Born in Jerez de la Frontera (Cádiz), she graduated in singing at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London and at the Conservatorio Superior de Música del Liceu with Enriqueta Tarrés. She later perfected her skills with Cynthia Sanner, a teacher at the Juilliard School.
Winner of numerous lyric competitions and scholarships such as the "Rosa Maria Tarruel", the Otoño Lírico Jerezano, "Mirabent i Magrans", "Germans Pla", "Ciudad de Zamora", "Jaume Aragall", she was awarded the prize Revelation Singer by the critics of the Amics del Liceu for her Lady Macbeth (2006, Sabadell) and Best Female Voice by the Friends of the Teatre Principal de Palma for Nabucco (2016, Palma).
She began her career with the role of Norma at the Ópera de Calatuña (2006), and since then she has performed most of the leading roles in the lyrical dramatic repertoire both in Spain and abroad. These include collaborations with the Gran Teatro del Liceo (Ortlinde, Die Walküre, 2014), the Ópera de Oviedo (Abigaile, Nabucco, 2015; Brünnhilde; Siegfried, 2017; Helmwige, Die Walküre, 2015 and Turandot, 2012), the Teatro São Pedro in Brazil (Lady Macbeth, Macbeth), Les Arts under the direction of Davide Livermore and Roberto Abbado (Elena, I Vespri Siciliani, 2016); the Peralada Festival (Cio-cio-san cover, Madama Butterfly, 2017) and the Teatro alla Scala under the musical direction of Valery Gergiev and Pier Giorgio Morandi (Lady Macbeth cover, Macbeth, 2013).
A special relationship links her to the Ópera de Cataluña with which she has been collaborating since the beginning of her career and where we highlight her performances of Un ballo in maschera (2007), Suor Angelica (2008), Il Trovatore (2009), Turandot (2015) and Verdi's Otello (2016).
In the last seasons she has sung the role of Aida at the Teatro Cervantes in Malaga and Cio-cio-San (Madama Butterfly) at the Teatro Villamarta in Jerez, made her debut in the role of Senta (Der fliegende Holländer) in Santiago de Compostela and Vigo and has performed the roles of Floria Tosca and Lady Macbeth at the Ópera de Sabadell.
In the symphonic-choral repertoire she has sung works by Mozart (Requiem; Vesperae Solemne de Confessore), Verdi (Messa da requiem), Pergolesi (Stabat Mater), Mendelssohn (Second Symphony), Benguerel (Requiem to the Memory of Salvador Espriu), Falla, García Lorca, Turina, Montsalvatge, Ravel, Strauss, Schumann, Weber, Puccini, Wagner and Beethoven, also giving solo recitals in Spain, Germany and France.
Recent performances and upcoming engagements include Nabucco (Abigaille) at the Teatro de la Maestranza, at the Teatro Real (Anna and Abigaille cover) and at the Ópera de Catalunya; Turandot at the Teatro Real, in Vilnius and at the Ópera de Catalunya, where she recently sang Il trovatore; Galla Placidia and the recital El teatro de nuestra vida at the Teatro de la Zarzuela; La casa de Bernarda Alba, Lobgesang with the Malaga Philharmonic, a Zarzuela gala and Macbeth at the Teatro Villamarta; a Wagnerian recital at the Vigo Opera; and Verdi's Requiem and a Puccini Gala with the Orquestra Simfònica del Vallès, among others.
Maribel Ortega has participated in numerous radio recordings for Radio Clásica, Catalunya Radio, TV3 and Xarxa TV, as well as CD recordings for Columna Musica and Harmonia Mundi.
Date last modified: June 2024
This document shall not be altered without authorization
Winner of numerous lyric competitions and scholarships such as the "Rosa Maria Tarruel", the Otoño Lírico Jerezano, "Mirabent i Magrans", "Germans Pla", "Ciudad de Zamora", "Jaume Aragall", she was awarded the prize Revelation Singer by the critics of the Amics del Liceu for her Lady Macbeth (2006, Sabadell) and Best Female Voice by the Friends of the Teatre Principal de Palma for Nabucco (2016, Palma).
