Victoria de los Ángeles López García (1 November 192315 January 2005) was a Catalan

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

operatic

lyric soprano A lyric soprano is a type of operatic soprano voice that has a warm quality with a bright, full timbre that can be heard over an orchestra. The lyric soprano voice generally has a higher tessitura than a soubrette and usually plays ingenues and ot ...

and recitalist whose career began after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

and reached its height in the years from the mid-1950s to the mid-1960s.

Early life

She was born Victoria de los Ángeles López García in the porter's lodge of the

University of Barcelona The University of Barcelona ( ca, Universitat de Barcelona, UB; ; es, link=no, Universidad de Barcelona) is a public university located in the city of Barcelona, Catalonia, in Spain. With 63,000 students, it is one of the biggest universities i ...

, to Bernardo Lopez Gómez (or Gamez), a university caretaker, and Victoria García. She studied voice under Dolores Frau, and guitar with Graciano Tarragó, at the Barcelona Conservatory, graduating in 1941 after just three years, at the age of 18.

Career in music

In 1941, while still a student, she made her operatic debut as Mimì in ''

La bohème ''La bohème'' (; ) is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions '' quadri'', '' tableaux'' or "images", rather than ''atti'' (acts). composed by Giacomo Puccini between 1893 and 1895 to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giusep ...

'' at the

Liceu The Gran Teatre del Liceu (, English: Great Theatre of the Lyceum), known as ''El Liceu'', is an opera house in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Located in La Rambla, it is the oldest running theatre in Barcelona. Founded in 1837 at another ...

, afterwards resuming her musical studies. In 1945, she returned to the Liceu to make her professional debut as the Countess in ''

The Marriage of Figaro ''The Marriage of Figaro'' ( it, Le nozze di Figaro, links=no, ), K. 492, is a ''commedia per musica'' (opera buffa) in four acts composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with an Italian libretto written by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It premi ...

''. After winning first prize in the Geneva International Music Competition in 1947, she sang Salud in Falla's '' La vida breve'' with the BBC in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

in 1948. She was accompanied on many of her early recordings by both and his daughter, the guitarist

Renata Tarragó Renata Tarragó Fábregas (23 October 1927 – 2 August 2005), a Catalan guitarist and vihuelist, was a teacher and performer, both as a solo artist and an accompanist. She was the first female guitarist to record Joaquín Rodrigo's ''Concierto ...

. In her early years in particular, she also sang a lot of florid music (''music antiche''). While she later made fewer appearances in opera, she continued to give recitals focusing on mostly French, German Lieder and Spanish art songs or songs with

Nahuatl Nahuatl (; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahua peoples, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have small ...

texts by Mexican composer Salvador Moreno Manzano into the 1990s. In 1949, she made her first appearance in the Paris Opéra as Marguerite. The following

year A year or annus is the orbital period of a planetary body, for example, the Earth, moving in its orbit around the Sun. Due to the Earth's axial tilt, the course of a year sees the passing of the seasons, marked by change in weather, the h ...

, she made her debut in

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Austro-Bavarian) is the fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the Roman settlement of ''Iuvavum''. Salzburg was founded ...

and at the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal ...

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist si ...

as Mimì, and in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

with a recital at

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th and 57th Streets. Designed by architect William Burnet Tuthill and built ...

. In March 1951, she made her

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is opera ...

debut in New York as Marguérite, and she went on to sing with the company for ten years. In 1952, she became an instant favourite in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

at the Teatro Colón as the title role in ''

Madama Butterfly ''Madama Butterfly'' (; ''Madame Butterfly'') is an opera in three acts (originally two) by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It is based on the short story " Madame Butterfly" (1898) by John Lu ...

