Donizetti: LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR
"Il dolce suono/Ardon gl’incensi/Spargi d’amaro pianto" (Mad Scene)
(Failoni Chamber Orchestra
Friedrich Haider)

Donizetti: ANNA BOLENA
"Come, innocente giovane" (Cavatina Atto 1)
(Choir & Orchestra of the Hungarian Radio & TV
Elio Boncompagni)

Bellini: LA SONNAMBULA
"Ah! non credea/Ah! non giunge" (Finale)
(Münchner Rundfunkorchester
Marcello Viotti)

Bellini: I PURITANI
"O rendetemi la speme" (Mad Scene)
(Münchner Rundfunkorchester
Fabio Luisi)

End of the Mad Scene from Lucia di Lammermoor
(in .ra format - you can obtain a free player here)

" (...) Gruberová makes each role her own, be it through her stratospheric singing, seemingly endless pianissimi, or impressive messa di voce and forte which seem to come out of nowhere. One thing is clear, Gruberová’s timbre is perfectly suited to interpret these bel canto “mad” characters; her technique, musical instinct, and her choice of perfectly placed embellishments have earned her the love and respect of fans and colleagues alike. Other than through her recordings, Gruberová is virtually little known in the U.S.A., but in Europe she has a legendary goddess stature, a true Diva, and her performances are always sold out. She is well deserving of the title “Queen of Belcanto.”
Typical of Gruberová’s style, the take of each track in this CD is slower than most other interpreters’ renditions of the same arias. Gruberová’s interpretations, tinged with the appropriate emotions, provide a different aspect of madness: these are not mature, tortured women gone over the edge; these are pouting, deceived, melancholy teenagers hurt and brokenhearted for the first time in their lives. To them there is no hope, no bright future, no possible explanation for their loss, and no redemption–not even the thought of vengeance to appease them. At a time when women were considered “property” and had nothing but their word and their chastity, madness and death are their only escape. Gruberová plays well on this psychological and historical aspect of the characters (...) This recording is coloratura at its best. (...)"
(Daniel Pardo in Opera Today)