Track Listing

1. Andante
2. Allegro
3. Chanson Georgienne Op. 4 No. 4
4. Ah, Vous Dirai-je, Maman

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #284414 in Music
• Released on: 1995-03-21
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Import

Customer Reviews

The Virtuoso Opera Singer
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.

Big Singing of Little Pieces
This is a beautiful collection of performances of works by some very well-know and some not so well-known composers. If you gravitate toward the coloratura art, you will likely find some old favorites here, as well as some potential new friends. The bottom line is that you're not likely to be disappointed.

Nice coloratura work
The "liner notes" speak of the repertoire displayed in this CD and provides some context on the career of Edita Gruberova, with a distinguished career as a coloratura soprano (defined as a dramatic coloratura in the liner notes because of her richer, darker voice than, for example, a Natalie Dessay or Beverly Sills). This CD features some less traditional works associated with coloratura sopranos. It is also interesting to note that Natalie Dessay recorded some of these works in her "Vocalise" CD. Hence, some comparisons are possible.

Some representative cuts:

Gliere's "Concert for Coloratura Soprano and Orchestra" (the Allegro): Here, the singer's voice is just another instrument. This creates a very nice effect. Gruberova begins with an adequate trill. She does a very craftsmanlike job in this work. Nice staccato notes and an agile voice. There are some nice high notes without harshness in the middle parts of this work. Some nice staccato high notes as the close of this work comes nearer, along with a good trill. But the final high note is harshly sung.

Johann Strauss, Jr.'s "Voices of Spring" is sung well. The singer appears to have fun with this piece. Good staccato notes, although--overall--less ornamentation than by Dessay in her album noted above. Some nice trills are manifest, although there is a very bad one that comes just after a nicely executed trill. Gruberova's close is well done, with some nice, cleanly hit high notes. But listen to Dessay's unbelievable close. It is great (Dessay) versus very good (Gruberova).

And now for something completely different. . . . Adam's "Ah, vous derais-je, maman" takes a very familiar tune and plays with it. Gruberova does a nice job with this, demonstrating good coloratura technique. She shows vocal agility and fine ornamentation. Mado Robin sang this with (as one might have guessed) one of her patented high notes that seem inconceivable for a human voice to reach; however, Gruberova's version is far more musical. And her final high note is well done.

"Les filles de cadix," by Delibes, is another good work for a coloratura soprano. Nicely sung. The close is well done indeed. Dessay also sang this, and one might want to compare the two versions.

So, Edita Gruberova demonstrates once again her good coloratura technique. Her voice is heavier than the light-voiced sopranos like Beverly Sills or Natalie Dessay, but that is of little moment. This is an interesting album. While I cannot say that she ranks with current top coloratura sopranos like Sumi Jo and Natalie Dessay, she is sure solid at what she does and is one of the better representatives of the next tier.