Lourdes Ambriz, Famed Mexican Soprano and Voice of 'Beauty and the Beast's Belle, Dies at 67

The Mexican arts community is mourning the death of Lourdes Ambriz Márquez, the acclaimed soprano whose voice brought Belle to life in Disney's Spanish-language version of Beauty and the Beast. Ambriz, who also enjoyed an extraordinary international operatic career, died at the age of 67 after a battle with cancer.

A Voice that Defined Generations

Born in Mexico City on July 20, 1958, Ambriz made her professional debut in 1982 with the Compañía Nacional de Ópera del Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes (INBA), performing as Olympia in Offenbach's The Tales of Hoffmann. From that moment, her crystalline soprano made her one of the most admired figures of the Mexican lyric stage.

She performed with Mexico's leading orchestras and abroad with prestigious ensembles including the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Dallas and San Francisco symphonies, Canada's National Arts Centre Orchestra, Venezuela's Simón Bolívar Symphony, and the German Chamber Academy.

Her 1990 recording as the singing voice of Belle in Beauty and the Beast cemented her in the popular imagination across Latin America, making her artistry familiar far beyond opera houses.

International Stage and New Music

Ambriz's career extended across Europe, South America, and the United States. In 1991, she debuted in Spain at the Málaga Opera as Marina, and in 1993 she represented Mexico at the Europalia Festival in Brussels. She toured widely with the early music ensemble Ars Nova, showcasing Mexican talent abroad.

Her artistic restlessness led her to champion contemporary opera, premiering pieces by Mario Lavista (Aura), Víctor Rasgado (El coyote y el conejo, Paso del Norte), Roberto Morales (Dunaxii), Manuel Henríquez Romero (Malinalli), and Hilda Paredes (The Seventh Seed). In 2010 she performed as Eupaforice in Carl Heinrich Graun's Montezuma, a rare staging that traveled to Germany, Scotland, Spain, and Mexico.

Honors and Recognition

Her career earned her the National Youth Award in 1987, the Mozart Medal in 2006, the Alfonso Ortiz Tirado Medal in 2023, and the Bellas Artes Medal in 2024, one of Mexico's highest artistic honors.

Ambriz was also a cultural leader. In 2014 she became Artistic Deputy Director of the Compañía Nacional de Ópera, and from 2015 to 2017 she served as Artistic Director of the Ópera de Bellas Artes, where she championed innovation and promoted Mexican voices on the world stage.