Biography
Victoria de los Ángeles (Barcelona, 1923) began her career at the Liceu and achieved international success in the 1950s. In her maturity, she combined opera and recital with a unique sensitivity.
Childhood and youth
Victoria de los Ángeles López García was born in Barcelona on November 1, 1923. Her father, Bernardo López, of Andalusian origin, was the caretaker of the University of Barcelona, where he resided with his family: his wife, Victoria García, and their three children, Carmen, Victoria de los Ángeles, and José.
The empty classrooms of the University and the Paraninfo hall, where she could play the piano, were the daily environment of the singer’s childhood and youth. During her adolescence, Victoria de los Ángeles cultivated her artistic temperament in a self-taught manner.
After the Spanish Civil War, she entered the Conservatori del Liceu, where she was heard for the first time by the singer and teacher Mercè Plantada, and completed her musical studies with the mezzo-soprano Dolors Frau and the guitarist Gracià Tarragó.
Early years of her career
On December 20, 1940, she participated in the program Concursos vivientes on Radio Barcelona and won the competition singing ‘Mi chiamano Mimì’ from La Bohème and ‘Un bel dì vedremo’ from Madama Butterfly, both by Giacomo Puccini and two roles that would accompany her throughout her life. The prize was precisely to perform La Bohème at the Teatre Victòria in Barcelona.
Thus began the concert career of Victoria de los Ángeles, and it was during this period that she also came into contact with the instrumental ensemble Ars Musicae, directed by Josep Maria Lamaña, which shaped her musical vision by pioneering a focus on early music, specifically the repertoire from the 12th to the 17th centuries. Curiously, Victoria de los Ángeles did not participate in this musical group as a vocal soloist, but as a flautist.
Finally, on May 19, 1944, she made her solo debut at the Palau de la Música Catalana in a two-part concert: the first accompanied by the Quartet Ibèric and the second by Pere Vallribera. Shortly after, on January 13, 1945, she made her official debut at the Gran Teatre del Liceu as the Countess Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro.
Maturity
After the period of motherhood with her two sons, Juan Enrique and Alejandro, Victoria de los Ángeles gradually focused her career on vocal recitals, a format that had accompanied her throughout her life since she sang Schubert in Catalan for President Macià before the Civil War (1936-1939).
In these recitals across the globe, many of them considered anthology pieces, she was accompanied by great pianists such as Geoffrey Parsons, Alicia de Larrocha, Gonzalo Soriano, Miguel Zanetti, Manuel García Morante, and Albert Guinovart.
In these recitals across the globe, many of them considered anthology pieces, she was accompanied by great pianists such as Geoffrey Parsons, Alicia de Larrocha, Gonzalo Soriano, Miguel Zanetti, Manuel García Morante, and Albert Guinovart.