Edita Gruberová (; 23 December 1946 – 18 October 2021) was a Slovak

coloratura soprano A coloratura soprano () is a type of operatic soprano voice that specializes in music that is distinguished by agile run (music), runs, leaps and Trill (music), trills. The term ''coloratura'' refers to the elaborate ornamentation of a melody, whi ...

. She made her stage debut in Bratislava in 1968 as Rosina in Rossini's '' Il barbiere di Siviglia'', and successfully auditioned at the

Vienna State Opera The Vienna State Opera (, ) is a historic opera house and opera company based in Vienna, Austria. The 1,709-seat Renaissance Revival venue was the first major building on the Vienna Ring Road. It was built from 1861 to 1869 following plans by ...

the following year, which became her base. She received international recognition for roles such as Mozart's Queen of the Night in ''

Die Zauberflöte ''The Magic Flute'' (, ), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. It is a ''Singspiel'', a popular form that included both singing and spoken dialogue. The work premiered on ...

'' and Zerbinetta in '' Ariadne auf Naxos'' by Richard Strauss. In her later career, she explored heavier roles in the Italian

bel canto , )—with several similar constructions (, , , pronounced in English as )—is a term with several meanings that relate to Italian singing, and whose definitions have often been misunderstood. ''Bel canto'' was not only seen as a vocal technique ...

repertoire, such as the title role in Donizetti's '' Lucia di Lammermoor'', and Elvira in Bellini's '' I puritani''. In 2019, she portrayed Elisabetta in Donizetti's '' Roberto Devereux'', who leaves her throne, concluding a stage career performing leading roles over 51 years. She is remembered as the "" (Slovak Nightingale), and as prima donna assoluta.

Early life and education

Edita Gruberová was born on 23 December 1946 in

Rača, Bratislava Rača is a borough of Bratislava, Slovakia, in the Bratislava III Bratislava III (; ) is an okres (district) of Bratislava in the Bratislava Region of Slovakia. The district includes the boroughs of Nové Mesto, Bratislava, Nové Mesto, Rača ( ...

, to a German father and a Hungarian mother. As an anti-communist, her father survived a five-year prison sentence for treason. Her father drank and she developed a close relationship with her mother. She sang in a school choir and in the children's choir of the broadcaster. The pastor of the parish where she prepared for

Confirmation In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant (religion), covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. The ceremony typically involves laying on o ...

accompanied her when she sang solos at church, and prepared her in piano playing to pass the exam to enter the conservatory. Gruberová began her musical studies at the Bratislava Conservatory (''Konzervatórium v Bratislave''), where she was a student of . She then continued at the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava (VŠMU). While studying there, she was a singer of the Lúčnica folk ensemble and appeared several times in the Slovak National Theatre. She would later study with Ruthilde Boesch in Vienna.

Career

Opera

In 1968, Gruberová made her operatic debut at the National Theatre in

Bratislava Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all List of cities and towns on the river Danube, cities on the river Danube. ...

as Rosina in Rossini's '' Il barbiere di Siviglia''. After winning a singing competition in

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

, she was then engaged as a soloist of the opera ensemble of the J. G. Tajovský Theatre in

Banská Bystrica Banská Bystrica (, also known by other #Etymology, alternative names) is a city in central Slovakia, located on the Hron River in a long and wide valley encircled by the mountain chains of the Low Tatras, the Greater Fatra, Veľká Fatra, and t ...

, Slovakia, from 1968 to 1970. Among her roles was Eliza Doolittle in Loewe's musical ''

My Fair Lady ''My Fair Lady'' is a musical theatre, musical with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The story, based on George Bernard Shaw's 1913 play ''Pygmalion (play), Pygmalion'' and on the Pygmalion (1938 film), 1938 film ...

''. Since communist Czechoslovakia was going through normalisation, during which the borders to non-communist countries were closed, Medvecká surreptitiously arranged for an audition for Gruberová at the

in the summer of 1969. She was immediately engaged, and made her breakthrough the following year when she appeared as the Queen of the Night in Mozart's ''

''. In 1971, Gruberová decided to emigrate to the West. She became a member of the Vienna State Opera in 1972, where she was only given secondary and supporting roles in her early years. She was invited to perform at many of the most important opera houses in the world, especially in

coloratura Coloratura ( , , ; , from ''colorata'', the past participle of the verb ''colorare'', 'to color') is a passage of music holding elaboration to a melody. The elaboration usually takes the form of runs, trills, wide leaps or other virtuoso ma ...

