Montserrat Caballé

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Barcelona, con Freddy Mercury

Maria de Montserrat Viviana Concepción Caballé i Folc was born in Barcelona on 12 April 1933.

Of humble origin, Montserrat Caballé had to do big economic efforts to conclude her singing studies in the Conservatorio Superior del Liceu with Napoleone Annovazi, although she was lucky to be provided with the sponsorship of José Antonio Bertrán, who saw in her big talent as soprano poetry.

In the same conservatory she studied with Conchita Badía and Eugenia Kemeny, of whom she learned to support the voice in the longest phrases. She was 12 years in the Liceu.

The beginnings of her career were equally modest, until she moved to Switzerland, where she was a part of the company of the Basel Opera between 1957 and 1959, releasing in a repertoire little frequented by Spanish singers, that included Mozart and Strauss, which served her for her following professional phase in the stable company of the Opera of Bremen (1959-1962).

Hence she achieved her first contract to sing in the Liceu of Barcelona, where they released Arabella of Strauss, which provided her another two contracts to personify the feminine protagonists of Don Giovanni of Mozart and of Madam Butterfly of Puccini.

But her real international throwing took place the night of 20 April 1965 in Carneggie Hall of New York, when she had to replace unforeseeably Marilyn Horne in Lucrecia Borgia of Donizetti: her performance received 25 minutes of applause. From then, her career has always been ascendancy and takes more than forty years in the first line of the world stardom of the opera, with a repertoire that overcomes 130 titles.

Her name also will always be related to Barcelona for the track interpreted with the singer of Queen, Freddy Mercury, interpreted in occasion of the Olympic Games of '92 held in the city.

Her daughter, Montserrat Martí, also is a singer and sometimes they present themselves together, like in 2004 in the Teatro Real, in the version in concert of the Cleopatra opera of Massenet.

For several years, her humanitarian commitment has taken such importance and has decided to create her own foundation to support the assistance the hospitalised children.