100Singers's video: 100 Singers - FERRY GRUBER

Ferry Gruber, Tenor (1926-2004) Carl Zeller: DER VOGELHÄNDLER (1891) "Wie mein Ahnl zwanzig Jahr" ("When my ancestor was twenty") Accompanied by Alfons Bauer, zither / Recorded 1967 My personal opinion: Singers noticed mainly as operetta interpreters have always had a hard time finding approval in opera. Often overlooked is the fact, classic operetta (if served on high level) is even more difficult to play than most operas. In addition to singing there is dialogue that requires a trained speaker. And not infrequently the singer must also be a good dancer. The Viennese tenor Ferry Gruber was such a multi-talent who mastered many facets of his profession. In the beginning he worked as a choir director, conductor and actor. Due to his appealing and distinctive voice, he decided early on to pursue a singing-career, primarily performing roles from the buffo repertoire after his 1950 Lucerne debut as Tamino in DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE. At this time he was already known to the Swiss public through numerous radio programs in which he sang light muse songs. As early as 1954, he came to the Bavarian State Opera where he established himself within a short time as important Comprimario, becoming a pillar of the Munich ensemble in roles such as Triquet in Tchaikovsky's EUGENE ONEGIN (available on video with Hermann Prey and Fritz Wunderlich as incomparable Lensky), Monostatos (captured in a 1964 dream-cast live recording of DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE with Wunderlich, Prey, Erika Köth and Anneliese Rothenberger), Valzacci in DER ROSENKAVALIER or Goro in MADAMA BUTTERFLY; a role Gruber recorded 1972 in Italian under Giuseppe Patané with Maria Chiara as Cio-Cio San and James King as Pinkerton; in my opinion a widely underestimated production, in which Gruber knows how to detach the figure of the marriage broker from the shadow world of a supposed insignificant marginal role. With his likeable appearance and an almost folksy tenor voice, Ferry Gruber naturally recommended himself early on for operetta. In this genre, he preserved himself for posterity with numerous recordings, mostly produced by radio stations or released by Eurodisc and EMI. In the 1960s, he was also a frequent guest on various TV shows. As Adam in Carl Zeller's DER VOGELHÄNDLER he surpasses all other tenors on records (maybe except Karl Terkal), including Julius Patzak (too sluggish), Rudolf Schock (too lachrymose) and Adolf Dallapozza (nice, but without really giving personality to the role). Ferry Gruber also seems to me unrivaled as Pluton in two recordings of Offenbach's ORPHÉE AUX ENFERS (1958, 1977), even though sung in German. No other singer knew like him to give the cunning God of the underworld at the same time both diabolical and sympathetic traits, especially in the mischievous "Rondeau de métarmorphoses". Unfortunately the later recording under Willy Mattes has drastic cuts and is far from complete. The first one, made in mono for the NDR Broadcast Station, is without doubt the best production available in German language, and I even prefer it to the high-acclaimed recording of the expanded 1874 version in French under Michel Plasson, which seems to me more like a sequence of various revue numbers than an "Opéra féerie" ... In the EMI recording of LA BELLE HÉLÈNE (also conducted by Mattes, also in German and also cut), Ferry Gruber gives a hilarious dorky King Ménélas; again a masterpiece of pointed operetta singing. And when you hear him as Count Gustl in Léhar's DAS LAND DES LÄCHELNS in a lovely duet with soubrette Liselotte Schmidt ("Meine Liebe, deine Liebe"), you may think as an elderly romantic person: "Oh, those were the good old days, it will never be like that again ..." As said before, operetta can be very attractive, if done right ... Even if the State Opera and the Gärtnerplatztheater in Munich remained his home stages, Ferry Gruber sang everywhere where his warm, soft character tenor was appreciated. He took part in festivals in Florence, Edinburgh and Salzburg (for example as servant Cecco in Haydn's fine opera IL MONDO DELLA LUNA). The talented singer-actor worked also in many operetta-films - some of which have even been released on DVD. One of his last appearances on television was in 1987 as the stammering Dr. Blind in DIE FLEDERMAUS from Munich, led by Carlos Kleiber. Only a few buffo tenors have succeeded in enhancing the supporting roles through their participation and making them equivalent to the main parts: In Germany Willy Hofmann, in France Michel Sénéchal, in Italy Piero de Palma. Ferry Gruber, with a melodic voice instantly recognizable among hundreds, unquestionably belonged in this rank of notable singers.