Victoria de los Angeles
Her smiling face, her generosity and her simplicity have won the hearts of all those who have seen this great singer from afar or close up; a singer who could never be mistaken for a diva. No caprices, no bouts of rage, no outrageous demands: she simply sang. It was the Geneva International Music Competition, which she won with such great success in 1947, that propelled the young Spanish singer to the front of the world stage. Right away, she was enlisted to sing La Vida Breve by Manuel de Falla in London, and then Paris invited her to play Marguerite in Gounod's Faust at the Opéra, before becoming Mimi (La Bohème by Puccini), under the direction of Sir Thomas Beecham at Covent Garden. Salzburg, New York, Milan, Vienna and Buenos Aires followed. A coloratura soprano first and foremost, she sang roles from Rossini with agility. As the years went by, she expanded her voice and her repertoire, becoming a much sought-after lyric soprano. Thanks to her particular gift for languages, she has been Agathe in Weber's Freischütz, Desdemona in Verdi's Othello, Eva in Die Meistersinger by Wagner, or a touching Mélisande. She is a wily and spiteful Rosina (Barber of Seville), a simple and moving Mimi.
Victoria de los Angeles's voice (a stage name she chose for herself in order to get away from her less-glamorous family name, Lopez-Garcia) was natural, easy, sunny, with a suppleness that allowed her to overcome difficulties without apparent effort. She was the foremost post-war Spanish singers, before the emergence of her colleagues Teresa Berganza and Montserrat Caballé. But throughout her career she has remained in touch with her deep Catalan roots. At recitals, she would often sing Xavier Montsalvatge or Federico Mompou, who accompanied her in 1971 for a broadcast on Télévision Française. She also sang German Lieder with Gerald Moore, and to be sure, the zarzuela of Madrid, of which she made numerous recordings. The record commemorates the precious moment in the great English pianist's farewell concert, in which Victoria de los Angeles sang Cats' Duet (incorrectly attributed to Rossini) with Elisabeth Schwarzkopf.
Surely her Carmen counts amongst those of her roles which will always remain famous: she made a celebrated recording in Paris with the French National Orchestra, directed by Sir Thomas Beecham. More seductive than femme fatale, singing the French impeccably with a trace of a Spanish accent which sits well with the work, she is surrounded by a dream billing: Ernest Blanc, Nicolaï Gedda and Ernest Blanc make this a real point of reference for the style of French singing. With the same Beecham, she recorded a very beautiful Bohème by Puccini, with the great Swedish tenor Jussi Björling.
This angelic voice remained intact until a very advanced age, which allowed Victoria de los Angeles to continue singing until late in life. She left the stage in 1979; but she continued to give recitals until the age of 75, in 1998, in which she would foreground a repertoire which she could still sing very well, and almost every time she would give an encore of Carmen, as if to offer a wink at the heroine who had assured her lasting fame.
© FH / Qobuz
Artistas semelhantes
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Manuel de Falla: El Amor Brujo, Concierto para clave y 5 instrumentos, Canciones Populares Españolas, Piezas Españolas, Fantasía Bética
Victoria de los Angeles, Marina De Gabarain, Alicia de Larrocha, Ernest Ansermet, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Ernest Ansermet
Classical - Lançado por Praga Digitals em 01/04/2013
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Falla: La Vida Breve - El amor brujo - El sombrero de tres picos
Victoria de los Angeles, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Carlo Maria Giulini
Classical - Lançado por Warner Classics em 01/01/1966
A discografia ideal da QobuzQualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Maiden and The Nightingale - Songs of Spain
Classical - Lançado por Warner Classics em 01/08/2004
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Puccini: La Bohème by Sir Thomas Beecham
Thomas Beecham, Victoria de los Angeles, Jussi Björling
Opera - Lançado por Alexandre Bak - Classical Music Reference Recording em 01/01/1956
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Gounod: Faust (Stereo Version)
Paris Opera Orchestra, André Cluytens, Victoria de los Angeles, Nicolai Gedda
Miscellaneous - Lançado por BNF Collection em 01/01/1960
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Gounod: Faust
Nicolai Gedda, Victoria de los Angeles, Boris Christoff
Opera - Lançado por Urania em 01/01/1960
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Victoria de Los Angeles: Fauré, Debussy & Ravel
Classical - Lançado por Praga Digitals em 01/03/2017
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Falla: El sombrero de tres picos
Victoria de los Angeles, Philharmonia Orchestra, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos
Classical - Lançado por Warner Classics em 06/11/1964
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Massenet: Manon
Classical - Lançado por Warner Classics em 14/04/2023
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Duets. Songs by Purcell, Beethoven, Schubert, Saint-Saëns, Fauré...
Victoria de los Angeles, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Gerald Moore
Classical - Lançado por Warner Classics em 01/01/1962
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Cantos de España: Falla, Granados, Rodrigo, Esplá & Montsalvatge
Classical - Lançado por Warner Classics em 01/01/1962
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Verdi: Simon Boccanegra
Boris Christoff, Tito Gobbi, Victoria de los Angeles, Orchestra del Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, Gabriele Santini
Classical - Lançado por Warner Classics em 09/01/2001
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Puccini: Gianni Schicchi (Mono Version)
Orchestra del Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, Gabriele Santini, Tito Gobbi, Victoria de los Angeles
Classical - Lançado por BNF Collection em 01/01/1959
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
20th-Century Spanish Songs: Falla, Granados...
Victoria de los Angeles, Gonzalo Soriano
Classical - Lançado por Warner Classics em 01/01/1962
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Verdi · la traviata
Victoria de los Angeles, Carlo del Monte, Tullio Serafin, Orchestra del Teatro dell'Opera di Roma
Classical - Lançado por G.O.P. em 30/06/2023
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Gounod: Faust (1953 Version)
Victoria de los Angeles, Boris Christoff, Nicolai Gedda, Orchestre du Theatre National De L'Opera De Paris, André Cluytens
Classical - Lançado por Warner Classics em 01/01/1960
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Essentials of Victoria de Los Angeles
Classical - Lançado por BNF Collection em 01/01/2014
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Victoria de los Ángeles; Recital en Buenos Aires (Teatro Colón, 13 de Agosto de 1978)
Victoria de los Angeles, Miguel Zanetti
Classical - Lançado por Ediciones Victoria de los Ángeles em 23/07/2023
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Massenet · Manon
Victoria de los Angeles, Henry Legay, Pierre Monteux, Orchestra du Théâtre National de l'Opéra-Comique
Classical - Lançado por G.O.P. em 15/05/2023
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Duos (Mono Version)
Victoria de los Angeles, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
Classical - Lançado por BNF Collection em 01/01/1962
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Chansons espagnoles du XXe siècle (Stereo Version)
Victoria de los Angeles, Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos
Miscellaneous - Lançado por BNF Collection em 01/01/1962
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo