Amongst the leading Spanish singers of the Compañía Lírica Nacional from the last half century, Ángeles Chamorro is famed for the individuality of her potent, pure soprano and exceptional ability to express character through music. A born perfectionist, she trained assiduously with Lola Rodriguez de Aragón and Ángeles Ottein before making her first appearances in recital and concert work (from 1955) under the batons of leading conductors such as Malcolm Sargent, Colin Davis and Igor Markevich, for whom she later starred in a remarkable double album LP of zarzuela highlights for the Philips label.

Her stage career, begun with Gilda in Rigoletto opposite Alfredo Kraus (1958, Seville) took her to the major houses in London, Mexico, Lisbon, Grenoble and New York as well as Barcelona's Liceu and Madrid's Real and Zarzuela theatres. Over the next twenty five years she played many of the great lyric soprano roles, becoming particularly in demand for her Susanna Le nozze di Figaro, Violetta La Traviata, and Mimi La Boheme. She also played many leading roles in zarzuela, bidding farewell to the stage in 1984 (La Gran Vía, Madrid) and retiring from active singing a year later, since which time she has worked as a vocal teacher with conspicuous success.

She appeared many times with Kraus, and her complete zarzuela recordings include many made for for the great tenor's own Carillon label (notably La revoltosa, El huésped del Sevillano and La dolorosa) as well as Bohemios, Doña Francisquita and La verbena de la Paloma for Columbia, and single romanzas and dúos with Kraus and other singers such as Bernabé Marti and Carlo Del Monte. All these are memorable for Chamorro's uniquely vivid characterisation and intense musicality, as well as for the sheer vocal lustre of her remarkable voice.

© Pedro Gómez Manzanares & Christopher Webber, 2002

Pedro Gómez Manzanares writes:
"Today, 11th February 2003, Ángeles Chamorro (Angelines to her family) died in a nursing home, in a small village near Guadalajara, where she had resided for several months after undergoing an operation a year ago. I have had the opportunity of visiting her several times and whilst at her bedside I have recalled those days when she held me in her arms when I was a child. I will cherish the memory of a great lady, a great personality, a great singer and finally an exceptional woman who attained, without doubt, the fame that she deserved. We will always remember the good fortune of having known her, and thanks to the existence of her recordings we can continue to enjoy her voice. We love you, Angelines!"

"Hoy, 11 de Febrero de 2003, Ángeles Chamorro (Angelines para la familia) ha fallecido en una residencia asistida de un pequeño pueblo de Guadalajara, donde ha permanecido durante varios meses, después de ser sometida a una operación hace un año. He tenido la oportunidad de visitarla varias veces y he recordado a su lado aquellos días en que ella me mantenía en sus brazos cuando yo era un niño. Guardo de ella la imagen de una gran mujer, una gran personalidad, una gran cantante y en fin una mujer excepcional que ocupará, sin duda, en el sito que se merece. Muchos la recordemos siempre por haber tenido la suerte de conocerla y gracias a las grabaciones existentes disfrutaremos de su voz. Te queremos Angelines!"

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