Beautiful Singing
Edita Gruberová – operatic diva, queen of bel canto, prima donna assoluta – will be the star of the third part of the ICE Classic cycle.
There aren’t many singers who – like Edita Gruberová – attain international acclaim immediately after debuting and remain at the top for almost half a century! The artist herself admits that at her age, many other people would gladly retire. But she still has plenty to do and sing!
The Slovak soprano debuted in 1968 in a tiny theatre in Banská Bystrica, but she was soon struck by luck: she stood on the stage of the Wiener Staatsoper, captivating the audience as Mozart’s Queen of the Night. She became a star when she appeared in Vienna in Richard Strauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos as Zerbinetta, but the true milestone in her career was the title role in Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor. “I understood that I finally discovered my world,” the singer said in an interview with “Rzeczpospolita”. “I started to search for other things I could sing. I listened to many recordings of Montserrat Caballé, who was at the peak of her career, and thanks to her I discovered more bel canto operas.” Today, Edita Gruberová is the style’s undisputed queen, but she does not rest on her laurels, and she continues to enchant audiences with new roles. In the last decade, she debuted in operas by Bellini: she performed the fiendishly difficult title part in Norma and appeared as Alaide (La straniera), and in the main role in Donizetti’s Lucrezia Borgia.
Obviously, Italian masters of bel canto fill the programme of the concert at ICE Kraków Congress Centre on 20 September. Edita Gruberová performs arias from Linda di Chamounix, Lucia di Lammermoor and Roberto Deveraux by Donizetti, excerpts from Norma, and in the grand finale she sings the “mad scene” from Bellini’s I Puritani. The artist is accompanied by the Beethoven Academy Orchestra under the baton of Peter Valentovic, with the programme also including instrumental parts from Norma, Rossini’s Barber of Seville and Massenet’s Thaïs.
“Edita Gruberová is a soprano whose voice is famous for its incredible purity and power. The September concert as part of the ICE Classic cycle will be an incredible journey through the artist’s finest roles. […] The concert simply cannot be missed by any lover of opera,” says Izabela Helbin, director of the Krakow Festival Office, operator of ICE Kraków.
(Barbara Skowrońska)
Tickets:
Zone I: PLN 120
Zone II: PLN 90
Zone III: PLN 70 (limited visibility is possible)
Seats for persons with disabilities in wheelchairs: PLN 120
Tickets for children under 10 years old: PLN 10
available at:
InfoKraków Pawilon Wyspiańskiego (pl. Wszystkich Świętych 2)
InfoKraków (ul. św. Jana 2)
InfoKraków Centrum Obsługi Ruchu Turystycznego (ul. Powiśle 11)
InfoKraków Sukiennice (Rynek Główny 1/3)
InfoKraków (ul. Józefa 7)
InfoKraków (ul. Szpitalna 25)
InfoKraków ICE Kraków (ul. Konopnickiej 17)
