WA MOZART: CONCERT ARIAS Edita GRUBEROVA (soprano)

This audio CD contains 8 of Mozart’s most beautiful soprano virtuoso arias, magnificently sung by one of the most celebrated soprano of our time, Edita Gruberova, in collaboration with Maestro Nikolaus Harnoncourt and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe. It was recorded during a live performance in Graz, Austria in June 1991 as part of the ‘Elatus’ series.

Wolfgang Mozart (1756- 1791) wrote many arias (songs) for insertion into opera (his and others’, this was a common practice back then) at the request of many great singers of his time. They are written in a self-contained way that allows for use as stand alone concert showpieces as well. Much of what is known about the singing ability of the fantastic singers of his days are inferred from these composition, because Mozart tailor-made his arias to exploit his singers’ strength and obscuring their weaknesses. Aside from being exceedingly beautiful, his arias are also among the most demanding to sing, requiring nothing short of naked perfection from the singer. You don’t get to ride with the orchestra when you sing Mozart because he preferred to keep the orchestra at a low to no volume when you’re singing (so the vocal line spends most of the time being ‘exposed). You are the music and if you don’t have perfectly smooth legato and absolute control of your voice, everybody is going to hear it... every tiniest quiver of it. Mozart demands a lot out of the singer (perfect technique is a must), but he also protects their voice by not making them compete with the orchestra or the chorus to be heard ( like Richard Strauss, Wagner, or Verdi do).

The Slovak-Swiss soprano, Edita Gruberova (Bratislava 1946 - ), is a singing phenomenon. Since her stage debut in 1968,her reputation as the greatest singing technician since Joan Sutherland is rock solid, especially in the bel canto repertoire. The voice is surprisingly bigger, more textured, and has more colors than one would expect from a leggiero coloratura soprano (quite unlike that of Natalie Dessay, Christine Schaefer, or Mariella Devia). It appears there is no vocal tricks she can’t do. She does tend to ‘portament’ into her high notes where many other singers wouldn’t, however (it is still debatable whether much of these are actually really scooping. You’ll hear some on this CD... I think they work rather well and she doesn’t do them all the time). But that is more than off-set by her breath-taking pianissimo (effective anywhere she wishes to deploy it..., even in the stratospheric high notes in the alt). Her scale singing is peerlessly smooth, her intonation precise even during virtuoso coloratura runs, her legato and mezza di voce exquisite ... She even has spectacular trill!!

I can go on for pages listing her technical proficiency,but the quality I love best about this singer is that, like her frequent concert partner the mezzo Vesselina Kasarova, Frau Gruberova’s virtuosity is always used as expressive tool to communicate the characters and thoughts of the operatic role she is singing rather than to draw attention to itself. It just so happens that there aren’t many singers of any era since the invention of recording that can make these horrendously difficult arias sound such a walk in the park, that the ease she displays makes itself noticed.

Some definitions just so we’re on the same page:
bel canto refers to music written to show off beautiful voice with great acrobatic agility; a leggiero coloratura soprano has the highest and lightest female voice with great agility, usually sings the female lead in bel canto opera or fairies or gods in other opera; Legato refers to the smooth/seamless transfer between notes; portamento is not hitting a note dead on but hitting a neighboring one and then sliding into the correct pitch instead... almost like an extended legato. It is a legitimate singing technique often called for in the music score. Abuse of the portamento is called scooping... employed more because the singer isn’t able to hit the note correctly rather than as an artistic twist; coloratura refers to virtuosic decoration of the melodic line by adding many notes to it to make it more exciting; mezza di voce is the fading in and out (volume-wise) of a single note; pianissimo (denoted ‘pp’) is soft-volume singing, the opposite of forte (f) (loud)


Tracks:
*1. Mia speranza adorata!/ Ah non sai qual pena sia (K.416)
*2. Voi avete un cor fedele (K.217)
3. No, che non sei capace (K.419)
4. Ma che vi fece, o stelle/ Sperai vicino il lido (K.368)
*5. Misera, dove son!/ Ah! Non son io che parlo (K.369)
6. A questo seno deh vieni/ Or che il cielo a me ti rende (K.374)
*7. Vorrei spiegarvi, oh Dio! (K.418)
8. Ah se in ciel, benigne stelle (K.538)
(*)are my favorite tracks

Track 1, Mia speranza adorata, is a very expressive aria that is well served by Frau Gruberova’s many vocal colors. It was written for Mozart’s sister-in-law, Aloysia Lange for insertion into Pasquale Anfossi’s opera Zemira. The lead-in recitative (very lightly accompanied by the orchestra and a lone oboe) begins with Gandarte lamenting the pending loss of his wife Zemira, who has been picked out by Akbar the Mongol Emperor (and their captor) to be his consort. After a pause, Gandarte turns and bids a bitter farewell to Zemira (the actual aria starts at Ah non soi qual pena sia). Like all arias Mozart wrote for Aloysia, this (and tracks 3 and 7) features spectacular coloratura runs up to very high notes while accompanied very lightly by the orchestra. All really go well in showcasing Frau Gruberova's beautiful voice and security.

