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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