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

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 countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

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 (official name in ; UB), formerly also known as Central University of Barcelona (), is a public research university located in the city of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It was established in 1450. With 76,000 students, ...

, 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 '':wikt:quadro, quadri'', ''wikt:tableau, tableaux'' or "images", rather than ''atti'' (acts). composed by Giacomo Puccini between 1893 and 1895 to an Italian libretto b ...

'' at the

Liceu The Gran Teatre del Liceu (; ; ), or simply Liceu, is a theater in Barcelona, Spain. Situated on La Rambla, it is the city's oldest theater building still in use for its original purpose. Founded in 1837 at another location, the Liceu ope ...

, 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'' (, ), 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 premiered at the Burgtheater in Vienn ...

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

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

in 1948. She was accompanied on many of her early recordings by both Graciano Tarragó and his daughter, the guitarist Renata Tarragó. 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 Nahuas, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have smaller popul ...

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 is a unit of time based on how long it takes the Earth to orbit the Sun. In scientific use, the tropical year (approximately 365 Synodic day, solar days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, 45 seconds) and the sidereal year (about 20 minutes longer) ...

, she made her debut in

Salzburg Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...

and at the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is a theatre in Covent Garden, central London. The building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. The ROH is the main home of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, and the Orch ...

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 sit ...

as Mimì, and in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

with a recital at

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...

. In March 1951, she made her

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

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, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

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 (, , ; officially , ) is a historic opera house in Milan, Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as (, which previously was Santa Maria della Scala, Milan, a church). The premiere performa ...

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

Vienna State Opera The Vienna State Opera (, ) is a historic 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 ...

. After making her debut at the

Bayreuth Festival The Bayreuth Festival () is a music festival held annually in Bayreuth, Germany, at which performances of stage works by the 19th-century German composer Richard Wagner are presented. Wagner himself conceived and promoted the idea of a special ...

as Elisabeth in '' Tannhäuser'' 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'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 O ...

''. 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, (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 Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Philh ...

, using the recitatives added by

Ernest Guiraud Ernest Guiraud (; 23 June 18376 May 1892) was an American-born French composer and music teacher. He is best known for writing the traditional orchestral recitatives used for Bizet's opera '' Carmen'' and for Offenbach's opera '' Les contes d ...

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'' ( ) is an ''opera buffa'' (comic opera) in two acts composed by Gioachino Rossini with an Italian libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was based on Pierre Beaumarchais's French comedy ' ...

'': :...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 History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

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

Gerald Moore Gerald Moore (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-Diesk ...

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

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf Dame Olga Maria Elisabeth Friederike Schwarzkopf, (; 9 December 1915 – 3 August 2006) was a German-born Austro-British lyric soprano. She was among the foremost singers of lieder, and is renowned for her performances of Viennese operetta, as w ...

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, he is best known as a singer of Franz Schubert's ...

. Her recitals of Spanish songs with the pianist Alicia de Larrocha, a fellow Barcelona native who was her close friend, were also legendary. She sang at the closing ceremony of the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics (, ), officially the Games of the XXV Olympiad (, ) and officially branded as Barcelona '92, were an international multi-sport event held from 25 July to 9 August 1992 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Beginning in 1994 ...

, 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 mu ...

'', and ''

''. The last three paired her with the outstanding tenor Jussi Björling. 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 of the

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

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 r ...

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.

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 publis ...

'', 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 Maria Anna Cecilia Sophia Kalogeropoulos; December 2, 1923 – September 16, 1977) was an American-born Greek soprano and one of the most renowned and influential opera singers of the 20th century. Many critics praised ...

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 to the 1980s. She possessed a voice ...

, 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 is named for her (''Escola Municipal de Música Victòria dels Àngels'') and is located on a plaza bearing her name (Plaça Victòria dels Àngels). This school preserves her first grand piano, a Steck no. 49253 from 1913, purchased in Barcelona in 1948, which ha
a beautiful sound
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, name
Fundació Victoria de los Ángeles

Partial discography

*1952: "''Il Barbiere di Siviglia''": Tullio Serafin (cond.) Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano; Gino Bechi (Figaro); Nicola Monti (Il Conte Almaviva). EMI *1953: "''Pagliacci''":

Renato Cellini Renato Cellini (; April 24, 1912 – March 25, 1967) was an Italian opera conductor. Studies and Early Career Cellini's father Ezio Cellini was an operatic stage director who worked with Arturo Toscanini; his mother Traversa Usellini was a ...

