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Post by bimse on Oct 29, 2021 14:22:07 GMT
Edita Gruberova, the celebrated coloratura soprano has died (on the 18th October) at the age of 74, apparently following a tragic fall , in Zurich where she lived. M. Gruberova only recently retired, in 2019, when the covid pandemic forced the cancellation of the final performances of her amazing career. Lately specialising in the bel canto repertoire of Donizetti, Rossini and Bellini, M. Gruberova was said to be concerned that she hadn’t given a good performance if her curtain calls lasted less than 20 minutes. I myself witnessed the rapturous audience reception to several of her performances in Munich and Zurich , and memorably spent my 50th birthday in Munich to hear her sing Bellini’s Norma . Her performances were always an event , and many of them are left for us on cd and dvd, including the above mentioned Norma, the incredible Roberto Devereux and Lucrezia Borgia , all in Munich. RIP Edita, a true star, a legend.
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3,927 posts
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Post by Dawnstar on Oct 29, 2021 20:25:11 GMT
I went to Munich for my 21st birthday. Admittedly my main reason for the trip was to see Dame Felicity Lott's final Marschallin but when I found out that the previous evening would be Edita Gruberova in Roberto Devereux I also booked for that. It was my only opportunity to see her live, as she hadn't appeared at the ROH for years before. I realised quite how popular she was in Munich when, before the performance started, a man came onstage to make an understudy announcement & the first thing he said was that Gruberova was fine! The curtain calls afterwards seemed to go on for ages. I was in one of the upper tiers & exited having thought they were finished only to find when I got down to the next tier that another curtain call was taking place. This carried on until I got to ground level!
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475 posts
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Post by bimse on Oct 29, 2021 21:50:32 GMT
I went to Munich for my 21st birthday. Admittedly my main reason for the trip was to see Dame Felicity Lott's final Marschallin but when I found out that the previous evening would be Edita Gruberova in Roberto Devereux I also booked for that. It was my only opportunity to see her live, as she hadn't appeared at the ROH for years before. I realised quite how popular she was in Munich when, before the performance started, a man came onstage to make an understudy announcement & the first thing he said was that Gruberova was fine! The curtain calls afterwards seemed to go on for ages. I was in one of the upper tiers & exited having thought they were finished only to find when I got down to the next tier that another curtain call was taking place. This carried on until I got to ground level! Thanks for sharing your Edita Gruberova experience Dawnstar. That production of Roberto Devereux was so inspired, in my humble opinion, one of the best theatre productions I’ve ever seen . I enjoyed it so much I went again during a later season . Gruberova was sensational , and yes the curtain calls always went on and on for her. At one production I saw she was taking curtain calls for so long that stagehands in hard hats began pulling the set down behind her , she graciously acknowledged them , and encouraged the audience to applaud them . Gruberova rarely appeared in the UK , and only once (that I know of) at Covent Garden.
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3,927 posts
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Post by Dawnstar on Oct 30, 2021 8:07:29 GMT
I'm afraid I wasn't very keen on the Roberto Devereux production. It was about 500 years too modern for my taste!
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475 posts
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Post by bimse on Oct 30, 2021 11:45:38 GMT
I'm afraid I wasn't very keen on the Roberto Devereux production. It was about 500 years too modern for my taste! I must admit I do like a good wigs, ruffs and breeches opera production myself Dawnstar. This one worked for me , but when booking ahead for new productions I was always concerned they would spoil things (for me) by setting an opera in a trailer park or a branch of Burger King with Elisabetta (for example) as manageress.
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3,927 posts
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Post by Dawnstar on Oct 30, 2021 12:01:36 GMT
bimse I increasingly don't book ahead for new productions, given the high likelihood of them being fairly ghastly! Safer to see revivals, when you can check out the reviews from previous runs first, or book after opening night for new ones.
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