Born in Manchester, Angela Sorrigan studied at the Northern School of Music, where, as a soprano, she performed in the NSM's productions of Gluck's Alceste, von Weber's Der Freischütz, and Purcell's Dido and Aeneas. Before leaving to join the Scottish Opera Chorus in 1973, she was a semi-finalist, representing the NSM, for the £1,000 Peter Stuyvesant Foundation scholarships in 1970. One of Angela's roles in Scotland was Kate Pinkerton in Madam Butterfly, 1976.