The soprano Zuleica Saque (1941), born in Lisbon, studied voice with Arminda Correia and Judith Lupi Freire at the Academia de Amadores de Música. In 1959, she joined the chorus of the Teatro Nacional de São Carlos, and in 1963 made her debut at the same theater in a secondary role in the opera Arabella. This was followed by appearances in several leading roles, including Roméo et Juliette, Lucia di Lammermoor, I Puritani, Carmen, Madama Butterfly, Falstaff, and Turandot, among others. In 1965, she also joined the Companhia Portuguesa de Ópera based at the Teatro da Trindade.1
In 1966, she moved to Palermo on a scholarship from the Instituto de Alta Cultura to further her vocal and stage training at the Centro di Avviamento al Teatro Lirico, studying with Gina Cigna, Gino Bechi, Carlo Tagliabue, Mirabelli, and Carriglio. She eventually settled in Italy following her marriage to the opera singer Lucciano Prati in January 1968, continuing to perform throughout Europe in many of the principal roles of the Italian and French operatic repertoire.
Over the course of her career, she received several awards, including the Casa da Imprensa Prize (1966 and 1970), the Prémio Tomás Alcaide (1970), the Pentagrama d’Oro Prize at the Festival Internacional de Fusignamo (1974), and the Verdi d’Oro award for her performance at the Festival Internacional Saga del Melodrama in Salsomaggiore (1978). Toward the end of her career, she performed throughout Italy in chamber music recitals and opera in concert version.2