roles. Gruberová made her debut at Glyndebourne in 1973 as the Queen of the Night. She became an Austrian citizen in 1974. In Vienna, she studied with Ruthilde Boesch, whom she described as a wonderful, tough, diligent teacher, the demanding role of Zerbinetta in '' Ariadne auf Naxos'' by Richard Strauss. Although a guest was planned to sing the role in a new production in 1976, Gruberová convinced conductor Karl Böhm that she was capable. The premiere won her international recognition, and Böhm said he wished that the composer could have heard that performance. Gruberová first appeared at the

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera is an American opera company based in New York City, currently resident at the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center), Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Referred ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

in 1977, again as the Queen of the Night, conducted by

James Conlon James Conlon (born March 18, 1950) is an American conductor. He is currently the music director of Los Angeles Opera and principal conductor of the RAI National Symphony Orchestra. Early years Conlon grew up in a family of five children on Che ...

. She appeared as Zerbinetta in a live broadcast conducted by

James Levine James Lawrence Levine ( ; June 23, 1943 – March 9, 2021) was an American conductor and pianist. He was music director of the Metropolitan Opera from 1976 to 2016. He was terminated from all his positions and affiliations with the Met on March ...

in 1979. Robert Jacobson of ''Opera News'', in his review noted: In 1977, she first appeared at the

Salzburg Festival The Salzburg Festival () is a prominent festival of music and drama established in 1920. It is held each summer, for five weeks starting in late July, in Salzburg, Austria, the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Mozart's operas are a focus of ...

, as Thibault in Verdi's '' Don Carlo'', conducted by Herbert von Karajan. In opera films, she performed as Gilda in Ponnelle's 1982 film adaptation of ''

Rigoletto ''Rigoletto'' is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the 1832 play '' Le roi s'amuse'' by Victor Hugo. Despite serious initial problems with the Austrian censors who had c ...

'', alongside Ingvar Wixell in the title role and

Luciano Pavarotti Luciano Pavarotti (, , ; 12 October 19356 September 2007) was an Italian operatic tenor who during the late part of his career crossed over into popular music, eventually becoming one of the most acclaimed tenors of all time. He made numerou ...

as the Duke, and in his 1988 film adaptation of Mozart's ''

Così fan tutte (''Women are like that, or The School for Lovers''), Köchel catalogue, K. 588, is an opera buffa in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. It was first performed on 26 January 1790 at the Burgtheater in Vienna, Austria. The libretto was written ...

'', alongside Delores Ziegler and Ferruccio Furlanetto. Gruberová made her

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is a theatre in Covent Garden, central London. The building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. The ROH is the main home of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, and the Orch ...

debut as Giulietta in Bellini's ''

I Capuleti e i Montecchi ''I Capuleti e i Montecchi'' (''The Capulets and the Montagues'') is an Italian opera (''tragedia lirica'') in two acts by Vincenzo Bellini. The libretto by Felice Romani was a reworking of the story of ''Romeo and Juliet'' for an opera by Nicol ...

'' in 1984. Other important roles include the title roles of Verdi's '' La traviata'', Donizetti's '' Lucia di Lammermoor'', and Massenet's '' Manon''. She performed as Konstanze in Mozart's ''

Die Entführung aus dem Serail ' () (Köchel catalogue, K. 384; ''The Abduction from the Seraglio''; also known as ') is a singspiel in three acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The German libretto is by Gottlieb Stephanie, based on Christoph Friedrich Bretzner's . The plot concer ...

'', and Oscar in Verdi's '' Un ballo in maschera''. Gruberova 2008 - web

Gruberová appeared as a regular guest at the Zürich Opera, as Marie in Donizetti's ''

La fille du régiment LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second most populous city in the United States of America. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note *"L.A.", a song by Elliott Smi ...

'' in 1984, as Lucia in 1990, and in the title role of Rossini's ''

Semiramide ''Semiramide'' () is an opera in two acts by Gioachino Rossini. The libretto by Gaetano Rossi is based on Voltaire's tragedy ''Sémiramis (tragedy), Semiramis'', which in turn was based on the legend of Semiramis of Assyria. The opera was first ...

'' in 1992. She performed there in the title role of Donizetti's '' Linda di Chamounix'' in 1995, as Elvira in Bellini's '' I puritani'' in 1999, in the title role of Donizetti's '' Anna Bolena'' in 2000, and in the title role of Bellini's '' Beatrice di Tenda'' in 2001. The same year, she withdrew from all her performances at the Zürich Opera, after Alexander Pereira, then intendant, claimed that her dancer daughter's injury, which forced her to quit dancing, was not an occupational accident. In 2012, she appeared there again in a recital, stepping in for Jonas Kaufmann. Later that year, after Pereira's departure, she performed with the company again, in a revival of '' Roberto Devereux''. Gruberová appeared as Donna Anna in Mozart's ''

Don Giovanni ''Don Giovanni'' (; K. 527; full title: , literally ''The Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni'') is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Its subject is a centuries-old Spanish legen ...

