This archival recording from the 1980 Salzburg Festival offers a rare taste of Edita Gruberová's recital singing. It may be the most interesting of Gruberová's non-operatic recordings, because it captures her live in the early years of her career. One of the festival's renowned "Liederabend," the program features mixed groups of Schubert and Mendelssohn, and the Brentano lieder of Richard Strauss. The Brentano lieder were a natural segue for the young soprano, since they call for many of the same vocal qualities as Gruberov ...
Read More
This archival recording from the 1980 Salzburg Festival offers a rare taste of Edita Gruberová's recital singing. It may be the most interesting of Gruberová's non-operatic recordings, because it captures her live in the early years of her career. One of the festival's renowned "Liederabend," the program features mixed groups of Schubert and Mendelssohn, and the Brentano lieder of Richard Strauss. The Brentano lieder were a natural segue for the young soprano, since they call for many of the same vocal qualities as Gruberová's signature Strauss role, Zerbinetta (Ariadne auf Naxos). However, the Schubert and Mendelssohn came as a surprise to a festival audience who knew Gruberová only for her sparkling coloratura -- a surprise best illustrated by a headline of a review in Die Presse the day after the recital (as quoted in this package's liner notes): "Zerbinetta can do other things too." And she could. Gruberová certainly was not a song specialist, and there are plenty of moments on this recording to...
Read Less
