Montserrat Caballé, who died aged 85 on 6th October 2018, was a Spanish operatic soprano who first became famous when she stepped in for Marilyn Horne in the title role of Donizetti's 'Lucrezia Borgia' for New York's American Opera Society in 1965. Her fame went far beyond the world of opera when the anthem 'Barcelona' with rock star Freddy Mercury, recorded ahead of the 1992 Olympic Games in her home city, became an international hit.

Born in Barcelona in 1933, she and her family were forced to leave their home during the Spanish Civil War but a wealthy patron paid for her to attend the city's Liceu Conservatory and she studied with Eugenia Kemeny and Conchita Badia. She moved to Switzerland in 1956 and for three years sang with the Basel Opera Company progressing from small roles to leads in works by Verdi, Puccini and Strauss. She had a stint with the Bremen Opera and performed in Milan and Mexico City as well as Barcelona. When Marilyn Horne became indisposed at New York's Carnegie Hall in 1965, Caballé's performance earned her instant international acclaim and she soon made her debuts at the Glyndebourne Festival in England and the Metropolitan Opera in New York. She made her first appearance with the Royal Opera, Covent Garden in 1972 and continued to perform at major opera houses around the world well into her 60s.

She earned Grammy Award nominations for her 1966 release 'Presenting Montserrat Caballé' and she won the award for Best Vocal Soloist Performance for her 1968 album 'Rossini: Rarities'. Her album 'Puccini: La Boheme' was named Best Opera Recording at the 1974 Grammy Awards and 'Mozart: Cost Fan Tutte' won the same prize the following year.

The song 'Barcelona' with Freddy Mercury was popular around the world and went to number eight on the UK Singles Chart in 1987 and number two when it was re-released in 1992. Two other singles from the album of the same name with the Queen singer also made the UK Singles Chart: 'The Golden Boy' (1988) peaked at number 86 and 'How Can I Go On' (1989) hit number 95. A special edition of the album was released in 2012. Following her death, the New York Times said she "counted among the last of the old-time prima donnas for the transcendent purity of her voice, the sweeping breadth of her repertory and the delirious adulation of her fans".

Montserrat Caballé

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