Biography
Yma Sumac (1922 - 2008) was a Peruvian high-pitched singer (soprano) with a rare voice range that exceeded four octaves. (She, like many of her fans, claimed that her voice reached five octaves)He was born on September 13, 1922 in the village of Itsokan, located at a high altitude in the Andes. Her real name was Zoila Augusta Empatrice Chavari de Castillo, the stage name she adopted, Ima Sumac, means "How beautiful" in the language of the Incas, from whom she claimed descent.
From an early age she discovered the uniqueness of her voice and began to imitate natural sounds and sing religious songs of her ancestors. Soon she became known in many villages in the Andes where they started calling her "Daughter of the Sun" and inviting her to sing at events and ceremonies.
She first appeared on the radio in 1942 while in 1943 dhe recorded 18 songs of Peruvian folk songs in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She married maestro Moises Vivanco and moved with him to Los Angeles, where she made many classic recordings. Her repertoire mainly included traditional songs of Peru and Latin America. With her excellent voice and her exotic presence, she soon won over the American public and then experienced worldwide success.
In 1950, she made her first tour of Europe and Africa and made her debut at the Royal Albert Hall in London and at the Royal Festival Hall before the future Queen of England. In the following years she will give more than 80 concerts in London and 16 in Paris. On a second tour she went to the Far East: while her success in countries such as Greece, Israel and Russia made her extend her tour from two weeks to six months.
In 1951 she played the role of the foreign princess in the Broadway musical Flahooley and also appeared in the films Secret of the Incas (1954) and Omar Khayyam (1957). In 1957 she divorced her husband, remarried him the same year and divorced him permanently in 1965.
Yma Sumak was diagnosed with colon cancer in early 2008 and finally passed away on November 1, 2008.