She began her career with the role of Norma at the Ópera de Calatuña (2006), and since then she has performed most of the leading roles in the lyrical dramatic repertoire both in Spain and abroad. These include collaborations with the Gran Teatro del Liceo (Ortlinde, Die Walküre, 2014), the Ópera de Oviedo (Abigaile, Nabucco, 2015; Brünnhilde; Siegfried, 2017; Helmwige, Die Walküre, 2015 and Turandot, 2012), the Teatro São Pedro in Brazil (Lady Macbeth, Macbeth), Les Arts under the direction of Davide Livermore and Roberto Abbado (Elena, I Vespri Siciliani, 2016); the Peralada Festival (Cio-cio-san cover, Madama Butterfly, 2017) and the Teatro alla Scala under the musical direction of Valery Gergiev and Pier Giorgio Morandi (Lady Macbeth cover, Macbeth, 2013).
A special relationship links her to the Ópera de Cataluña with which she has been collaborating since the beginning of her career and where we highlight her performances of Un ballo in maschera (2007), Suor Angelica (2008), Il Trovatore (2009), Turandot (2015) and Verdi's Otello (2016).
In the last seasons she has sung the role of Aida at the Teatro Cervantes in Malaga and Cio-cio-San (Madama Butterfly) at the Teatro Villamarta in Jerez, made her debut in the role of Senta (Der fliegende Holländer) in Santiago de Compostela and Vigo and has performed the roles of Floria Tosca and Lady Macbeth at the Ópera de Sabadell.
In the symphonic-choral repertoire she has sung works by Mozart (Requiem; Vesperae Solemne de Confessore), Verdi (Messa da requiem), Pergolesi (Stabat Mater), Mendelssohn (Second Symphony), Benguerel (Requiem to the Memory of Salvador Espriu), Falla, García Lorca, Turina, Montsalvatge, Ravel, Strauss, Schumann, Weber, Puccini, Wagner and Beethoven, also giving solo recitals in Spain, Germany and France.
Recent performances and upcoming engagements include Nabucco (Abigaille) at the Teatro de la Maestranza, at the Teatro Real (Anna and Abigaille cover) and at the Ópera de Catalunya; Turandot at the Teatro Real, in Vilnius and at the Ópera de Catalunya, where she recently sang Il trovatore; Galla Placidia and the recital El teatro de nuestra vida at the Teatro de la Zarzuela; La casa de Bernarda Alba, Lobgesang with the Malaga Philharmonic, a Zarzuela gala and Macbeth at the Teatro Villamarta; a Wagnerian recital at the Vigo Opera; and Verdi's Requiem and a Puccini Gala with the Orquestra Simfònica del Vallès, among others.
Maribel Ortega has participated in numerous radio recordings for Radio Clásica, Catalunya Radio, TV3 and Xarxa TV, as well as CD recordings for Columna Musica and Harmonia Mundi.