(cond.) RCA Victor Orchestra; Jussi Björling (Canio); Leonard Warren (Tonio); Robert Merrill (Silvio). RCA Victor *1953: "''La Vida Breve''" (complete):

Manuel de Falla Manuel de Falla y Matheu (, 23 November 187614 November 1946) was a 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 half of the 20t ...

, EMI, HMV ALP1150-1151/

RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic ...

Red Seal, LM-6017, 1953, with Emilio Payá (baritone), Rosario Gomez (mezzo-soprano), Pablo Civil (tenor). Ernesto Halffter, conductor, with the Orquestra Simfònica de l'Òpera de Barcelona *1953: "''Faust''":

André Cluytens Augustin Zulma Alphonse "André" 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 conducting, conductor who was active in the conce ...

(cond.) L'Opéra de Paris orchestra; Nicolai Gedda (Faust); Boris Christoff (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''":

Hector Berlioz Louis-Hector Berlioz (11 December 1803 – 8 March 1869) was a French Romantic music, Romantic composer and conductor. His output includes orchestral works such as the ''Symphonie fantastique'' and ''Harold en Italie, Harold in Italy'' ...

, Charles Munch (cond.),

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

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

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 1 ...

(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 (Colline); Lucine Amara (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 (Micaëla); Ernest Blanc (Escamillo). EMI. *1959: "''La traviata''": Tullio Serafin (cond.) Teatro dell'Opera de Roma Orchestra: Carlo del Monte (Alfredo); Mario Sereni (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 (Turiddu); Mario Sereni (Alfio). EMI *1962: "''Il Barbiere di Siviglia''": Vittorio Gui (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, M ...

(Figaro);

Luigi Alva Luis Ernesto Alva y Talledo (10 April 1927 – 15 May 2025), known professionally as Luigi Alva, was a Peruvian operatic tenor who worked internationally at the major opera houses and festivals. A Mozart and Rossini specialist, Alva achieved f ...

(Il Conte Almaviva). EMI *1962: "''Requiem''" (Fauré): André Cluytens (cond.) Paris Conservatoire Orchestra: Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. 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 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 (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 1943 ...

(cond.) English Chamber Orchestra; Peter Glossop (Aeneas); Heather Harper (Belinda). EMI *1966: "''L'enfance du Christ''": André Cluytens (cond.) Paris Conservatoire Orchestra; Nicolai Gedda; Ernest Blanc; Roger Soyer; Xavier Depraz. EMI *1968-69: "''Werther''": Georges Prêtre (cond.) Orchestre de Paris; Nicolai Gedda (Werther);

Mady Mesplé Mady Mesplé (7 March 1931 – 30 May 2020) was a French opera singer who was 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 si ...

(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 Dimitri Mitropoulos and Franco Ferrara. He established an international reputation as a conductor, as wel ...

(cond.) I Solisti Veneti;

Marilyn Horne Marilyn Berneice 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 ...

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

Chants d'Auvergne ''Chants d'Auvergne'' (; ), by Joseph Canteloube, is a collection of folk songs from the Auvergne region of France, arranged for soprano voice and orchestra or piano between 1923 and 1930. The 27 songs, collected in five series, are in the local la ...

''":

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 (province), Auvergne region, ''Chants d'Auvergne''. ...

, EMI Studio DRM CD M 7 63176 2, Jean-Pierre Jacquillat (cond.) Orchestre des Concerts Lamoureux *1992: "'' Traditional Catalan Songs''", with

Geoffrey Parsons (pianist) Geoffrey Penwill Parsons Officer of the Order of Australia, AO Officer of the Order of the British Empire, OBE (15 June 192926 January 1995) was an Australian pianist, most particularly notable as an accompanist to singers and instrumentalists. ...

Collins Classics Collins Classics is a record label which specialises in classical music. It was founded in 1989 as a musical subsidiary of HarperCollins Publishers and distributed through Pinnacle Entertainment (United Kingdom). Artists who recorded for th ...

*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)
The sound of her Steck grand piano.
;Other obituaries

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