The Italian opera singer sang with the Basque. ✨ Montserrat Caballe: "In life, you don't have to give up anything

On Saturday, October 6, the world of opera suffered a heavy loss - the great Montserrat Caballe died at the age of 86. Her biography, family, husband and children - everything was connected with art, there is no person on Earth who would not hear her amazing singing and would not recognize the artist in the photo.

According to journalists, the woman was admitted to the Barcelona clinic on September 19, complaining of problems with the bladder. It should be noted that the health problems of the owner of a magnificent bel canto began in early youth. Once upon a time, Caballe had a terrible accident and received a severe head injury, as a result of which a certain part of the brain atrophied in a woman.

He was responsible for burning fat, now Caballe began to recover even from a glass of water. But neither painful fullness, nor deteriorating well-being forced the opera Diva to quit her favorite business - she shone on stage until the very last day.

Facts from the biography

The real name of the artist is difficult to pronounce for a completely uninitiated person - Maria de Montserrat Viviana Concepción Caballe-i-Folk. The girl was named so in honor of the sacred mountain, located not far from the house of the future star.

Montserrat Caballe

Died Montserrat Caballe: cause of death, biography, latest news

In the most difficult moments, Montserrat worked part-time at a weaving factory, in a haberdashery shop and a sewing workshop. At school, classmates teased her for her aloofness and old clothes. In the meantime, a talented girl spent every centime earned on additional classes in Italian and French.

happy meeting

Beltran Mata, a local patron of new talents and a great lover of classical music, accidentally found out about the magnificent talent of the younger Caballe. It was he who paid for Maria's further education at the famous Liceo Conservatory, which the girl brilliantly graduated after 4 years.

Armen Dzhigarkhanyan: latest news 2018

Personal life

For a long time in the biography of Montserrat Caballe there was no place for a family, husband, children. The woman met her first and only love at the age of 30, when she had long ago put an end to the dream of finding a life partner. Quite unexpectedly for herself, the woman fell in love with the voice and only then - with the man himself.

Montserrat Caballe and Bernabe Marty

The chosen one of the celebrity was the baritone Bernabe Marty. They met at a concert that traditionally accompanies a bullfight, and later Caballe invited the artist to replace her colleague, who fell ill the day before the performance.

Their relationship at first was far from the most romantic - the woman was annoyed by the timidity of a man who showed his temperament only on stage. She ended up provoking Marty and then chastising him for his immodest behavior. Gradually, he fell in love with this unpredictable and great woman so much that after his marriage he left the tour, devoting himself entirely to his family and children.

Beloved paid Bernaba in return, and soon the couple had 2 children:

Montserrat Caballe and daughter

Now the daughter of an opera diva is considered a worthy heir to her talent, she is in demand among the most prominent producers and organizers of performances.

Cause of death of the artist

Recently, the singer often turned out to be a client of various hospitals. Age, great weight and a whole bunch of concomitant diseases affected.

Until her departure, on October 6, 2018, Montserrat Caballe considered herself the happiest woman in the world, having a magnificent, friendly family, a loving husband and children, and a stunningly bright biography.

Spanish opera singer, famous throughout the world for her bel canto technique.

Maria de Montserrat Viviana Concepción Caballé y Volk was born on April 12, 1933 in Barcelona in a family of ordinary workers. The name of the girl was chosen by the parents not by chance, since childbirth was fraught with difficulties. The doctors managed to save the child, whose neck was entwined with the umbilical cord. The girl's mother considered this a sign from above and named her in honor of the Catalan mountain Montserrat, where the Virgin Mary found refuge.

Montserrat loved to sing since childhood. Despite the fact that over the years fame and recognition came to her, she did not consider herself lucky. The childhood and youth of the future favorite of the public were spent in poverty. During her school years, she had to earn extra money as a seamstress, cutter and even a salesman. “If someone knew how many handkerchiefs I made!” she said. Montserrat was demanding and strict, did not like the words "lucky" and "darling of fate", in her opinion, success can be achieved through long and hard work.

Montserrat spent the money received from part-time work on her studies, music lessons and the study of French and Italian. At the same time, labor activity did not affect academic performance in any way. After graduation, she intended to go to Italy for an audition. But the parents did not have the means to send their daughter to another country. Fortunately, the Meltran Bata family of patrons was found, who took on all the expenses and wrote a letter of recommendation to the famous baritone Raimundo Torres in those years.

In Italy, Caballe got a job in the theater, where she worked for a short time - at one of the performances, the director of the Basel Opera House noticed her and invited her to work in Switzerland. But not everything was so smooth: when the young performer had just arrived in Italy, one of the local impresarios advised her to get married and bake pies for children, saying that there is no place for such fat people on stage. Then she found support in her brother Carlos, who became her personal impresario. Thanks to the family contract, the singer launched an international career.

By the way, Caballe never coped with being overweight during her lifetime. The singer seriously gained weight after a car accident. The part of the brain responsible for lipid metabolism atrophied and, no matter what Montserrat did, the excess weight did not go away.