Date last modified: June 2024
This document shall not be altered without authorization
2024-2025 Performances
NABUCCO
13 of June of 2024 Teatro de la Maestranza (Sevilla)
16 of June of 2024 Teatro de la Maestranza (Sevilla)
18 of June of 2024 Teatro de la Maestranza (Sevilla)
19 of June of 2024 Teatro de la Maestranza (Sevilla)
21 of June of 2024 Teatro de la Maestranza (Sevilla)
22 of June of 2024 Teatro de la Maestranza (Sevilla)
TURANDOT
24 of October of 2024 Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre
26 of October of 2024 Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre
29 of October of 2024 Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre
31 of October of 2024 Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre
GALA PUCCINI
28 of November of 2024 Palau de la Música Catalana (Barcelona)
13 of June of 2024 Teatro de la Maestranza (Sevilla)
16 of June of 2024 Teatro de la Maestranza (Sevilla)
18 of June of 2024 Teatro de la Maestranza (Sevilla)
19 of June of 2024 Teatro de la Maestranza (Sevilla)
21 of June of 2024 Teatro de la Maestranza (Sevilla)
22 of June of 2024 Teatro de la Maestranza (Sevilla)
TURANDOT
24 of October of 2024 Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre
26 of October of 2024 Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre
29 of October of 2024 Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre
31 of October of 2024 Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre
GALA PUCCINI
28 of November of 2024 Palau de la Música Catalana (Barcelona)
Gallery
Multimedia
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Tosca (Teatre La Farándula, Sabadell, 2021)
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Lady Macbeth
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Reviews
TOSCA. Opera Sabadell. 2021
"The splendid soprano from Jerez, Maribel Ortega, shone especially for her elegance, solvency and interpretation, a Tosca who received an immense ovation after her heartfelt and profound aria "Vissi d'arte"". Roger Alier (Ópera Actual)
"In the vocal cast, Maribel Ortega shone especially in the title role, with an attractive timbre and enough body to deliver the always complicated C with spectacular results. Very applauded in her "Vissi d'arte", ...". Marcelo Cervelló (Ópera Actual)
"The prestigious soprano from Jerez, Maribel Ortega. It would be difficult to say which has been better, both for the vocal quality and for the dramatic performance with a character who has to have many nuances, from falling in love to the vendetta she exercises on her torturer Baron Scarpia.... (...) Maribel Ortega received a standing ovation after her star aria Vissi d'arte...". Roger Alier (La Vanguardia)
"At this stage, a Tosca like Maribel Ortega's is no longer surprising: she knows everything at the service of the Roman diva and has the right instrument for a character as charismatic as risky. She saves all the sculpts of the part and works well in the chemistry with Cavaradossi and Scarpia, especially in a very lively second act". Jaume Radigales (Ara Balears)
"It was led by Maribel Ortega's Floria Tosca in her prime, an artist who has made the character her own, giving it character, and who knows how and when to give it her all; her singing reaches spectacular heights in her high notes and her phrasing always goes in the right direction. She received a standing ovation in the 'Vissi d'arte'". Pablo Meléndez-Haddad (El Periódico)
"In the vocal cast, Maribel Ortega shone especially in the title role, with an attractive timbre and enough body to deliver the always complicated C with spectacular results. Very applauded in her "Vissi d'arte", ...". Marcelo Cervelló (Ópera Actual)
"The prestigious soprano from Jerez, Maribel Ortega. It would be difficult to say which has been better, both for the vocal quality and for the dramatic performance with a character who has to have many nuances, from falling in love to the vendetta she exercises on her torturer Baron Scarpia.... (...) Maribel Ortega received a standing ovation after her star aria Vissi d'arte...". Roger Alier (La Vanguardia)
"At this stage, a Tosca like Maribel Ortega's is no longer surprising: she knows everything at the service of the Roman diva and has the right instrument for a character as charismatic as risky. She saves all the sculpts of the part and works well in the chemistry with Cavaradossi and Scarpia, especially in a very lively second act". Jaume Radigales (Ara Balears)
"It was led by Maribel Ortega's Floria Tosca in her prime, an artist who has made the character her own, giving it character, and who knows how and when to give it her all; her singing reaches spectacular heights in her high notes and her phrasing always goes in the right direction. She received a standing ovation in the 'Vissi d'arte'". Pablo Meléndez-Haddad (El Periódico)
