Fundación Victoria de los Ángeles will have its head office at the University of Barcelona

The agreement also wills to promote and carry out events and activities of general interest together.
The agreement also wills to promote and carry out events and activities of general interest together.
Culture
(13/07/2017)

The head office of Fundación Victoria de los Ángeles will be located at the Historical Building of the University of Barcelona, as accorded in the collaboration agreement signed this morning, in Sala de Juntes, by the rector of the UB, Joan Elias, and the president of the Foundation, Helena Mora.

Apart from ceding some spaces of the UB to be used by the Foundation, the agreement sets a general collaboration between the University and the Foundation to promote and carry out events and activities of general interest together, aiming to reach the own and common objectives of both institutions.

Framed within this event, in which many public figures of the field of culture attended, the Aula Magna of the UB also held the presentation of the Fifth edition of the Lied Festival Victoria de los Ángeles, at 12 h, which will take place from the 20th of September to the 30th of November of 2017.

 

The agreement also wills to promote and carry out events and activities of general interest together.
The agreement also wills to promote and carry out events and activities of general interest together.
Culture
13/07/2017

The head office of Fundación Victoria de los Ángeles will be located at the Historical Building of the University of Barcelona, as accorded in the collaboration agreement signed this morning, in Sala de Juntes, by the rector of the UB, Joan Elias, and the president of the Foundation, Helena Mora.

Apart from ceding some spaces of the UB to be used by the Foundation, the agreement sets a general collaboration between the University and the Foundation to promote and carry out events and activities of general interest together, aiming to reach the own and common objectives of both institutions.

Framed within this event, in which many public figures of the field of culture attended, the Aula Magna of the UB also held the presentation of the Fifth edition of the Lied Festival Victoria de los Ángeles, at 12 h, which will take place from the 20th of September to the 30th of November of 2017.

 

The agreement consolidates a historical bond between the soprano and the UB

Daughter of a caretaker of the University of Barcelona, the Catalan soprano Victòria dels Àngels was born in the Historical Building in 1923 and she spent her childhood and teenage years there until she was twenty-five. In addition, she was awarded an honorary doctorate in 1987 in this University. Moved by this, she stated that “it was like a fairytale: that meant the end and the beginning of many things. More than an honorary doctorate, that was the culmination of my care for the University and the mutual feeling of greatness between me and the institution. It was one of the greatest and most exciting moments of my life”.

The rector highlighted that “Victòria dels Àngels learnt to sing in the Historical Building and this agreement means a treasure in the musical offering of the University of Barcelona, with which I fully tune in. Thanks to this agreement, the UB and the Foundation will certainly carry out powerful cultural and musical activities”. “One of these activities -highlighed the president of the Foundation, Helena Mora- is, precisely, todayʼs presentation of the program for the Fifth Lied Festival Victoria de los Ángeles”. Mora thanked the University and said that “these days have confirmed the affection people in the UB had for Victoria and her father, whom everyone remembers joyfully. In addition, the artist had always said that the Historical Building was the home for the best days of her life”. Mora noted that “the ending ceremony of Lied Festival, in the Paranimph, on November 30, will be given by the soprano Iréne Theorin and the pianist Magnus Svensson, and it will be very special”.

Living for music

The official debut of Victòria dels Àngels was in 1944 in Palau de la Música Catalana and in 1945 in Gran Teatre del Liceu, when she played the role of Countess Almaviva in Mozartʼs The Marriage of Figaro. She had been heard of since 1941 in concerts as amateur and in the vocal group “Ars Musicae”, specialized in Renaissance music, conducted by Josep Maria Lamaña and with Higini Anglès as mentor.

In 1947 she won the international Geneva Competition, and in 1949 she made her debut in Paris (with Gounoudʼs Fasust), in Coven Garden in London (with Pucciniʼs La bohème), and in Teatro alla Scala in Milan (as recitalist and later with R. Straussʼ Ariadne auf Naxos). In 1951 she acted in the Metropolitan Opera House of New York and since that moment she performed around the world.

Apart from her work in opera she also developed a career as soloist. In fact, she always supported chamber music and performed many recitals in which she combined German lied, French melody and Catalan and Spanish song. She is regarded as a great ambassador of the Catalan and Spanish cultures worldwide, since she always programmed a part of chamber music from her country in her recitals.

She was honoured with several awards over the course of her life, among which are the National Music Award by the Ministry of Culture (1978), the Prince of Asturias Awards in Arts (1991), the National Music Prize of the Generalitat de Catalunya (1993) and the Légion dʼHonneur (France, 1994). Also, she was appointed Honorary Academician of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of Sant Jordi (1981). Her discography gathers 22 complete operas and 40 albums with several plays.