''. She returned to Buenos Aires many times until 1979. She sang at

La Scala La Scala (, , ; abbreviation in Italian of the official name ) is a famous opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the ' (New Royal-Ducal Theatre alla Scala). The premiere performan ...

in Milan from 1950 to 1956 and, in 1957, she sang at the

Vienna State Opera The Vienna State Opera (, ) is an opera house and opera company based in Vienna, Austria. The 1,709-seat Renaissance Revival venue was the first major building on the Vienna Ring Road. It was built from 1861 to 1869 following plans by August ...

. After making her debut at the

Bayreuth Festival The Bayreuth Festival (german: link=no, Bayreuther Festspiele) is a music festival held annually in Bayreuth, Germany, at which performances of operas by the 19th-century German composer Richard Wagner are presented. Wagner himself conceived ...

as Elisabeth in ''

Tannhäuser Tannhäuser (; gmh, Tanhûser), often stylized, "The Tannhäuser," was a German Minnesinger and traveling poet. Historically, his biography, including the dates he lived, is obscure beyond the poetry, which suggests he lived between 1245 and ...

'' in 1961, she devoted herself principally to a concert career. However, for the next twenty years, she continued to make occasional appearances in one of her favourite operatic roles,

Bizet Georges Bizet (; 25 October 18383 June 1875) was a French composer of the Romantic era. Best known for his operas in a career cut short by his early death, Bizet achieved few successes before his final work, ''Carmen'', which has become on ...

's ''

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed by the ...

''. She was among the first Spanish-born operatic singers to record the complete opera, having done so in 1958 in a recording conducted by Sir

Thomas Beecham Sir Thomas Beecham, 2nd Baronet, Order of the Companions of Honour, CH (29 April 18798 March 1961) was an English conductor and impresario best known for his association with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, London Philharmonic and the Roya ...

, using the recitatives added by Ernest Guiraud after Bizet's death. Though Carmen lay comfortably in her range, she nevertheless also sang major soprano roles, the best known of which were Donna Anna, Manon, Nedda, Desdemona, Cio-Cio-San, Mimi, Violetta and Mélisande. James Hinton, Jr. praised the curious means she used to achieve her characterisation of Rosina in the 1954 Met's ''

The Barber of Seville ''The Barber of Seville, or The Useless Precaution'' ( it, Il barbiere di Siviglia, ossia L'inutile precauzione ) is an '' opera buffa'' in two acts composed by Gioachino Rossini with an Italian libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was ba ...

'': :...she — almost literally – does nothing at all that is in the conventional sense 'effective'. She is rapidly becoming one of those great rarities... a personality who makes everyone believe in her characterizations. Even in that there is a flaw, for she really offers no characterization. The personality is always the same... Yet the audience believes... that this is the way whichever character she happens to be dressed as must have been..."James Hinton, Jr., ''

Opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

'' (London), June 1954, p. 353 De los Ángeles performed regularly in song recitals with pianists

Gerald Moore Gerald Moore CBE (30 July 1899 – 13 March 1987) was an English classical pianist best known for his career as a collaborative pianist for many distinguished musicians. Among those with whom he was closely associated were Dietrich Fischer-Di ...

and Geoffrey Parsons, occasionally appearing with other eminent singers, such as

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf Dame Olga Maria Elisabeth Friederike Schwarzkopf, (9 December 19153 August 2006) was a German-born Austro-British soprano. She was among the foremost singers of lieder, and is renowned for her performances of Viennese operetta, as well as the op ...

and

Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (28 May 1925 – 18 May 2012) was a German lyric baritone and conductor of classical music, one of the most famous Lieder (art song) performers of the post-war period, best known as a singer of Franz Schubert's Lieder, ...

. Her recitals of Spanish songs with the pianist

Alicia de Larrocha Alicia de Larrocha y de la Calle (23 May 192325 September 2009) was a Spanish pianist and composer. She was considered one of the great piano legends of the 20th century. Reuters called her "the greatest Spanish pianist in history", ''Time'' "o ...

