Amalia Anglés Mayer de Fortuny: del Conservatorio de Madrid a la escena operística internacional

Abstract

This article explores the life and career of Amalia Anglés Mayer de Fortuny (1827– 1859), a Spanish soprano who gained international recognition in the bel canto tradition. Despite her considerable success, Anglés remains underexplored in scholarly literature. Trained at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Madrid, where she studied with Francisco Frontera de Valldemosa, she performed on prestigious stages such as Milan’s Teatro alla Scala and the Paris Opera, earning acclaim for her roles in Rigoletto, Lucia di Lammermoor, and La Sonnambula. Her career took her to further European cities, including Lisbon and Berlin, before her untimely death at the age of thirty-one. Using Grounded Theory methodology, this research draws on archival materials, including primary sources from the Royal Conservatory of Madrid and contemporary press reviews, to examine Anglés’s vocal technique, professional trajectory, and contributions to the dissemination of bel canto across Europe. The study seeks to establish Anglés’s significance in operatic history, shedding light on her pedagogical influence and the social challenges she navigated as a female artist in nineteenth-century Europe.