Soprano María Orán has died.

The Spanish soprano born in Tenerife died on March 9, after a long illness.  The recognized artist, who studied under Lola Rodríguez Aragón, went on to sing in many of the leading festivals in Spain as well as Portugal, Mexico, Belgium, France, Germany, Australia, Hong Kong, and Israel.

Throughout her career, she also worked with many of the leading conductors including Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Michel Plasson, Ígor Markévich, Jesús López Cobos, Helmuth Rilling, Seiji Ozawa, Mario Rossi, Sergiu Comissiona, Alexander Gibson, Vladímir Spivakov, and Kent Nagano among others.

As one of the leading Spanish sopranos of her generation, she was awarded numerous important prizes including the Casino de Tenerife,  Lucrecia Arana, Isabel Castelo,  Francisco Viñas, and Toulouse prizes.

After retiring from the stage, she went on to teach in Tenerife at the Conservatorio Superior de Música de Canarias.

Luckily for fans and opera lovers, Orán made numerous recording for such companies as Zafiro, Columbia, Hispavox, Ohra, KRO, and Erato.