Added: 4 years ago
From: Hupjeflupje
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  • Looks like Angela Merkel in opera world

  • With her age, with her reputation I guess she just "play" this role without any difficulty. Fantastique.

  • i like this oper! i like it!

  • I love this great coloratura, but why does she always 'slide' up to the Eb? Throughout her career she has done this ... not a criticism ... I have over 10 of her recordings... Viva La Gruberova! Of course, we also have to appreciate that this lady is 60 here and to this day is still singing roles that many of the 'wannabe' coloraturas of today would be scared of!!

  • I love this great coloratura, but why does she always 'slide' up to the Eb? Throughout her career she has done this ... not a criticism ... I have over 10 of her recordings... Viva La Gruberova!

  • I think that the huge glissando up to the high Eb was unnecesasy, and i felt this piece would have been better served if she had landed onto the note instead of sliding into it. Otherwise,it very lovely indeed. . . He colouratura comes with such ease and is almost flutelike :D

  • Comment removed

  • Edita did better in her past than this performance. Am I the one this sounds not so good? Why is she still singing at her old age? She was unforgettable, but now is over...

    Mi sembra che a tratti canti in maniera arronzona e cialtrona. Non stacca tra un acuto e l'altro e sembra che, a tratti, stia solo gridando lamenti. A una certa età nessuno la obbliga a mantenere nel repertorio il belcanto più ardito

  • @FloriaTosca90 Why should she stop doing what she loves? As she's said she loves to "move people in their souls...this is the absolute peak." I personally think she sounds great considering her old age.

  • She's 64 now and still singing awesome!! Amazing voice and presence....How can she do it - Do opera singers take steroids?!

  • At the age of 61 this was nothing short of MARVELLOUS! Bravissima!

  • People, stop judging BY ONLY listening to this clip. You only have a say if you were in the audience. If not, shut up, close your eyes, hold your pee, and enjoy La Gruberova!

  • Damrau's voice is - in my opinion - more pleasant to listen to.

  • Well,if I could sing this well aged 60,I would be dammed well delighted!

  • I envy you who have been fortunate enough to hear Edita in person. What I'd give for the same opportunity.

  • so glad she exists :)

  • my favourite performance :)

  • esta es una obra dramatica de coloratura belcantista........me reafirmo .....en que a buen entendedor pocas palabras vastan......ni la mas remota comparacion ni con sutherland ni con callas........estos gorrioncillos estaran para otra cosa.....pero no para estos papeles..........estos papeles son de mucho peso vocal.......y no es el fuerte de edita gruveroba......asi que por mi ....que vaya al otorrino otro...yo tengo mi oido perfectamente.......

  • Magnifique interprepation.

  • Her pianisimmos are not strong enough. They basically become inaudible.

    Not enough impact on the high notes.

  • @jmiller05

    I was in the audience and have to disagree with you: her pianissimo's are indeed very very soft (intented) but still audible.

    Edita takes back power on the high notes to prevent screeming (as other sopranos do to force out the high notes).

  • @Hupjeflupje Fair enough. Her pianisimmos probably sound better live and in the flesh.

    I do think they restrict her from making smooth legato transitions though.

  • @jmiller05

    Her pianissimi are superb and unprecedented. You just cannot tell by listening to this film on youtube.

  • @jmiller05 - I have known her for years, and sure the voice is a bit older and it is a bit audible yet -but the "bit" means she can still kick ass at the highest registers carress you to dreams... But THIS is real bel-canto, that is why her voice never sounds harsh, no tone is raped and placed exactly where it needs to be. The agility of her voice and its perfect command are proof, that this is singing as it should be. Though nicer timbres - you might find. Who does sing like this at her age?

  • @jmiller05 sing this better then her and don´t forget to upload for us here... easy to criticize when we can´t do better...

    BTW, the video is great!

  • ni por lo mas remoto me atreveria a compararla con sutherland.esta fuera de lugar totalmente.sutherland es un fenomeno unico.y edita una soprano mas.

  • @bellini7verdi

    Aqui si lee uno de todo!!!!!!

    Edita una soprano mas????? el lavado de oidos le ayudaria a usted!

  • @bellini7verdi

    Aqui si lee uno de todo!!!!!!

    Edita una soprano mas????? usted necesita un buen lavado de oidos!

  • FLAT!!!!!!!!!!

  • I love Edita!

  • She is simply awesome...a living legend!!

  • not bad for her age. yet there are some rough sounds and unpleasant high notes. and she failed in the finale. I liked her in the early interpretations, but now.... Niculina Carstea, for instance is really amazing, even at an older age. Or Renee Fleming.

  • I don't know why people overrate the acting. Seriously. You have people who prase faulty voices with good acting, and damn perfect technique because they say it's too showy... What the hell?

