María de los Ángeles Morales

María de los Ángeles Morales is a Spanish zarzuela, concert and opera singer. She was born in Madrid on January 1929. When she was six years old her mother died. At twelve she debuted onstage at the Teatro Fontalba in Madrid, yet she had broadcasted before for Radio España at children's programs and contests. She started taking singing lessons in Madrid's Conservatory from Lola Rodríguez Aragón, finishing in 1947 with a special prize. That December she debuted at the Teatro Madrid with the main roles in Lucia di Lammermoor and Gilda in Rigoletto, to great acclaim. From then she would go on to various contracts, and the following year she won the first prize at a Philips contest held in Scheveningen (Holland). This meant starting an opera, songs and zarzuela tournée around Spain and then South America, chaperoned by her father (she was only 19), singing in Buenos Aires, La Habana or Mexico. Then she sang La Traviata and Doña Francisquita in Madrid and went to Paris where she also sang the main feminine roles in Traviata, La Bohème and Il Barbiere di Siviglia, with which she went to Italy, singing Rosina in both La Scala and San Carlos opera theatres, always to great acclaim. She recorded some zarzuelas and starred in a few movies which made her even more popular : a brief role onstage in La revoltosa (1950) and leading roles in Teatro Apolo (1950) , singing with Jorge Negrete), La canción de La Malibrán (1951) and De Madrid al cielo (1952). On May 1954 she got married, then had a daughter, María, and practically retired from stage. She not only possessed a beautiful soprano voice with a specially clear diction but also fine acting qualities that added to her charm.