'' at

La Scala La Scala (, , ; officially , ) is a historic opera house in Milan, Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as (, which previously was Santa Maria della Scala, Milan, a church). The premiere performa ...

in Milan in 1987 and as Elisabetta in Donizetti's ''Roberto Devereux'' in Vienna in 1990. The latter became one of her signature roles; in a new production in Munich directed by Christof Loy, she made peace with '' Regietheater'' in a dramatic portrayal of the Queen, without losing her distinctive coloratura. She always performed coloratura ornamentation with dramatic expressiveness, with humour as Zerbinetta, and in rapture with a high

trill TRILL (Transparent Interconnection of Lots of Links) is a networking protocol for optimizing bandwidth and resilience in Ethernet networks, implemented by devices called TRILL switches. TRILL combines techniques from bridging and routing, and ...

as the dying Antonia in Offenbach's '' Les contes d'Hoffmann''. In 2006, she added the title role in Bellini's ''

Norma Norma may refer to: * Norma (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) ** Norma Lizbeth Ramos, a Mexican bullying victim Astronomy *Norma (constellation) * 555 Norma, a minor asteroid * Cygnus Arm or Norma Arm, a spiral ...

'' to her repertoire, at the

Bavarian State Opera The Bavarian State Opera () is a German opera company based in Munich. Its main venue is the Nationaltheater München, and its orchestra the Bavarian State Orchestra. History The parent ensemble of the company was founded in 1653, under El ...

. She gave her last opera performance on 27 March 2019 as Elisabetta in ''Roberto Devereux'' at the Bavarian State Opera. She concluded her stage career after 51 years of singing leading roles, and received ovations for 58 minutes. Jürgen Kesting, writing for the '' FAZ'', allegorized her convincing portrayal of the aging Elizabeth I who leaves her throne and drew parallels to her retiring. She then focused on concerts and giving masterclasses. She officially retired from the stage in September 2020, in part due to delays related to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

which made planning further performances difficult. Her last performance was in Gersthofen on 20 December 2019. Her two planned farewell performances in November 2020, in a semi-staged ''Roberto Devereux'' at the National Theatre Košice, were cancelled due to the pandemic.

''Lied''

Gruberová was introduced to ''

Lied In the Western classical music tradition, ( , ; , ; ) is a term for setting poetry to classical music. The term is used for any kind of song in contemporary German and Dutch, but among English and French speakers, is often used interchangea ...

er'' repertoire by , a professor at the Vienna Music Academy, and repetiteur at the Vienna State Opera. They often performed together, until Erik Werba became her ''Lied'' partner with whom she performed songs by

Franz Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; ; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. Despite his short life, Schubert left behind a List of compositions ...

Gustav Mahler Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic music, Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and ...

and Strauss. In 1980, they performed a recital at the

with clarinetist Peter Schmidl, featuring songs by

Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include symphonie ...

, Schubert and Strauss.

Recognition

Gruberová was an Austrian and Bavarian

Kammersänger Kammersänger (male; ) or Kammersängerin (female; ), abbreviated Ks. or KS, is a German Title of honor, honorific title for distinguished singers of opera and classical music. It literally means "chamber singer". Historically, the title was besto ...

in, and an honorary member of the Vienna State Opera from 1988."Kammersängerin Edita Gruberova"
profile at Vienna State Opera (Archive) She was known as the "Slowakische Nachtigall" (Slovak Nightingale).''"Slowakische Nachtigall" / Edita Gruberova ausgezeichnet.''
(in German) In: ''Rathauskorrespondenz'', 27 May 2009 Kesting recognized Gruberová as the last prima donna assoluta.

Personal life

Gruberová was married to Štefan Klimo, a Czech composer and musicologist. They divorced in 1983 and Klimo died by suicide soon afterwards. Beginning in the 1980s, she had a long professional and personal relationship with Friedrich Haider, a pianist and conductor. They separated in 2007. She is the mother of two daughters, including the dancer and choreographer Barbara Klimo. She moved her residence to Zürich in the mid-1980s for tax reasons. Gruberová died of an accidental head injury in Zürich on 18 October 2021 at age 74.

