Bel�n Ampar�n was born on November 9th, 1927 in El Paso Texas. Her parents were Mexican of Spanish origin. During their childhood she lived in Ciudad Ju�rez, Chihuahua. Thanks to her liking for music specialty for Tango and Spanish songs, initiated her vocal studies towards opera from suggestion of her mother, who discovered in her daughter a special voice with tones of contralto. Bel�n Ampar�n enjoyed more Tango than Opera, so she was reluctant in the beginning but later she acceded to follow her vocal studies with the Mexican soprano Mar�a Bonilla (1902 - 1990). Later she knew the Mexican contralto Fanny Anit�a (1887 -1968) that in addition to great singer, she was promoter of young promiser singers. She was integrated in the Anitua�s classes and within they toured across M�xico; one of the companions of Bel�n Ampar�n was Matilde Urrutia last wife of the Chilean writer Pablo Neruda. In Baja California she was heard by friends of her teacher and they granted a scholarship to her to study two years in Milan. After her debut in the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City on November 21st, 1950 with the role of Z�a Principessa from Puccini's Suor Angelica and some other presentations, she leave for Italy to study with baritone Emilio Ghirardini ( Teacher of Gianni Poggi, Giuseppe Campora, Luigi Alva, Renata Scotto among others). Just a short time after to initiate lessons, Ghirardini took to Bel�n Ampar�n to be hearing to the people of Teatro Nuovo of Milan and immediately was engaged, making her international debut with L'Amico Fritz of Mascagni. Later she received supplies to sing in the theatres of: L'Opera di Roma, San Carlo di Napoli, La Fenice di Venezia, etc., and thus begun to take course her race. Equipped of a great memory, quickly she performed operas of the traditional repertoire and some other ones diverse like In Terra di Leggenda of Lodovico Rocca (1895 - 1986) in Parma, and L'Organo di Bamb� of Ennio Porrino (1910 - 1959) in Rome, this last one released by another great Mexican mezzo-soprano Oralia Dom�nguez. In 1953 she returned to Mexico to participate in L'Amico Fritz, Boris Godunov, Mefistofele, Rigoletto, Il Barbiere di Siviglia and La Forza del Destino. She returns to Italy and was invited by the RAI in order to sing Carmen beside Franco Corelli and Anselmo Colzani on the TV broadcast from the rising televising industry, (June 3rd, 1956).
At the age of 26 she engages in marriage with a successful Milanese industrialist, Bruno Bert� with who a daughter Bruni Bert� procreates.
Another of her hearing was in Milan for Robert Bauer (representing of the Metrop�litan Opera House of New York) singing two excerpts from Carmen: La Habanera and the scene of the letters in addition of the last act of Aida; as consequence she obtains a contract for the sanctioned New York opera house, making her Met debut on November 29th, 1956 with the role of Giulietta of Les Contes d'Hoffmann next to Richard Tucker, Lucine Amara and George London, under the baton of Thomas Schippers. During the 1966 opening night season of Lincoln Center, she interpreted Iras from the world premiere of Samuel Barber's Antony and Cleopatra. Her Met contract finished in 1968 participating in operas like Carmen, Samson et Dalila, Il Trovatore, Rigoletto, Siegfried, Die Walk�re and La Gioconda among others.
Woman of beautiful voice and beautiful presence was very appreciated in her country and abroad. She appeared in the main opera houses of Italy (Milan, Rome, Venice, Naples, Verona, Mantova, Florence, Sicily, Padova) and in Greece, Spain, Holland, Germany, France, Switzerland, South-Am�rica and the United States.
Unfortunately she died on April 11th, 2002 in Mexico City. |