, a fellow Barcelona native who was her close friend, were also legendary. She sang at the

Barcelona Olympic Games The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

in 1992, aged 68. She made many widely acclaimed recordings, including those of ''La vida breve'', ''

'', ''

Pagliacci ''Pagliacci'' (; literal translation, "Clowns") is an Italian opera in a prologue and two acts, with music and libretto by Ruggero Leoncavallo. The opera tells the tale of Canio, actor and leader of a commedia dell'arte theatrical company, who ...

'', and ''

''. The last three paired her with the outstanding tenor

Jussi Björling Johan Jonatan "Jussi" Björling ( , ; 5 February 19119 September 1960) was a Swedish tenor. One of the leading operatic singers of the 20th century, Björling appeared for many years at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City and less frequen ...

. She was particularly appreciative of Björling's unique talent. In de los Ángeles' biography by Peter Roberts, de los Ángeles noted that "in despite of technical developments, none of the Jussi Björling recordings give you the true sound of his voice. It was a far, far more beautiful voice than you can hear on the recordings he left". The government of France named her a Chevalier the

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

in 1994.

Personal life and death

She married Enrique Magriña in 1948. He and one of their two sons predeceased her. She was hospitalized for a bronchial infection on December 31, 2004, and died of

respiratory failure Respiratory failure results from inadequate gas exchange by the respiratory system, meaning that the arterial oxygen, carbon dioxide, or both cannot be kept at normal levels. A drop in the oxygen carried in the blood is known as hypoxemia; a rise ...

on 15 January 2005, aged 81. She was buried in the

Montjuïc Cemetery Montjuïc Cemetery, known in Catalan as Cementiri del Sud-oest or Cementiri de Montjuïc, is located on one of the rocky slopes of Montjuïc hill in Barcelona. History It was opened on 17 March 1883 by the city of Barcelona as its main cemeter ...

, Barcelona. In her native Catalonia she usually appeared, in the post-

Franco Franco may refer to: Name * Franco (name) * Francisco Franco (1892–1975), Spanish general and dictator of Spain from 1939 to 1975 * Franco Luambo (1938–1989), Congolese musician, the "Grand Maître" Prefix * Franco, a prefix used when ref ...

era, under the

Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...

form of her name, Victòria dels Àngels.

Recognition

Her obituary in ''The Times'' (UK) noted that she must be counted “among the finest singers of the second half of the 20th century"."Victoria de los Angeles, Enchanting Spanish soprano who must be counted among the finest singers of the past 50 years"
''The Times'' (London), 17 January 2005 James Hinton, Jr. praised her "meltingly lovely middle voice". Elizabeth Forbes, writing in UK's ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

'', also noted that "It is impossible to imagine a more purely beautiful voice than that of Victoria de los Ángeles at the height of her career in the 1950s and early 1960s". She was ranked number 3, after

Maria Callas Maria Callas . (born Sophie Cecilia Kalos; December 2, 1923 – September 16, 1977) was an American-born Greek soprano who was one of the most renowned and influential opera singers of the 20th century. Many critics praised her ''bel cant ...

and Dame

Joan Sutherland Dame Joan Alston Sutherland, (7 November 1926 – 10 October 2010) was an Australian dramatic coloratura soprano known for her contribution to the renaissance of the bel canto repertoire from the late 1950s through to the 1980s. She possesse ...

, in the ''BBC Music Magazine''s List of The Top Twenty Sopranos of All Time (2007). The municipal music school of

Sant Cugat del Vallès Sant Cugat del Vallès (; es, San Cugat del Vallés, link=no) is a town and municipality north of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Known as ''Castrum Octavianum'' in antiquity (which literally means ''the castle of Octavianus'') and as ''Pins del ...

is named for her (''Escola Municipal de Música Victòria dels Àngels'') and is located on a plaza bearing her name (Plaça Victòria dels Àngels). Several other municipalities in Catalonia and many other in all of Spain have streets named after her. In 2007 a private foundation was established in order to preserve her legacy and promote her figure, named Fundació Victoria de los Ángeles.