    What do you think these arias are? They are show-off pieces for the singers. That's the reason why Bel Canto died for a while before it had a "revival." People were tired of listening to aria after aria written to show off someone's vocal agility. Bel Canto = Opera Seria for Sopranos and Mezzos.

  • Bel Canto pieces ARE NOT show off pieces for vain prima donnas. Granted, they were often abused as such, that does not explain away the uselessness of the whole "ornamenting because I can" nonsense. I love ornaments as much as anyone. The brilliant stuff Callas and Bernstein came up with for La Sonnambula for example. But ornaments are part of the DRAMA. Callas understood this. Even a brainless aria like Lakme's Bell Aria can make dramatic sense. The whole ornamenting fetish always eluded me.

  • I can't wait January 2010, when she will sing Elvira ( I puritani) in Wien.

    I'd like to hear her as Elisabeth in Robert Devereux in Munich in July 2010.

  • me, too

    :)

  • Her higher register is still very beautiful and her pianissimi-tones are superb. Astonishing! Sutherlands voice sounded much older at this age (I think Gruberova is 60 here)...

  • I dont the abuse of the portamenti, sometimes sounds off key. She skips a lot of notes on the quick coloraturas. She does whatever she wants with bel canto. I think being "La Gruberova" is not a justification for it, nor her age. Mariella Devia is almost the same age and she does quite a better job.

  • fascinating hearing her at this older age in this aria...naturally she survives and conquers but her timing is rushed and not really natural in character...the top above A is like a cat/ thin ice sound... a sort of little girl styling with the fuller voice hiding inside...clever technique a smart kammersangerin!

  • I honestly don't like gruberova... her voice usually has ups and downs during the performances. her voice is usually thin. i don't like her timing nor her theatrical interpretation. She has some history of good performing in the past but nothing out of the ordinary. that's my opinion...

    The best Spargi D'Amaro Pianto i've heard is the version sang by Edda Moser. Her voice is very large and she is wonderfully theatrical. I admit that her final E isn't reaally good, but does not affect the rest.

  • Che meraviglia quei p,pp,ppp!! e i passaggi da p a f!

    Peccato per i trilli non più così brillanti :(

    Ad una certa età è comprensibile

  • Sutherland's successor ! Fabulous singing (a wee bit weird aspiration though)

  • i find her pianissimi a bit "cheating' In her attack of phrasing Her singing is marvelous, however, i feel Sutherland far more articilate with her coloratura. I detect some wabble as well. My opinion only...

  • By the pianissimi, do you mean that weird turkey-like sound at about 3:59?

  • she is so great...i love her =)

  • Spectacular Dynamics, would love to have heard her in her younger days!

  • bah....... couldn't she sing anything else???

  • Couldn't she sing anything else?? Are you kidding??

    She is the best Lucia! Probably She really loves this role! And her fans really love her singing Lucia

  • Still AMAZING!! Brava Edita, i'd rather see her perform this role live than any other soprano today. Truly the greatest.

  • One would expect at this age that intonation would be failing, and hers was always suspect anyway. Still, despite the incessant crooning, her technique serves her well. Interesting to have had a career as a coloratura with no trill. She paved the way for Dessay.

  • lol you either dont have ears or don't kow what a trill is. gruberova's trill is perfect, maybe in her later years it is not articulated that well, but she's always had a trill. listen to other performances and then write your wise comments.

  • *no* trill?!?!

  • My favourite soprano!!! Colratura, agility, voice, acting... She was, I think 60 in here! What else can you ask for? Outstanding!!!

  • The best! Nothing left to say

  • i hate scooping to the final note

  • excelent

  • il st vrai qu'elle a un beau parcourt,mais comparer a natalie dessay,elle est merdique ;) meme avant sa putain de voix ;) en etant jeune ;)

    natalie dessay a pas loin de 50 ans et elle chante traviata ;)

  • elle est magnifique!

  • putain kelle voix :o .....merdique ;)

  • she was in better form when I saw her in prague in 2008.

  • I've seen her lately in this role at Semperoper, Dresden (1st May 2008) and everybody who is shouting at her judging by these "high quality" tapes of youtube: just shut the fuck up until you made the experience seeing her live on stage!

  • I was there on may the 27th:) It was very very goood, but some of the high notes were strained, but everything was perfect, it is beyond comprehension.really.

  • Was she really 61?

  • I'm not sure I would agree with the double negative that Gruberova sings trills as "correctly as noone [sic] nowadays." There are people who do perform relatively good trills now, and this singer never really had one. A shake is not a trill, disguised with appogiatura or otherwise. Pons never had a trill either, although her staccati were excellent. If you want to hear expertly executed trills listen to Sutherland, Ponselle or Tetrazzini.

  • here the trill is not well executed, but she's always had a beatiful trill. a shake? you mean tremolo?:D listen to her recordings and then say.

  • Wow, I hope I still have all those notes when I'm 61...

