According to foreign media sources, the world's legendary soprano Edita Grubelova died in Zurich, Switzerland, on October 18 at the age of 74. The Beijing International Music Festival also mourned on its official Weibo in the early morning of October 19: "In October 2019, when the new crown epidemic had not yet arrived, we met in Grubelova's song to open the 22nd Beijing International Music Festival. Master Grubelova left the surprise and shock to every audience. Today, we are going to say goodbye to Master Grubelova and wish her eternal peace in heaven! ”
Czech soprano Edita Gruberova was born in 1946 in Bratislava, the capital of present-day Slovakia, and after graduating from the Conservatory in 1968, Gruberova was given the opportunity to participate in "The Barber of Seville" and was very successful, this time receiving an invitation from the Vienna State Opera. In 1974, Gruberova was invited by the master conductor Karajan to participate in the Salzburg Festival, which was also her first appearance in Salzburg, playing the role of The Night Queen in Mozart's The Magic Flute. Karajan praised Gruberova's wonderful performance, especially her volume and explosiveness that ordinary flower-like sopranos do not have. After that, she collaborated with the conductor Karl Böhm at the Vienna State Opera to play the role of Zebinetta in the opera Ariadne in Naxos, thus becoming a rising star on the world opera stage.
After that, she began to appear on world-class stages such as the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, the Metropolitan Opera in New York, the Bavarian State Opera, and the Vienna State Opera, and collaborated frequently with conductors such as Karajan, Salty, Carl Böhm, Heydink, Carlos Kleber, Abbado, Muti, James Levine, and Seiel Ozawa. As a floral soprano, Gruberova's tone is mellow but light, from Mozart operas such as "Harem Escape" and "Don Juan", to Rossini operas such as "The Barber of Seville", to the main roles in Verdi's classic operas such as "Rigoletto" and "La Traviata", all of which have been successfully challenged by Gruberova.
In March 2019, Gruberova completely ended her opera career in Munich with Robert de Floret, and the audience paid tribute to the legendary singer with a 50-minute curtain call. But Gruberova's artistic life is still brilliant, and she still maintains a high density of concert performances, singing for the audience who love her.
Grubelova has deep roots with China, has held many solo concerts in China, and has also cooperated well with the Beijing International Music Festival. In 2019, Gruberova visited Beijing for the first time and sang arias from classic operas such as "Rukia of Ramemore", "The Barber of Seville", "Linda the Village Girl", "La Traviata" and other classic operas at the opening concert of the 22nd Beijing International Music Festival, which aroused strong repercussions from music fans. After all the songs were sung, Gruberova returned to the scene four times in cheers, "A Beautiful Jasmine Flower" and "Bat" excerpt "Song of Laughter" lit up the scene again and again, and the last return work, Gruberova gave "I Love You China" to the fans, and her moving voice remained deeply in the hearts of Chinese audiences.
Photo: Beijing International Music Festival
Text/Beijing Youth Daily reporter Tian Wanting
Editor/Cui Wei