Partial discography

*1952: "''Il Barbiere di Siviglia''":

Tullio Serafin Tullio Serafin (1 September 18782 February 1968) was an Italian conductor and former Musical Director at La Scala. Biography Tullio Serafin was a leading Italian opera conductor with a long career and a very broad repertoire who revived many 19t ...

(cond.) Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano; Gino Bechi (Figaro);

Nicola Monti Nicola Monti (21 November 1920 – 1 March 1993) was an Italian opera singer, one of the leading tenori di grazia of the 1950s. Born in Milan, Italy, Monti studied voice from an early age, and made his debut in concert in Florence in 1941, a ...

(Il Conte Almaviva). EMI *1953: "''Pagliacci''":

Renato Cellini Renato Cellini (; April 24, 1912 – March 25, 1967) was an Italian opera conductor. His father was Ezio Cellini, who was a stage director who worked with Arturo Toscanini. Metropolitan Opera Cellini went to the United States in 1947, wh ...

(cond.) RCA Victor Orchestra;

(Canio);

Leonard Warren Leonard Warren (April 21, 1911 – March 4, 1960) was an American opera singer. A baritone, he was a leading artist for many years with the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. Especially noted for his portrayals of the leading baritone roles in ...

(Tonio);

Robert Merrill Robert Merrill (June 4, 1917 – October 23, 2004) was an American operatic baritone and actor, who was also active in the musical theatre circuit. He received the National Medal of Arts in 1993. Early life Merrill was born Moishe Miller, ...

(Silvio). RCA Victor *1953: "''La Vida Breve''" (complete):

Manuel de Falla Manuel de Falla y Matheu (, 23 November 187614 November 1946) was an Andalusian Spanish composer and pianist. Along with Isaac Albéniz, Francisco Tárrega, and Enrique Granados, he was one of Spain's most important musicians of the first ...

, EMI, HMV ALP1150-1151/

RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...

Red Seal, LM-6017, 1953, with Emilio Payá (baritone), Rosario Gomez (mezzo-soprano), Pablo Civil (tenor).

Ernesto Halffter Ernesto Halffter Escriche (16 January 19055 July 1989) was a Spanish composer and conductor. He was the brother of Rodolfo Halffter and part of the ''Grupo de los Ocho'' ( en, Group of Eight), which formed a sub-set of the ''Generation of '27'' ...

, conductor, with the Orquestra Simfònica de l'Òpera de Barcelona *1953: "''Faust''":

André Cluytens André Cluytens (, ; born Augustin Zulma Alphonse Cluytens; 26 March 19053 June 1967)Baeck E. ''André Cluytens: Itinéraire d’un chef d’orchestre.'' Editions Mardaga, Wavre, 2009. was a Belgian-born French conductor who was active in the con ...

(cond.) L'Opéra de Paris orchestra; Nicolai Gedda (Faust);

Boris Christoff Boris Christoff ( bg, Борис Кирилов Христов, Boris Kirilov Hristov, ; 18 May 1914 – 28 June 1993) was a Bulgarian opera singer, widely considered one of the greatest basses of the 20th century. Early life He was born ...

(Mephistopheles). EMI. *1954: "''Madama Butterfly''": Gianandrea Gavazzeni (cond.) Teatro dell'Opera de Roma Orchestra:

Tito Gobbi Tito Gobbi (24 October 19135 March 1984) was an Italian operatic baritone with an international reputation. He made his operatic debut in Gubbio in 1935 as Count Rodolfo in Bellini's '' La sonnambula'' and quickly appeared in Italy's major oper ...

(Sharpless); Giuseppe di Stefano (Pinkerton). EMI Records. *1955: "''

Les nuits d'été ''Les nuits d'été'' (''Summer Nights''), Op. 7, is a song cycle by the French composer Hector Berlioz. It is a setting of six poems by Théophile Gautier. The cycle, completed in 1841, was originally for soloist and piano accompaniment. Berlio ...