MACBETH. Sabadell. 2020
" His stage partner was the great Spanish dramatic colouratura soprano - one of the few in existence - the Jerez-born Maribel Ortega, who gave her Lady Macbeth all the duplicity and wickedness that the character requires. It is curious that her name is not mentioned in the play, nor in Shakespeare's play on which it was inspired. Vocally she was splendid, considering the tremendous vocal effort Verdi imposed on her at a time when the composer mistreated his performers; it is known that he had expressed the wish to have a soprano whose voice was not beautiful for the Lady Macbeth of the premiere (1847). In this, of course, the singers, and Maribel Ortega the first, disobey the composer, displaying a splendid voice from one end of their tessitura to the other." Roger Alier (Opera Actual)
MADAMA BUTTERFLY. Teatro Villamarta de Jerez. 2019
"Favoured by her natural tessitura, which allows her to sing the character of Brünhilde, the soprano from Jerez, Maribel Ortega, has given a twist to the role of Cio-Cio-San, prima donna assoluta of the lyric tragedy Madama Butterfly, making the idealised vocal timbre (lyric-dramatic-light) of a teenager that such a protagonist demands remain in the imagination of the listener. This drawback is immediately overcome by the power of this singer's voice, which far surpasses the orchestral dynamics, which leads to her attracting the maximum attention on and off stage, without losing an iota of poetry and dramatic function in the emotional progression that her role requires throughout the opera". José Antonio Cantón (Scherzo)
"The best part of the evening, without doubt, was listening to Maribel Ortega, a soprano from Jerez, loved and respected in her homeland, which is no small merit. Her audience, and that of the Villamarta, did not fail her, and the theatre was filled to capacity. And they gave her a standing ovation at the end of the performance. Maribel had a very correct singing line, which allowed her to bring out the best of the beautiful voice she possesses. On the other hand, maintaining this uniformity throughout the performance, without ups and downs, did not help her to shine, when it came to Butterfly's most famous aria: "Un bel di vedremo", where she failed to dramatise one of the most moving and beautiful scenes of the work, and perhaps of the operatic repertoire in general. She acquitted herself very well in the first act duet with Pinkerton, and bravely took on this difficult work by Puccini in which everything revolves around the character of Cio-Cio San (Madama Butter(y) and which subjects the soprano to a great lyrical and dramatic effort. (...) A premiere of Madama Butterfly, where we saw Maribel Ortega dazzle her audience in a role full of feelings, waiting to see on the horizon the smoke of the ship that will bring her loved one. Ascendit fumus praeteritas...". Jesús Sánchez-Ferragut (Diario de Jerez)
"The best part of the evening, without doubt, was listening to Maribel Ortega, a soprano from Jerez, loved and respected in her homeland, which is no small merit. Her audience, and that of the Villamarta, did not fail her, and the theatre was filled to capacity. And they gave her a standing ovation at the end of the performance. Maribel had a very correct singing line, which allowed her to bring out the best of the beautiful voice she possesses. On the other hand, maintaining this uniformity throughout the performance, without ups and downs, did not help her to shine, when it came to Butterfly's most famous aria: "Un bel di vedremo", where she failed to dramatise one of the most moving and beautiful scenes of the work, and perhaps of the operatic repertoire in general. She acquitted herself very well in the first act duet with Pinkerton, and bravely took on this difficult work by Puccini in which everything revolves around the character of Cio-Cio San (Madama Butter(y) and which subjects the soprano to a great lyrical and dramatic effort. (...) A premiere of Madama Butterfly, where we saw Maribel Ortega dazzle her audience in a role full of feelings, waiting to see on the horizon the smoke of the ship that will bring her loved one. Ascendit fumus praeteritas...". Jesús Sánchez-Ferragut (Diario de Jerez)
AIDA. Teatro Cervantes. 2019
"... the serene singing of the chorus from inside the temple of Isis, demonstrating the good work Salvador Vázquez has done with this fundamental element of the work. It served as preparation for the best moments of this performance such as the aria O patria mia in which the dramatic sense that the soprano Maribel Ortega gave to her singing stood out, even improving her expression in the love duet with Alejandro Roy, Pur ti riveggo, which served to show her dramatic soprano gifts with a lyrical-spinto tendency that justifies and enhances the expressive function of her role". Daniel Pérez (El Mundo)