#2. Voi avete un cor fedele was written as an insertion aria for Baldassare Galuppi’s opera Le nozze di Dorina (The Marriage of Dorina). The orphan maid Dorina is voicing her uncertainty over her appointed bridegroom’s fidelity. It start out in a rather dreamy wistful address to the poor suitor, but turns mocking and scornful as Dorina works herself up in her anticipation of his infidelity (I know, guys... that’s what makes girls irresistible and impossible at the same time, isn’t it?).

Frau Gruberova’s Dorina is wonderfully characterized and is very well supported by Herr Harnoncourt (listen to how the strings laugh with her during the fast section!). This is a Dorina with a strong personality and a temper that shouldn’t be messed with.

#3. No, che non sei capace (K.419) and #7. Vorrei spiegarvi, O Dio! (K.418), were also written for Aloysia Webber-Lange as insertion arias to another Alfossi opera, Il curioso indescreto (The Curious Indiscretion).
K.418 (#7), one of the most beautiful concert arias ever written, occurs early in the opera when Clorinda rejects the romantic advances by the Count of Ripaverde (even though she has feelings for him), urging him to take up with her rival Emilia instead. It is a gorgeous concerto style song with oboe obbligato (the oboe accompanies the voice prominently, like another voice commenting on what is being sung), that starts off very gently as an adagio and accelerates into an allegro. Listen to how Frau Gruberova’s vocal timbre changes as Clorinda becomes more agitated in her sending Ripaverde off. Exquisite! This track alone is worth getting the CD for.
Here’s a listen: http://www.mozart-weltweit.de/23c09.mp3


K.419 (#3) occurs later in the opera. Ripaverde had bad-mouthed Clorinda to her husband since she wouldn’t return his affection, so Clorinda displays her displeasure at such unmanly maneuver in this fiery rage aria. It features virtuoso coloratura runs up to high D’s and E’s (in the alt above the stave) recalling the Queen of the Night’s rage aria, while also going on and on forever. well... 5 minutes at this tessitura (average pitch) would feel like forever to any mortal. Though at this point it is arguable whether Frau Gruberova is a mortal or not (the gal is singing Norma and Lucia at the major houses in Europe today at age 60!!).


#4. Ma che vi fece/ Sperai vicino il lido (K.368) was written for soprano Elisabeth Wendling, the original stormy Elettra in his opera Idomeneo. Set to the text of Metastasio’s Demofoonte, it is a song of desperation Timante sings when his father demands that he marries a girl he doesn’t love and his anticipation of the storms ahead (reflected in the orchestra). This is a spectacular showcase of technical prowess. And amid all the running up and down of the scale and vocal ornamentations, this singer finds enough time and breath to drop us some really haunting float piannissimi (softly sung notes that sounds disembodied.... they just hang in the air over you).

#5. Misera dove son! was written for Countess Baumgarten to the text of Metastasio’s Ezio (same text as in Haendel’s opera). It is the lamentation of Fulvia for the treachery of her father to her lover Ezio. This is a dramatic piece with more dense orchestration than in the arias written for Aloysia Lange (Countess Baumgarten probably had a bigger voice), and Frau Gruberova’s heavier voice really brings the drama of this piece to life vividly. I’ve heard some critics said that she sings konzertzant (note beautiful but no feeling)... well, those that said that mustn’t have heard this recording.

#6. A questo seno deh vieni is the only piece on this CD that was originally written for a soprano castrato (Francesco Ceccarelli). The text is from Paisiello’s opera Sismono nel Mogul. In it, Zeira sings her delight of being reunited to her lover, Siface, who had defeated the enemy Sismano in a battle. In the previous track Edita Gruberova demonstrates how to cry without actually crying. In this track she laughs without laughing... and if you listen closely enough you’ll even hear her smiling! It’s all in the voice!

#8, Ah se in ciel, benigne stelle was the last arias Mozart wrote for Aloysia Lange. In it, Siveno vents his fear of not getting to marry Princess Lisinga because of his uncertain status as the heir to the Emperor of China. A tragic piece sung perfectly tragically by the queen of tragedy (if you have ever heard Frau Gruberova as any of the 3 Donizetti queens, you know what I mean).

All in all, an astoundingly fine live performance of 8 of the most difficult songs ever written for the coloratura soprano repertoire. One doesn’t even need to be a hard core opera fan to appreciate this CD. Mozart really had a knack for writing highly technically demanding songs without making them sound overwhelmingly complicated to the layman’s ears. And with Edita Gruberova, the scenes the songs are set in really come to life. Highly recommended for any lover of classical music and great singing.

1 CD. Sung in Italian. Booklet contains a brief note on the concert arias and libretto in German, Italian, English, & French.

Recommended: Yes

Great Music to Play While: Listening