''":

Hector Berlioz In Greek mythology, Hector (; grc, Ἕκτωρ, Hektōr, label=none, ) is a character in Homer's Iliad. He was a Trojan prince and the greatest warrior for Troy during the Trojan War. Hector led the Trojans and their allies in the defense o ...

, Charles Munch (cond.),

Boston Symphony Orchestra The Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an American orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the second-oldest of the five major American symphony orchestras commonly referred to as the " Big Five". Founded by Henry Lee Higginson in 18 ...

. RCA Victor/EMI. *1955: "''

Manon ''Manon'' () is an ''opéra comique'' in five acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Henri Meilhac and Philippe Gille, based on the 1731 novel '' L'histoire du chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut'' by the Abbé Prévost. It was firs ...

''":

Pierre Monteux Pierre Benjamin Monteux (; 4 April 18751 July 1964) was a French (later American) conductor. After violin and viola studies, and a decade as an orchestral player and occasional conductor, he began to receive regular conducting engagements in ...

(cond.) Chorus and Orchestra of the Théâtre-National de l'Opéra-Comique. EMI. *1956: "''La bohème''":

(cond.) RCA Victor Orchestra; Jussi Bjorling (Rodolfo); Robert Merrill (Marcello);

Giorgio Tozzi Giorgio Tozzi (January 8, 1923 – May 30, 2011) was an American operatic bass. He was a mainstay for many years with the Metropolitan Opera, and sang principal bass roles in nearly every major opera house worldwide. Career Tozzi was born Georg ...

(Colline);

Lucine Amara Lucine Amara (born March 1, 1924) is an American soprano who was chiefly based at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Biography Amara was born Lucine Armaganian in Hartford, Connecticut, of Armenian heritage, before moving to San Francisco wh ...

(Musetta). RCA Victor/EMI. *1958: "''Faust''": André Cluytens (cond.) L'Opéra de Paris orchestra; Nicolai Gedda (Faust); Boris Christoff (Mephistopheles). EMI. *1959: "''Carmen''": Thomas Beecham (cond.) Orchestre philharmonique de Radio France; Nicolai Gedda (Don José);

Janine Micheau Janine Micheau (17 April 1914 – 18 October 1976) was a French operatic soprano, one of the leading sopranos of her era in France, particularly associated with lyric soprano and coloratura soprano repertory. Biography Janine (or Jeanine) Micheau ...

(Micaëla);

Ernest Blanc Ernest Blanc (November 1, 1923 – December 22, 2010) was a French opera singer, one of the leading baritones of his era in France. Born in Sanary-sur-Mer, Ernest Blanc studied at the Music Conservatory of Toulon with Sabran, from 1946 to 1949. H ...

(Escamillo). EMI. *1959: "''La traviata''": Tullio Serafin (cond.) Teatro dell'Opera de Roma Orchestra: Carlo del Monte (Alfredo);

Mario Sereni Mario Sereni (25 March 1928 – 24 July 2015) was an Italian baritone, who sang leading roles at the New York Metropolitan Opera for many years. Sereni was born in Perugia, Italy. He attended the Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome and the Accad ...

(Germont). EMI. *1959: "''Madama Butterfly''": Gabriele Santini (cond.) Teatro dell'Opera de Roma Orchestra: Jussi Björling (Pinkerton); Mario Sereni (Sharpless). EMI *1962: "''Cavalleria rusticana''": Gabriele Santini (cond.) Teatro dell'Opera de Roma Orchestra:

Franco Corelli Franco Corelli (8 April 1921 – 29 October 2003) was an Italian tenor who had a major international opera career between 1951 and 1976. Associated in particular with the spinto and dramatic tenor roles of the Italian repertory, he was cel ...

