Gruber became famous in German-speaking countries, for example at the Bavarian State Opera in Munich. In 2019 he received the German Oper! Award for lifelong work.
However, the journey to the top was not easy for Gruber, the DPA agency noted. She was born on December 23, 1946 in Bratislava, then Czechoslovakia, to her German father and mother of Hungarian nationality. She ran away from the difficult reality of a difficult childhood to sing. “I’ve always sought solace in singing – even my mother liked to sing – I inherited her voice from her,” Gruber said in one of the few interviews she gave during her career.
“She was and will forever remain an exceptional personality of Slovak, European and world culture,” wrote Korčok on the social network, who was awarded Gruber’s Goodwill Ambassador Award in August this year for her professional achievements and contribution to Slovakia’s positive representation abroad.
Gruberová graduated from the conservatory in Bratislava in the 1960s, already singing on the stage of the Bratislava Opera in 1968, but then traveled to Banská Bystrica due to a poor staff profile.
In 1970, she made her debut at the Vienna State Opera in the role of Queen of the Night in Mozart’s opera The Magic Flute. An international opera audience became known in 1976 for the role of Zerbinetta in Richard Strauss’s opera Ariadne on Naxos. She then performed her skills on opera houses in Milan, New York, Madrid and Paris.
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“Queen of Coloratur” and “Eternal High Priestess of Belcanta”
Her first performance in Prague took place in 1979 at the Prague Spring Festival. She did not originally receive an entry visa to the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic upon arrival, but the Viennese ensemble threatened to cancel the entire performance. Gruberová last performed in the Czech Republic in 2018 at the National Theater in Norma Vincenzo Bellini’s opera.
During her more than 50-year career, Edita Gruberová has received many nicknames, in addition to the “queen of coloraturas”, the media has described her, for example, as the “eternal high priestess of the belcant.” Her name is mentioned in line with Maria Callas or Montserrat Caballé.
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