Elio Boncompagni Chorus and Orchestra of Hungarian Radio and Television Recorded live Wiener Konzerthaus 28/11 & 1/12 1994	Nightingale Classics
1995	Gaetano Donizetti La fille du régiment (Marie)	Deon van der Walt Rosa Laghezza Philippe Fourcade François Castel	Marcello Panni Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Münchner Rundfunkorchester Recorded Herkulessaal der Münchner Residenz March 1995	Nightingale Classics
1997	Gioachino Rossini Il barbiere di Siviglia (Rosina)	Juan Diego Flórez Rosa Laghezza Vladmir Chernov Enric Serra Francesco Ellero d'Artegna	Ralf Weikert Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Münchner Rundfunkorchester Live recording	Nightingale Classics
2004	Vincenzo Bellini Norma (Norma)	Elīna Garanča Aquiles Machado Alastair Miles Judith Howarth	Friedrich Haider Vocal Ensemble Rastatt, Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz Live recording	Nightingale Classics
2010	Gaetano Donizetti Lucrezia Borgia (Lucrezia Borgia)	José Bros Silvia Tro Santafé Franco Vassallo	Andriy Yurkevych Chor des Oper Köln, WDR Rundfunkorchester Köln Live recording at the Kölner Philharmonie	Nightingale Classics

References

^ ^a ^b Kesting, Jürgen (30 March 2019). ""Ich regiere nicht mehr. Geht!"". Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (in German). Frankfurt. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
^ ^a ^b "Die Gruberova beendet ihre Opernkarriere". Die Zeit (in German). Hamburg. dpa. 27 March 2019. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
^ Thiel, Markus (29 March 2019). "Edita Gruberova: Die Königin dankt ab". Merkur (in German). Munich. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
^ 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
^ Salazar, Francisco (2019-03-20). "Edita Gruberova Gives Final Performances At The Bayerische Staatsoper". OperaWire.
^ "Kammersängerin Edita Gruberova", profile at Vienna State Opera (Archive)
^ "CD Preview".

External links

[Kesting-1] Kesting, Jürgen (30 March 2019). ""Ich regiere nicht mehr. Geht!"". Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (in German). Frankfurt. Retrieved 22 January 2020.

[Zeit-2] "Die Gruberova beendet ihre Opernkarriere". Die Zeit (in German). Hamburg. dpa. 27 March 2019. Retrieved 22 January 2020.

[Merkur-3] Thiel, Markus (29 March 2019). "Edita Gruberova: Die Königin dankt ab". Merkur (in German). Munich. Retrieved 23 January 2020.

[4] App, Rolf (23 December 2016). "OPER: Die bescheidene Königin". St. Galler Tagblatt (in German). St. Gallen. Retrieved 23 January 2020.

[5] "The Opera Archive". glyndebourne.com. Glyndebourne. 2013. Retrieved 23 January 2020.

[6] Kozinn, Allan (7 November 1989). "Reviews/Music; Edita Gruberova in Recital". The New York Times. New York City. Retrieved 22 January 2020.

[7] Rigoletto (1982) at IMDb

[8] Salazar, Francisco (2019-03-20). "Edita Gruberova Gives Final Performances At The Bayerische Staatsoper". OperaWire.

[9] "Kammersängerin Edita Gruberova", profile at Vienna State Opera (Archive)

[10] "CD Preview".

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