Morella Munoz

Morella Muñoz (Caracas, July 29, 1935 - July 15, 1995) was a Venezuelan mezzo-soprano, interpreter of popular and classical music.

Born in the parish of San José de Caracas, daughter of Mercedes Muñoz and Juan Antillano Valarino. In 1946 she entered the Liceo Andrés Bello where she began as a singer by being part of the choir of that institution. Later she was part of the University Choir of the Central University of Venezuela. Already in 1948, she was a well-known singer for Radiodifusora Venezuela, with the pseudonym Morella Kenton , she later ventured into television in the Víctor Saume program.

In 1953, he began his formal singing studies at the José Ángel Lamas Higher School of Music, with Inocente Carreño, Vicente Emilio Sojo and Juan Bautista Plaza as teachers. He graduated from that institution in 1957.

In 1961 he made his debut at the Palazzo Forte in Verona under the auspices of the Academy of Musical Culture of that city. That same year she was awarded the Prague Spring Prize, she joined the Contrapunto Quintet and she married Pedro Álvarez.

Between 1989 and 1992, she served as adviser to the Minister of State for Culture.

In 2007 the musical work of Morella Muñoz was declared a cultural heritage of the Libertador Municipality of Caracas.

Morella Muñoz Foundation

Shortly after her disappearance, a group of family members and friends of the artist created the Morella Muñoz Foundation in order to rescue and maintain her cultural and artistic legacy. The Foundation organizes and sponsors events to keep Morella's legacy alive and also support young talents by providing them with a platform on which they can lean.

Discography

She recorded her first album with the Contrapunto Quintet in 1962 and in 1967 the album Alirio y Morella of Venezuelan songs, tunes and bonuses was released, performed by her and the guitarist Alirio Díaz. In 1982 an anthological edition of 12 discs appeared, accompanied by the testimonial book The invention of singing by Carlos González Vegas. In 1994, "Morella Muñoz, our voice" was released, an edition that contained a compact disc and a book, edited by the Venezuelan Disco Club.

Awards and decorations

• 1992: National Music Prize.
• Order Andrés Bello
• Order Francisco de Miranda
• Order to merit at work
• Order Vicente Emilio Sojo
• Order Luisa Amelia Perozo