CD · 2 discs
The global careers of not one but two Slovakian singers were launched on March 23, 1978 in Vienna’s State Opera: that of then-27-year-old tenor Peter Dvorský, and that of 31-year-old Edita Gruberova, hers a career which has endured to this day. Despite her success there in the role of Zerbinetta just eighteen months earlier, she was then still an insider tip for such a large bel canto role. Although studio recordings from subsequent years exist of this role which would later become Gruberova’s hallmark, this early live recording has a quality that is missing from later recordings: the maidenly determination and yet stupendous vocal perfection that Gruberova delivers in her portrayal, her inimitable sonorous timbre – which she retains to this day – alongside the wonderfully intimate and yet tense partnership with Dvorský, whose passionate, burning tenor provides a unique highlight in his first duet with Gruberova’s Lucia and supplies a further high point in the tricky final scene on a recording not short of such brilliant climaxes. Matteo Manuguerra’s reading of Lucia’s brother Enrico is a perilously relentless, masculine tour de force. Last but not least, the quickening touch of Giuseppe Patane’s baton makes this a gem among the treasures of Edita Gruberova’s discography, one never short of outstanding testimony to her consummate vocal skill and is a wonderful addition to that of Peter Dvorský, whose discography is sadly not so bountiful. The Neapolitan conductor, who was highly regarded in Munich for his performances of Italian repertoire, transforms a singing festival into an exciting music drama in the way that he leads the Vienna Philharmonic in a highly flexible and dynamic manner through the musical narrative.
CD · 20 discs
CD · 32 discs
DVD · 1 disc
![Verdi: La battaglia di Legnano (Recorded 1959) [Live]](http://arkivmusic.com/cdn/shop/files/1723588.jpg?v=1786724692&width=400)
![Donizetti: Il duca d' Alba (Sung in Italian) [Live]](http://arkivmusic.com/cdn/shop/files/1693562_35ae124a-72e8-40b9-9cc5-b365348ed66a.jpg?v=1786737613&width=400)
![Wunderlich: Opernarien (Bayerischer Rundfunk 1961-1966) [Live]](http://arkivmusic.com/cdn/shop/files/2056703.jpg?v=1786631348&width=400)
