Darysabel Isales

She was the daughter of Carlos Isales and of Isabel Canas, the latter of which from whom part of her first name (Darysabel) was derived.

Born in the Puerto Rican capital city of San Juan, Darysabel Isales was the first person in her family to demonstrate artistic talent, as her parents were not into the entertainment world. She was, however, encouraged by her parents to follow her dreams as soon as they discovered that she had talent to become a professional, lyrical soprano singer.[2]

When she was 18, Isales auditioned for the University of Puerto Rico's choir; Augusto Rodríguez, the institution's choir's director, enjoyed her voice so much that he recommended her to take singing classes with a teacher named María Esther Robles, with whom Isales developed a life-long friendship. Isales was accepted into the university choir and she also began taking human studies classes at that college.[2]

With Isales, the choir had the chance of performing at the Carnegie Hall in New York City, marking Isales' United States debut as a singer. That concert led to her being discovered by teachers of the New England Conservatory of Music, so she moved to Boston, Massachusetts, to attend that institution.[2] This was during 1952; Isales stayed in Boston until 1957, studying under singing teacher Gladys Miller.[2] Isales participated at some shows during that era and became known around New England's operatic circuit. Despite graduating from the NECM in 1957, Isales decided to stay in the United States three additional years.

Isales returned to Puerto Rico in 1960, where she became an educator, teaching singing lessons at the Escuela Libre de Música there. At the same ti0me, she performed at some concerts in that school, alongside well-known pianist Isabelita Carrasquillo. Carrasquillo was instrumental in Isales' European singing career, since she recommended Isales to Conchita Badía, who was a singing teacher at the Universidad de Santiago de Compostela in Santiago de Compostela, a city in Northwestern Spain.[2] The Spaniiard government presented Isales with a scholarship so she could move to the Southern European country; Isales moved there in 1964 and studied at the Universidad de Santiago de Compostela in 1964 and 1965, singing with Badía in, among other places, the Hostal dos Reis Católicos.

Isales returned to Puerto Rico in order to continue teaching singing classes at the Escuela Libre de Música, bot then an unexpected turn took place in her life: she was offered the opportunity of traveling to Austria to advance her singing career there by the Puerto Rican Masons. She accepted and went on to further her knowledge of her musical genre in Vienna under teacher Frau Lily Colar. In Austria, she became an opera star and gave concerts for a period of two years.[3]

Isales once again returned to Puerto Rico, and she auditioned for the Ópera de Puerto Rico theatrical company. She was hired by them, and for the next few years, she performed in such plays as "El Barbero de Sevilla" ("The Sevilla Barber", where she shared the stage with Marta Márquez, among others), "La Travieta", "Macbeth", "Bodas de Fígaro", "Hanzel y Gretel" and others.[4]