Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A WORTHY SUCCESSOR., October 5, 1999
By A Customer
The recording of the legendary Beverly Sills singing the "Tudor Queens" is not available on cd. However, this recording by Edita Gruberova is a worthy successor to the Sills version. Gruberova possesses a beautiful coloratura soprano voice which perfectly suits Donizetti.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Great Gruberova Sings Royalty, April 19, 2004
Edita Gruberova is a great artist in her own right. She is a magnificent soprano with versatile talent. Her voice is primarily lyric-coloratura, but she can deliver the powerful sforzato dynamics of a diva like Maria Callas or Joan Sutherland or even Leontine Price and Jessie Norman for that matter.
Perhaps it is true that she is not as good as Beverly Sills in the department of the Donizetti Tudor Queens- Anna Bolena, Maria Stuarda and Roberto Devereux. But Gruberova ranks at least second to Beverly Sill's towering performances of the early 70's. It's very likely that Edita Gruberova was inspired by these classic performances and took the dramatic leap to this difficult repertoire. The Donizetti Tudor Queen Trilogy is rather difficult material to sing and very rare to perform. In the light of the more blockbuster hits of Puccini and Verdi which will forever be performed, the Donizetti operas remain neglected and only appear ocassionally on recording.One soprano singing all three roles ? If Beverly Sills could do it, so could Edita Gruberova. In the 80's and early 90's, Gruberova managed to sing the roles with great acclaim in Europe.
Her voice reminds people of the versatility of the female singing voice. In Anna Bolena, Gruberova showcases much of her lyric legato phrasing to note perfection, as in "A Dulci Guidami" and she is dazzling in the finale as Anne Boylen is about to be executed by order of Henry the 8th. In Maria Stuarda, she again impresses the listeners with her incredible breath control (those bel canto operas have such LONG VOCAL LINES between breaths)and her vulnerability and humanity shines through. As Queen Elizabeth I in Roberto Devereux, she is fiery, feisty and diva- esque. She may not reach the status that Beverly Sills' performance reached (Beverly Sills got a cover in the 1971 issue of Time magazine for Queen Elizabeth in this opera) but Gruberova does deliver a sensational performance. On stage, in red hair and make up, she does look like Queen Elizabeth and her acting was very powerful as well. So this is an overall superb recording of excerpts from all threee operas.
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1 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Almost But Not Quite A Worthy Successor, February 3, 2003
Contrary to the other review, Edita Gruberova singing scenes and arias from the three Donizetti Tudor Queen trilogy operas is not a worthy successor to Beverly Sill's triumphant performances. Edita Gruberova was just one of the many coloratura sopranos who were engaging in dramatic roles in the 60's and 70's revivals of bel canto operas, most of which were Donizetti. Edita Gruberova on this cd sings the entire Mad Scene and finale of Anna Bolena, the tragic story of Anne Boylen and her death at the hands of her furious husband, King Henry the 8th, who executed her for adultery in order to marry his next wife, Jane Seymour. Edita Gruberova's uneven coloratura, shrill vocal styling and seemingly incomplete technique does not measure up to Beverly Sill's masterful performance as Anne Boylen. The same applies to the other roles, Mary Stewart and Queen Elizabeth I. Donizetti's Maria Stuarda deals with the tragedy of the Catholic queen Mary, who, according to the fictitious opera, insulted Elizabeth I and rivaled her as Queen. For this, and her supposed conspiracy, she was executed. The Confession Scene and other lyric arias that are key moments for Mary in the opera should be sung with convincing suffering and pathos, but Edita does not meet the standards of the role. Again, Beverly Sills takes the trophy for a great Mary Stewart. Roberto Devereaux was Donizetti's last opera. It dealt with the intense unrequited love of Elizabeth I in her old age to the dashing naval commander, Robert Devereaux, Earl of Essex. When she discovers he loves the Duchess Sara, and has betrayed her politically as well, the Queen sentences Devereaux to death. The part of Elizabeth I in this opera is the most demanding and high caliber role for a dramatic soprano, at equal grounds with Bellini's title heroine Norma. The part must be very varied- lyric, expressive in coloratura in the first act when we see how much she loves Devereaux and full of dramatic fire and fury toward the second act and finally, choked with grief and remorse upon failing to save Devereaux from his fate. The arias Edita Gruberova sings here are the final ones for the Queen- "Vivi Ingrato" and "Quell Sangre Versato", which express her lament upon Devereau's demise. Again, Gruberova fails to be convincing and dramatic. She sings purely in the bel canto tradition, all fluff and vocal beauty without the necessary substance and dramatic weight to make the opera greater and as Donizetti intended. For a great Edita Gruberova performance, in a Donizetti opera, listen to her in "Maria Di Rohan", in which she vividly and dramatically portrays another English monarch. For some reason, this obscure opera she revived looks and sounds great at her hands. It would be the only dramatic role she truly made legendary.
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by Gaetano Donizetti 
