Peruvian-born singer Yma Sumac dies in Los Angeles

Los Angeles, Nov 03: Yma Sumac, the Peruvian-born soprano who wowed international audiences in the 1950s with her stunning vocal range and modern take on South American folk music, has died.Sumac`s friend and personal assistant Damon Devine says she died Saturday at an assisted-living home in Los Angeles after an eight-month bout with colon cancer.

The reclusive, raven-haired songstress had said she was born in 1927, but Devine says her birth certificate read 1922 and she was 86. Dubbed the "Peruvian Songbird" and the "Nightingale of the Andes," Sumac`s soaring, warbling voice — reported to span well over three octaves — was matched by her flamboyant outfits designed to make her look like Incan royalty. Her first album, "Voice of the Xtabay" in 1950, launched a decade of worldwide fame. Bureau Report