"Maribel Ortega composed a very comfortable, vocally speaking, Aida and, despite her usual expressive detachment, she managed to move with a natural singing line full of tasteful details as she demonstrated in the two arias, much applauded by the audience." José Amador Morales (Codalario)
"Although she had already sung the part in Jerez a few years ago, these two performances in Malaga were a sort of second debut as Aida for the soprano Maribel Ortega, who passed the test with flying colours. Her voice was comfortable in this role, with room to recreate appreciable ranges, controlling the intensity of her emission and giving a very solid portrayal of the Ethiopian slave. Beyond some slight wavering in the intonation, Ortega sounded brave and convinced, recognising and recreating the bel canto tone in which Verdi conceived his Aida. I believe that this is a role that can bring Maribel Ortega much happiness if she continues to delve into it in the fortunate way she did in Malaga". Alejandro Martínez (Plateamagazine)
"Maribel Ortega composed a very comfortable, vocally speaking, Aida and, despite her usual expressive detachment, she managed to move with a natural singing line full of tasteful details as she demonstrated in the two arias, much applauded by the audience." José Amador Morales (Codalario)
"Although she had already sung the part in Jerez a few years ago, these two performances in Malaga were a sort of second debut as Aida for the soprano Maribel Ortega, who passed the test with flying colours. Her voice was comfortable in this role, with room to recreate appreciable ranges, controlling the intensity of her emission and giving a very solid portrayal of the Ethiopian slave. Beyond some slight wavering in the intonation, Ortega sounded brave and convinced, recognising and recreating the bel canto tone in which Verdi conceived his Aida. I believe that this is a role that can bring Maribel Ortega much happiness if she continues to delve into it in the fortunate way she did in Malaga". Alejandro Martínez (Plateamagazine)
MACBETH. Vigo. 2018
"Soprano Maribel Ortega is one of the few Spanish voices today capable of coping with the devilish demands of the role premiered by the Florentine Barbieri-nini. The Jerez-born soprano had already shown just a month earlier her generous lyric-spinto voice in high-quality Senta and, on this occasion, she again displayed her best qualities, serving in full the definitive version of 1865, with the beautiful "Luce Langue", and including a repetition of the "cabaletta"." Joaquín Gómez (Operaworld)
"The Lady Macbeth part was performed by the Jerez-born soprano Maribel Ortega. Endowed with an imposing material, Ortega resolved this singular role with sufficiency and power, demonstrating experience and security". Alejandro Martínez (Plateamagazine)
"The Lady Macbeth part was performed by the Jerez-born soprano Maribel Ortega. Endowed with an imposing material, Ortega resolved this singular role with sufficiency and power, demonstrating experience and security". Alejandro Martínez (Plateamagazine)
EL HOLANDÉS ERRANTE (Der Fliegende Holländer). Galicia. 2018
"...the Jerez soprano Maribel Ortega stood out as Senta, possibly the most Wagnerian voice on stage: her great sonorous power, accompanied by her lyricism, vocal and acting mastery, were a delight". Carmelo Arribas (Ópera Actual)
"Maribel Ortega's Senta, who was making her debut in the role, deserves special mention. The Jerez-born singer was magnificent. She showed a compact, balanced and powerful register in the high register. Her timbre was brilliant and she reaped a resounding round of applause and final bravos. It must be said that the soprano performed the Ballade in A minor, its original key, and not in G minor, as is usually done. This gave more brilliance to the piece. We predict a great future for her as Senta, given what she showed in her debut". Mario García (Operaworld)
"...Senta embodied here, with minimal underlining of the action, by Maribel Ortega, who we believe has found a role that suits her like a glove. Her voice, which has body, metal, intensity, intensity, spring, density in the central and treble zones - not so in the lower part - is, we would say, that of a lirico spinto, endowed with harmonics and good volume, enough to stand out above a very crowded orchestra. She sang a Ballade full of intention, without faltering, maintaining impeccable intonation and playing very acceptable pianos.... She had no problems in the climbs to the A or treble. Her attitude, serene and discreet, her concentration were undeniable in the extensive duet with the Dutchman...She intoned, phrased and reproduced the strategic agilities with security and tact". Arturo Reverter (Scherzo).
Interviews
La brújula del canto - May 2015