  • Gruberova never had a real trill, and you can't be Lucia without it. Still, despite the trademark scooping and the lazy scalework, to hear her sound this good in 2007 is very impressive.

  • gruberova sings trills as correctly as noone nowadays. she always had a real trill.

  • Gruberova is the queen of trills

  • I wonder if you can manifest your disagreement without insulting other people....

    I understand that some people could disagree with me, so I've never insulted anyone

  • That I agree with, Diego. We might disagree but you never call people names. That is good.

  • Je úžasná.

    She´s the best

    Peter, Slovakia

  • I do love edita, but in this role she ain't got shit on sutherland.

  • Are you kidding! She tops Sutherland by far!

  • She tops Sutherland in absolutely nothing.

  • About Lucia...

    Gruberova was a great Lucia. Definetly the best ever. She was more accurate and precise than Sutherland. Sutherland didn't give the proper intensity to the words. Sutherland hadn't an idea of what she was singing.

    Gruberova is so intense.. She knows perfectly what she is singing, in a perfect Italian: a great actress, not only a singer. She had a great care for the words!

    Can't say the same about Sutherland...

  • Definitely the best ever? In YOUR opinion. YOUR opinion (Heavily biased a s it is) isn't a fact.

  • Sutyherland used to alter the score: didn't have an idea of what is the duration of a note!

    Always "fuori tempo"...

  • And Gruberova never altered a score? She over-ornaments all over the place!

  • That's a good thing, I say

  • It's not. It shows her lack of respect for the composers of this divine music and her need to show off. Tasteless in my opinion.

  • Go back to the old days, baroque time, singingers were always allowed to make changes etc to enhance the music/intepretation, no lack of repect for the composer, stop your rubbish

  • Oh really? That "rubbish" is an opinion shared by many. The composer's will is more important than that of any showy prima donna. Even Adelina Patti had to learn that when, after singing "Una voce poco fa", Rossini himself asked her "Lovely. But who wrote it?". Now, Gruberova isn't as grating as Mado Robin... But I'm with the critic who sighed "Full of notes and empty of sense!" when it comes to her kind.

  • And believe you me, your opinion is NOT shared by many more. Oranaments aren't put in just at a singer's wll. They are all carefully worked out with the coaches, conductors and the singers themselves, making sure that it fits with the intentions of the music. Although to you, they may just sounds like silly embellishments, believe me they are carefully worked out by all musicians involved.

  • Good for you if you think that. Both opinions are valid. I prefer musical and dramatic sense to showy glitz. To each his or her own. De gustibus etc.

  • Hi Elisabetta, I too prefer musical and dramatic sense to showy glitz, absolutely, in fact I can't stand listening to some singers who are sooooo busy with their coloratura showing off their Rossinni arias that I am thoroughly exhausted by the end of it. But I do feel that Edita has an awful lot of dramatic sense. However, I think we remain of a different opinion there. Best Robert

  • Sure we can! At least we're not like the "I worship Renee Fleming/I detest Renaaaaaaaay" crowd. ;)

  • LOL, we are so different but he, that makes the world turn around, I LOVE Renee Fleming! Who do you like?

  • Oh, I adore Renee Fleming in the right rep. (Strauss, Massenet etc.) Hmmm, sopranos I love? Ponselle, Callas, Gencer, L. Price, L. Vargicova, M. Subtrova (Sp?), Elinor Ross, Joan Sutherland (In the right rep.), Gruberova as Queen of the Night, Konstanze and Zerbinetta, Edda Moser, C. Muzio, I. Cotrubas, E. Grümmer and MANY more! :))

  • Additional to your list I love Magda Olivero, Regine Crespin, Anna Moffo, Nilsson, and many others x

  • You're wrong dear. Coloratura music is usually riddled with a singer's own improvisions. They practice, so they usually have their improvised coloraturas down pat, but singers have been doing this since Castrators in Opera Seria with the A-B-A form that mandated heavy improvision in the second A section (see Genaux Qual Guerriero in campo armato on YT for an example). Coloratura refers to both the agile passages in the music, as well as the improvisions made by the singer.

  • Rossini had prefferences, just like anyone else would. Many conductors didn't like the castrato coloratura during the 18th century, but they had to deal with it. If you want someone to hear your music, you need a singer. Lots of music was written for a specific singer's tessitura, agility, and vocal aspects back then. You didn't just boot a singer. Tetrazzini did lots of ornaments that the conductors didn't like. Mado Robins thew stratospheric notes when being told not to.

  • And furthermore.. good singing (bel canto) requires a perfect legato. It isn't possible if you don't know how to sing in italian!!

  • Her Italian diction is better than Sutherland's but nothing special. Yes, her legato in the upper register. Let her sing a low scale and see how she'll come across.

