Lourdes Ambriz, the voice of Beauty and the Beast, dies at 67

Lourdes Ambriz passed away on August 28, 2025, in Mexico City hospital after a battle with cancer. She was a Mexican soprano, recognized as Belle's voice in the Spanish edition of Beauty and the Beast. She also took part in operas both in Mexico and internationally. The Ópera de Bellas Artes and various cultural institutions confirmed the news of her passing.

Lourdes Ambriz's death was confirmed by the Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes y Literatura (INBAL). Her career started in the early 1980s and continued for over forty years. She toured throughout Mexico, Europe, the U.S., and South America, creating a global legacy.

Her performance as Belle’s voice in Beauty and the Beast earned her fame beyond classical music. She also held leadership roles in Mexican opera, taking on important positions at the Ópera de Bellas Artes. Her death was commemorated with tributes from opera organizations and artists.

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Lourdes Ambriz’s career and legacy

Lourdes Ambriz and Roberto Vazquez attend Las Lunas del Auditorio Nacional 2017 press room at Auditorio Nacional on October 25, 2017 in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by Victor Chavez/Getty Images)

Lourdes Ambriz recorded the songs of Belle for the 1990 Spanish-language version of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. This role became her most recognized contribution outside opera. Her voice was heard across Latin America and Spain, making her known to audiences beyond classical music. The recording remains a cultural reference for Spanish-speaking viewers.

Born on July 20, 1958, in Mexico City, she began performing in 1980 with the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional. In 1982, she made her operatic debut with the National Opera Company of the Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes, singing Olympia in The Tales of Hoffmann.

Her career included appearances with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Dallas Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra, Venezuela’s Simón Bolívar Orchestra, and the German Chamber Academy.

She toured Spain in 1990 under Eduardo Mata, debuted in Europe in 1991 at the Málaga Opera, and toured twelve European countries in 1992. She later performed in the United States and South America with Ars Nova and represented Mexico at the Europalia Festival in Brussels in 1993.

Ambriz also premiered several modern operas, including Aura by Mario Lavista, El coyote y el conejo and Paso del Norte by Víctor Rasgado, Dunaxii by Roberto Morales, Malinalli by Manuel Henríquez Romero, and The Seventh Seed by Hilda Paredes. In 2010, she sang Eupaforice in Graun’s Montezuma, staged internationally in Germany, Scotland, Spain, and Mexico.

In 2014, she became deputy artistic director of Mexico’s National Opera Company. From 2015 to 2017, she served as the artistic director of the Ópera de Bellas Artes. During this time, she promoted new productions and supported Mexican singers.

Her career was recognized with several awards, including the Carlo Morelli Competition, 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.

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She remained active until 2024, with a career-spanning 40 years. Lourdes Ambriz's legacy as an international soprano and as Belle’s Spanish-language voice in Beauty and the Beast remains central to how she is remembered.