Edita Gruberova - Kalman: DAS VEILCHEN VOM MONTMARTRE, Ich sing mein Lied, 1994, High E

THE SONGBIRD: Edita Gruberova (1946 - 2021) was born in Bratislava. She was a child soprano prodigy and made her operatic debut as Rosina in 1968 in her hometown. She auditioned in 1969 for the Vienna State Opera, and was engaged for the 1970 season. Her star rose quickly in her signature roles of Queen of the Night and Zerbinetta, launching debuts in these roles at many of the top opera houses in the 1970s. In the 1980s she began to expand her repertoire into Italian bel canto roles and continued to dominate international operatic stages and appear regularly in commercial recordings. In the 1990s, she started her own commercial record label (Nightingale Classics) and continued to add heavier bel canto works to her repertoire and discography. Her final full operatic performance was in Munich in 2019 (51 years after her debut) and her full retirement from singing professionally was announced in September 2020, at the age of 73. She passed away on October 18, 2021.
THE MUSIC: "Das Veilchen vom Montmartre" (The Violet of Montmartre) by Emmerich Kálmán premiere in Vienna in 1930. The operetta, set in Paris, is about a group of poor artists and references elements of Puccini's "La boheme." It features two light florid soprano roles: Violetta, a poor street singer, and Ninon, a soprano at the theater and Violetta's rival for the affections of the tenor, a painter named Raoul. The other primary characters in this set of bohemian friends are the composer Florimond Herve and Henri Murger, the writer whose 1851 book "Scènes de la vie de bohème" was the basis for Puccini's work. The plot builds up to a performance of the pair's new operetta and confusion over which of the two sopranos will play the leading role due to the love triangle. “Montmartre” is rarely performed now, but Violetta's first aria "Ich sing mein Lied im Regen und Schnee" (I sing my song in rain and snow) appears somewhat regularly in soprano operetta concerts and recital recordings.