Edita Gruberová

Edita Gruberová was a Slovak coloratura soprano. She made her stage debut in Bratislava in 1968 as Rosina in Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia, and successfully auditioned at the Vienna State Opera the following year, which became her base. She received international recognition for roles such as Mozart's Queen of the Night in Die Zauberflöte and Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos by Richard Strauss. In her later career, she explored heavier roles in the Italian bel canto repertoire, such as the title role in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor, and Elvira in Bellini's I puritani. In 2019, she portrayed Elisabetta in Donizetti's Roberto Devereux, who leaves her throne, concluding a stage career performing leading roles over 51 years. She is remembered as the "Slowakische Nachtigall" (Slovak Nightingale), and as prima donna assoluta.