Search - Luigi Arditi, Reinhold Gliere, Sergey Rachmaninov :: The Art of Coloratura

The Virtuoso Opera Singer

Rudy Avila | Lennox, Ca United States | 02/21/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This album is a magnificent tribute to the coloratura soprano Edita Gruberova. The arias she sings in this album really express her talents as a soprano of the highest calibre. Edita Gruberova seems to be the last of the great coloratura singers of the 20th century. She is right up there in the ranks of such coloratura songbirds as Lily Pons, Roberta Peters, Beverly Sills and the current Korean soprano Sumi Jo. Edita Gruberova is well-schooled and her voice seems to connect with the orchestra, the music for her scenes and character, and she immerses herself in her roles with real bravura, passion and feeling. She has sung the bel canto divas of Donizetti- Lucia, La Sonnambula, Elvira in Puritani and even the Tudor Queens- Anna Bolena, Maria Stuarda and Queen Elizabeth in Roberto Devereux in performances obviously influenced by Beverly Sills.This cd contains arias that showcase the high-flying, high-pitched intensity of Edita Gruberova's coloratura art form. Like the name coloratura suggests, she is able to "color" her voice and use head voice, high registers to produce cheerful sounds, beautiful lyricism in some portions and acrobatics and vocal fireworks in dazzling feats of canary, bird-like singing. Roulades, cadenzas, fast runs, trills and daring leaps present no problem to her. The album features some well known music, like the Johann Strauss "Voices Of Spring" which is timed to the beat of a waltz (Gruberova did her best work in this type of music as she has sung Adele from Die Fledermaus to enormous success), Ah Vouz Dire-jai Maman or the French version of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and consequent variations of it.
Some lesser known works like The Concerto For Coloratura and Orchestra by Gliere is beautifully delivered as well as Il Bacio by Luigi Arditi and Villanelle by Dell'acqua. The Georgian Song by Rachmaninov is also a treat, as is The Nightingale by Alyabyev and the exciting Spanish-style French song "Les Fille Des Cadiz" by Leo Delibes. The cover for this album is the painting entitled"Gloved Singer" by the French Impressionist Edgar Degas. The painting is supposed to be that of a chanteuse cafe-concert singer who incorporated opera mannerisms and vocal technique into her singing."