Recordings

Gruberová made many recordings, most notably in full-length opera, and extended selections from Donizetti's Tudor Queens' trilogy and other bel canto operas. She recorded ''Die Zauberflöte'' with conductors Alain Lombard,

Bernard Haitink Bernard Johan Herman Haitink (; 4 March 1929 – 21 October 2021) was a Dutch conductor and violinist. He was the principal conductor of several international orchestras, beginning with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in 1961. He moved to Lond ...

and Nikolaus Harnoncourt, ''Ariadne auf Naxos'' with

Georg Solti Sir Georg Solti ( , ; born György Stern; 21 October 1912 – 5 September 1997) was a Hungarian-British orchestral and operatic conductor, known for his appearances with opera companies in Munich, Frankfurt, and London, and as a long-servi ...

, and ''Die Entführung aus dem Serail'' with

Heinz Wallberg Heinz Wallberg (16 March 192329 September 2004) was a German conductor. Wallberg was born in Herringen, Westphalia. He studied trumpet, violin and piano. He helped to support his family with his musical training after his father became unabl ...

, among others. In her later years, she recorded exclusively on the Nightingale label that she founded. More than a dozen of her filmed and televised opera appearances have been released on DVD, including ''Die Zauberflöte'', ''Così fan tutte'', ''Die Entführung aus dem Serail'', ''I puritani'', ''Norma'', ''Manon'', ''Beatrice di Tenda'', and Donizetti's ''

Lucrezia Borgia Lucrezia Borgia (18 April 1480 – 24 June 1519) was an Italian noblewoman of the House of Borgia who was the illegitimate daughter of Pope Alexander VI and Vannozza dei Cattanei. She was a former governor of Spoleto. Her family arranged ...

'' and ''Linda di Chamounix'', and ''Ariadne auf Naxos''. She recorded Bach's solo cantatas for soprano, such as ''Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen'', BWV 51, and ''Mein Herze schwimmt im Blut'', BWV 199, in 1979, with Helmut Winschermann conducting the Deutsche Bachsolisten and trumpeter Wolfgang Basch. She also appeared as the soprano soloist in Giuseppe Sinopoli's 1991 recording of Mahler's Fourth Symphony.

Awards

* 1980: Austrian Kammersängerin * 1988: Honorary member of the

* 1989: Bavarian Kammersängerin * 1997: Bayerischer Verdienstorden * 1999: Bavarian Maximilian Order for Science and Art (in the field of art) * 2009: in Gold * 2013: Herbert von Karajan Music Prize * 2014: ''Goldener Schikaneder'' for her life's work * 2016: Ehrenplakette of the in

Garmisch-Partenkirchen Garmisch-Partenkirchen (; ) is an Northern Limestone Alps, Alpine mountain resort, ski town in Bavaria, southern Germany. It is the seat of government of the Garmisch-Partenkirchen (district), district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen (abbreviated ...

Eröffnungsprogramm der Richard-Strauss-Festivals 2016
(in German) Richard-Strauss-Festival, retrieved 6 April 2018{{cite web , title=Tickets und Infos Kongresszentrum Garmisch-Partenkirchen Eröffnung Richard-Strauss-Festival 2016 , website=Kultur.net , url=http://kultur.net/kongresszentrum-garmisch-partenkirchen/programm/eroeffnung-richard-strauss-festival-2016 , language=de , access-date=21 December 2021 * 2021: International Classical Music Awards, Lifetime Achievement{{cite web , title=The ICMA winners 2021 are published – ICMA , website=ICMA , url=https://www.icma-info.com/the-icma-winners-2021-are-published/ , access-date=19 October 2021 , archive-date=10 April 2021 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210410143650/https://www.icma-info.com/the-icma-winners-2021-are-published/ , url-status=live

References

{{Reflist

External links

{{commons category * {{official * {{IMDb name, 0344310, name=Edita Gruberová * {{discogs artist
Edita Gruberová
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211019091701/https://www.hilbert.de/en/artists/singers/soprano/edita-gruberova/ , date=19 October 2021 (management) Hilbert * Trevor Gillis
Edita Gruberová
(video of Queen of the Night) 1 December 2016 * {{YouTube, DwP-5TQjuOo, Edita Gruberova as Zerbinetta Live at the MET (17 February 1979) nHouse Recording}
Recordings of rehearsals and performances with Edita Gruberová
in the online-archive of the Österreichische Mediathek {{registration required {{Herbert von Karajan Music Prize {{International Classical Music Awards Lifetime Achievement {{Authority control {{Portal bar, Biography, Opera {{DEFAULTSORT:Gruberova, Edita 1946 births 2021 deaths Slovak operatic sopranos Musicians from Bratislava Czechoslovak emigrants to Austria Österreichischer Kammersänger Herbert von Karajan Music Prize winners 20th-century Slovak women opera singers 21st-century Slovak women opera singers Slovak expatriates in Switzerland