Montserrat Caballe

Born on April 12, 1933, Montserrate Caballe is an operatic soprano born in Barcelona, Spain. She is well loved and honored for her renditions of the bel canto repertoire and the works of Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti and Verdi. Caballe's fame spread when she sang with Freddie Mercury of Queen the song Barcelona. This later became the theme song for the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona.

Caballe studied music at the Liceu Conservatory and technique with several well-known opera singer. She relocated to Basel, Switzerland and made her debut as Mimi in Puccini's La boheme. She was with the Basel Opera company from 1957 until 1959 singing in Mozart's The Magic Flute and Richard Strauss's Salome.

In 1965 she was substituted for Marilyn Horne in Donizetti's Lucrezia Borgia at Carnegie Hall. She earned a 25 minute standing ovation. She then made a debut at Glyndebourne singing a Marschallin. Caballe returned to Carnegie Hall in 1965 singing the part of Queen Elizabeth I in Donizetti's Roberto Devereux.

Caballe's debut with the San Francisco Opera was in 1977 and the title role of Turandot. She returned to the San Francisco Opera ten more than times over the next ten years in Ernani, La Gioconda, Semiramide and Tosca.

She lost some of her purity of voice as the years went on but made up for this loss by being more dramatic and expressive in her singing. As a result she appeared often at the Met in New York.

1995 saw Caballe singing with Vangelis for his album El Greco and this led to a regular collaborations on different albums. She sang Friends for Life which included Caballe singing with Bruce Dickinson, John Hallyday, and Gino Vannelli. She is a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador and established a foundation for poor children in Barcelona. She starred in her own film Caballe Beyond Music in 2003 which included accolades from Placido Domingo, Luciano Pavarotti and Jose Carreras.

Caballe has recorded many notable recordings of complete operas and recital albums. She has recorded for RCA Red Seal, EMI, Decca, and Phillips. She is married to Bernabe Marti (1964) and they have two children ?€“ Bernabe and Montserrat Marti Caballe also a soprano.