  • Why should we ask her to do that?  She is a high soprano and does not need the low resonances for Puccini or dramatic Verdi roles. Her voice is in such wonderful/perfect condition at the age of over 60 because she knows how to use her voice and which repertoire to sing.

  • SHE IS THE BEST*

  • Marred by mannerisms and bad Italian.

  • parrot parrot. what does bad italian mean?:))) and what mannerisms are you exactly talking about.

  • If you'd stop being such a fanatic, maybe you'd understand me better.

  • if you'd stop being sucha hater, maybe you;d also understand me:)) just answer my questions, what mannerisms are you exactly talking about?

  • It's not 'mannerism', it's called artiscism...

  • Oh, Gruberova is a discovery for me! Brava!!!

  • I was sat in the stalls here and was absolutely blown away by her!!!!

  • she doesn't use the MASK. It's a sad thing to say, but you must admit it. If she used it

    a)low sounds would appear brilliant as the higher ones

    2) the last E would not be "strascicato"

    3)she would be the best soprano leggero of the world.

  • she is the best soprano leggero of the world;P

  • I don't think so, but I think she could. That's maybe because I heard students singing very very good (they can be better than Edita in 5 years: this is no good for the one who is called THE BEST:)

  • for exapmle?:)) I'd love to hear these singers.

  • If you will come to Italy, la patria del bel canto, you will hear.

  • btw she's 61, I don't think we can compare her to students. that's a bit courageous

  • Yes, it's true, but it seems nobody on Youtube has ever heard someone good at singing. I can make you these example: her acting is pathetic, sickly, infant, quite stupid. Her singing is Sloppy, sometimes annoying. That's why a student can do better. The voice is beautiful. BUT.

  • thanks you tell me what I've seen or not;)

    You have ur opinion and I don't want to persuade you. I love her singing, love her acting (it's stupid to say her acting is quite stupit). If u don't like her, don't listen or post ur ridiculous arguments. a student cannot do better, that's also strange to say, don't u think? :D read some critics about her and show me a student who can beat her in singing. okay?

  • I will do in a few time. My arguments are not ridiculous; I don't think it's stupid to say her acting is stupid, maybe my English is not so good to make you understand what I mean, but maybe If you could understand what she is saying and how she is saying it, perhaps you would agree with me.

  • I have the same problem, my english is not that good to persuade you.. anyway it's always difficult to "act" while an aria concerto, I think when you see her in opera performance, you'd never say her acting is stupid. really. try to see a whole opera with her, I think you'll change ur mind.

  • I've seen her acting yesterday (on youtube, obviously). I still think her acting is "stupid" (I beg your pardon, but I don't know how to explain it), but I have to admit that she has an extraordinary voice and a perfect tecnique. This performance is not bad, but I still think she can do very better.

  • she's really not a bad actress. if you judge her only from youtubeclips, I can see why she doesn't seem that good for you. she's 60 years old on this video, I think she did quite well.

  • You have reason, I'm sure. This year she will do some recitals in my town, at La Scala's Theatre.I'll try to go and hear.

  • that'd be fantastic, you should do that.

  • I beg your pardon, really. I find this enregistrement quite boring, and the "ah, sì!" are not well sung, but I heard Gruberova's Zerbinetta, and I have to admit I was wrong. She was an excellent singer (now perhaps her voice is going to decline?), a dreamy voice.

  • the vibrato is larger because of her age, that's why theEflat is "strascicato". she uses her mask very well, her resonance is fantastic and she's not a soprano leggero. low notes cannot appear as brilliat as the higher ones because her voice is situated (dunno what word to use, sorry)higher than a normal coloraturasoprano voice.

  • BRAVISSIMA!! Edita, you're still the best Lucia!!

  • Brava! The high Eb surprised me....better than a lot of sopranos half her age.

  • just WOW!

  • :D I am laughing at those people who criticise her. HOW DARE YOU:D... f***rs.

  • Great lesson, she's a lengend.

    I am speechless

  • Edita mantiene con 60 años mantiene su voz intacta. ¡Brava!

  • Lovely as always! Edita is simply Amazing! Brava!

  • La Gruberova is eterna. We have to remember she is 60 but still perfect! A lot of 30 years old sopranos can´t have such wonderful high notes.

  • Is she 61 here?!! Brava.

  • Well, 60 to be precise: she's from december 1946 and this concert was in June 2007.

  • Incredible. Edita you are a star!

  • I just have to laugh...laugh... laugh... the same way her voice laughed at time and age... HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

    BRAVISSIMA!

  • wow.

  • I just don't get it... Edita is a legend... what a flawless coloratura, what a light voice... unbelievable

  • I'm speechless. What a fantastic end. Thanks so much for sharing!

  • Bravissima

  • OMG!!!No words...

    There is a concert in Madrid 7 and 8 years ago posted. I don't think she is in a better shape there.

    Bravissima

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