María José Moreno facts for kids

María José Moreno is a famous Spanish singer. She was born on March 30, 1967. She is known for her amazing voice as a soprano, which is a type of singer with a high, clear voice.

Early Life and Training

María José Moreno was born in Castilléjar, a town in Granada, Spain. From a young age, she loved music. She decided to study singing seriously. She went to the Escuela Superior de Canto in Madrid, which is a special school for singers. There, she learned how to use her voice and perform.

Her Amazing Career Begins

María José Moreno started her professional singing career in 1996. Her first big role was Dido in the opera Dido and Aeneas. This opera was written by Henry Purcell. She performed this show in Pamplona and then traveled to other cities in Spain.

Big Wins and First Performances

The year 1997 was very important for María José. She won the Francisco Viñas Award in January. This is a big award for young singers. After that, she made her debut at the Teatro de la Zarzuela in Madrid. She sang in Donizetti's opera La fille du régiment.

Just one year later, in 1998, she sang at Madrid's famous Teatro Real. This was a special time because the theater had just reopened. She performed in the Verdi opera Un ballo in maschera.

Singing Around the World

Because of her success in Spain, María José Moreno started to sing in other countries. She performed in some of the most important opera houses in the world.

• She sang at La Scala in Milan, Italy. There, she played Gilda in the opera Rigoletto.
• She also performed at the Vienna State Opera in Austria. She sang as Rosina in Rossini's The Barber of Seville.

She has also been a part of the Festival de Pésaro many times, starting in 2009.

A Grammy Award Winner!

In 2006, María José Moreno won a very special award: a Grammy Award! She won it for her recording of the opera Falstaff. She performed with the London Symphony Orchestra, and the conductor was Sir Colin Davis. Winning a Grammy is a huge achievement for any musician.

Her Special Singing Style

María José Moreno is known for being a specialist in bel canto. This is a beautiful style of singing that focuses on smooth, flowing melodies and showing off the singer's voice. She especially loves the music of composers like Rossini and Donizetti. She also enjoys singing music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Besides operas, she often performs zarzuelas, which are Spanish musical plays that mix singing with spoken parts.

Family Life

María José Moreno is married to Massimo Spadano [es]. He is an Italian violinist and a conductor. A conductor is someone who leads an orchestra. Since 1994, Massimo has been the concertmaster of the Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia (OSG). The concertmaster is the lead violinist in an orchestra.

María José and Massimo live in Oleiros, a town in Spain. They have two children together. Their children speak both Spanish and Italian, which is pretty cool!

See also

In Spanish: María José Moreno para niños