(Turiddu); Mario Sereni (Alfio). EMI *1962: "''Il Barbiere di Siviglia''":

Vittorio Gui Vittorio Gui (14 September 188516 October 1975) was an Italian conductor, composer, musicologist and critic. Gui was born in Rome in 1885. He graduated in humanities at the University of Rome and also studied composition at the Accademia Naziona ...

(cond.) Royal Philharmonic Orchestra:

Sesto Bruscantini Sesto Bruscantini (10 December 1919 – 4 May 2003) was an Italian baritone, one of the greatest buffo singers of the post-war era, especially renowned in Mozart and Rossini. Biography and career Bruscantini was born in Civitanova Marche, Marche, ...

(Figaro);

Luigi Alva Luis Ernesto Alva y Talledo, better known as Luigi Alva (born 10 April 1927 in Paíta, Peru) is a Peruvian operatic tenor. A Mozart and Rossini specialist, Alva achieved fame with roles such as Don Ottavio (in ''Don Giovanni''), Count Almaviva ( ...

(Il Conte Almaviva). EMI *1964: "''Les Contes d'Hoffmann''": André Cluytens (cond.) Paris Conservatoire Orchestra: Nicolai Gedda (Hoffmann), Jean-Christophe Benoît (Nicklausse),

(Giulietta), Gianna d'Angelo (Olimpia), Jacques Loreau (Andres\Cochenille\Frantz\Pittichinaccio). EMI. *1965: "''La Vida Breve''" (complete):

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...

CD M 7 69590 2,

Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos (born Rafael Frühbeck; 15 September 1933 – 11 June 2014) was a Spanish conductor and composer. Frühbeck was born in Burgos, Spain to a family of German ancestry. He first took up conducting while on military serv ...

(cond.) Orquesta Nacional de España, Orfeón Donostiarra; Inés Rivadeneira (la abuela);

Carlo Cossutta Carlo Cossutta (May 8, 1932 – January 22, 2000) was a prominent Italian dramatic tenor of Slovene descent who had a major international opera career that spanned from the mid-1950s through the late 1990s. He began and ended his career at the ...

(Paco); Ana Maria Higueras (Carmela). *1965: "''Dido and Aeneas''":

John Barbirolli Sir John Barbirolli ( Giovanni Battista Barbirolli; 2 December 189929 July 1970) was a British conductor and cellist. He is remembered above all as conductor of the Hallé Orchestra in Manchester, which he helped save from dissolution in 194 ...

(cond.) English Chamber Orchestra; Peter Glossop (Aeneas);

Heather Harper Heather Mary Harper (8 May 1930 – 22 April 2019) was a Northern Irish operatic soprano. She was active internationally in both opera and concert. She performed roles such as Helena in Benjamin Britten's ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' at the Roy ...

(Belinda). EMI *1966: "''L'enfance du Christ''": André Cluytens (cond.) Paris Conservatoire Orchestra; Nicolai Gedda; Ernest Blanc;

Roger Soyer Roger Soyer (born 1 September 1939) is a French operatic bass-baritone, particularly associated with the French repertory and with Mozart. Soyer was born in Thiais, and first studied privately with G. Daum, before entering the Conservatoire de Pa ...

;

Xavier Depraz Xavier Depraz, ''né'' Xavier Marcel Delaruelle (22 April 1926 – 18 October 1994) was a French opera singer and actor. Life Born in Albert ( Somme), Depraz was a bass at the Paris Opéra until 1971. He took part in the premieres of operas by ...

. EMI *1969: "''Werther''":

Georges Prêtre Georges Prêtre (; 14 August 1924 – 4 January 2017) was a French orchestral and opera conductor. Biography Prêtre was born in Waziers (Nord), and attended the Douai Conservatory and then studied harmony under Maurice Duruflé and conducting ...

(cond.) Orchestre de Paris; Nicolai Gedda (Werther);

Mady Mesplé Mady Mesplé (7 March 1931 – 30 May 2020) was a French opera singer, considered the leading coloratura soprano of her generation in France, and sometimes heralded as the successor to Mado Robin, with ''Lakmé'' by Delibes becoming her signatur ...

(Sophie). EMI *1977: "''Orlando Furioso''":

Claudio Scimone Claudio Scimone (23 December 1934 – 6 September 2018) was an Italian conductor. He was born in Padua, Italy and studied conducting with Dmitri Mitropoulos and Franco Ferrara. He established an international reputation as a conductor, as well ...

(cond.) I Solisti Veneti;

Marilyn Horne Marilyn Horne (born January 16, 1934) is an American mezzo-soprano opera singer. She specialized in roles requiring beauty of tone, excellent breath support, and the ability to execute difficult coloratura passages. She is a recipient of the Natio ...

(Orlando); Lucia Valentini-Terrani (Alcina). Erato *1990: "''

Chants d'Auvergne ''Chants d'Auvergne'' (; en, italic=yes, Songs from the Auvergne) is a collection of folk songs from the Auvergne region of France arranged for soprano voice and orchestra or piano by Joseph Canteloube between 1923 and 1930. The 27 songs, collecte ...

''":

Joseph Canteloube Marie-Joseph Canteloube de Malaret (; 21 October 18794 November 1957) was a French composer, musicologist, and author best known for his collections of orchestrated folksongs from the Auvergne region, ''Chants d'Auvergne''. Biography Canteloube ...

, EMI Studio DRM

CD M 7 63176 2 The compact disc (CD) is a digital optical disc data storage format that was co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. In August 1982, the first compact disc was manufactured. It was then released in Octo ...

Jean-Pierre Jacquillat Jean-Pierre Jacquillat (13 July 1935 – 6 August 1986) was a French conductor. Jacquillat was born in Versailles in 1935. He was named assistant to Charles Munch at the Orchestre de Paris in 1967. He was chief conductor of the Iceland Sy ...

(cond.)

Orchestre des Concerts Lamoureux The Orchestre Lamoureux () officially known as the Société des Nouveaux-Concerts and also known as the Concerts Lamoureux) is an orchestral concert society which once gave weekly concerts by its own orchestra, founded in Paris by Charles Lamoureu ...

*1992: "'' Traditional Catalan Songs''", with

Geoffrey Parsons (pianist) Geoffrey Penwill Parsons AO OBE (15 June 192926 January 1995) was an Australian pianist, most particularly notable as an accompanist to singers and instrumentalists. After the retirement of Gerald Moore, he was generally considered the world ...

. Collins Classics *1993: "The Fabulous Victoria de los Angeles" (4 CD boxed set, with recordings from 1960 through 1993), EMI. *2008: "Victoria de los Angeles: The Voice of an Angel" (Overview of career on 7 CDS / 165 tracks on mp3) EMI.

References

Notes Sources * Bisogni, Vincenzo Ramón, ''Victoria de los Ángeles. Nella Musica per Vivere (e Sopravvivere)'', Zecchini Editore, 2008 *Roberts, Peter, ''Victoria de los Ángeles'', Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1982.

External links

Music School Victòria dels Àngels

* ttp://www.h4.dion.ne.jp/~hugo.z/hs_orch/hs_GranTeatroLiceu.html January 1950 Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg, at Hans Swarowsky's page
Opera~Opera tribute 2005
* Victoria de los Ángeles sings Gioachino Rossini's "Una voce poco fa"
Discography
(Capon's Lists of Opera Recordings)
Recordings and discography
(Discogs) ;Other obituaries

''The Daily Telegraph'' (London), 17 January 2005 {{DEFAULTSORT:Angeles, Victoria delos 1923 births 2005 deaths Opera singers from Catalonia Spanish operatic sopranos Conservatori Superior de Música del Liceu alumni Singers from Barcelona Burials at Montjuïc Cemetery 20th-century Spanish women opera singers 21st-century Spanish women opera singers