Unexpected success came to Montserrat Caballe after she was offered to perform the role of Lucrezia Borgia, which was beautifully performed by the American opera singer Marilyn Horn before her. After Montserrat's performance at New York's Carnegie Hall, the audience stood up and applauded her for over half an hour. The performer fascinated not only the audience, but also critics. After this fateful performance, her career began to develop rapidly, and the whole world learned about her.

Bellini's opera Norma, which premiered at the Teatro alla Scala, was the next pinnacle in Montserrat's career. With this and many other leading roles, the singer performed all over the world: in the Great Hall of Columns of the Kremlin, the White House in the USA, in the UN Auditorium and in the Hall of the People in China. Among her stage partners were leading tenors: Jose Carreras, Placido Domingo, Luciano Pavorotti. Throughout her life, she took part in more than 120 operas, hundreds of discs were released with her participation.

Caballe was never afraid of experiments on stage. Her duets with rock artists topped the music charts. One of the most famous duets is with rock star Freddie Mercury, the leader of the Queen group. Caballe and Mercury performed the hit "Barcelona" at the opening of the 1992 Olympic Games.

Despite the tremendous success in musical creativity, the family for Montserrat was above all. She did not hide the fact that if circumstances require, she will leave the stage. They met her husband Martinez Bennabe when he was invited to replace a sick tenor in Madama Butterfly. Having kissed on stage, the young people fell in love with each other for life.

The marriage of Marty and Montserrat took place on the sacred mountain, after which the singer was named. The couple raised two children: a daughter, Montsitu, and a son, Bernabe. Caballe's husband performed with his wife for several years, but then he fell ill and began to spend more time at home. According to Caballe, they never had quarrels in the struggle for creative leadership, because her husband understood that in case of urgent need, she was ready to give up music. She repeatedly confirmed her position with deeds - once her son fell ill, and she canceled all upcoming concerts for a week. The theater tried to sue her, but to no avail.

This is not the last time in the life of Caballe when she was sitting in the dock. In 2015, Montserrat received a suspended sentence and a fine of more than 250,000 euros for avoiding taxes for five years by transferring royalties from performances to Andorran banks. When the scheme was exposed, she was sentenced to six months in prison. Fortunately, she managed to appease the prosecutor, and the prison term was replaced with a suspended one.

Caballe performed on stage until the end of her life, but she never felt like a world-class star. She said that she did not like to portray herself as something, since only complete zeros do this. She believed that one should not be proud of what was given to you from above, because this is the merit of nature and God.

Montserrat died on October 6, 2018 at the age of 86 due to problems with her bladder or gallbladder. At the request of the family, the cause of death will not be released. On October 7, a farewell ceremony with the opera prima took place. The funeral will take place on October 8th. The singer's niece said that Montserrat would be buried next to the graves of her parents.

The world-famous opera singer Montserrat Caballe, who passed away at the age of 85, will be buried the day after tomorrow, on Monday, in Barcelona. Farewell to her will take place today. It is reported by the EuropaPress agency.

The farewell ceremony will take place at the Les Corts Funeral Center. It will start at 14:00 local time (15:00 Moscow time).

Caballe to be buried next to parents

Opera singer Montserrat Caballe will be buried in the Sant Andreu cemetery in Barcelona, ​​where her parents are buried.

The farewell ceremony for the singer began on Sunday at the center of the funeral rituals of Les Corts. The Minister of Culture of Spain, Jose Girao, the leader of the Citizens party, Albert Rivera, and the former head of the Catalan general, Jordi Pujol, have already come to say goodbye to the artist. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is expected to visit Barcelona on Monday. The consuls of a number of countries came to lay flowers in Les Corts, including Belarus and Armenia, representatives of the Barcelona and Espanyol football clubs, the leadership of the Liceo theater, in which Caballe performed many times. In addition, the ceremony was attended by thousands of ordinary Catalans.

As the singer's niece (also called Montserrat Caballe), who has been her representative and close friend for a long time, announced during the funeral service, access to Les Corts will be open to everyone on Sunday and Monday.

Causes of death

As you know, the opera diva spent several days before her death in a hospital in Barcelona. At the end of September, Montserrat Caballe was urgently hospitalized. The singer was diagnosed with problems with the bladder.

Then the doctors involved in the treatment of the opera singer reported that the course of treatment had been completed, and soon Montserrat would leave the clinic. From these words one could understand that the therapy was successful and Caballe is on the mend. However, the insidious disease flared up with renewed vigor and left the singer no chance to fight for her life.

It is worth noting that Montserrat had already undergone surgery to remove a malignant brain tumor several years ago. The neoplasm appeared after a terrible accident in which the opera diva fell. Cancer did not spare the singer and caused a loss of consciousness at one of Caballe's concerts. In addition, the tumor led to terrible consequences.

In the brain, there was a blockage of receptors responsible for lipid metabolism. In this regard, the singer began to rapidly gain weight. She was operated on in Japan. After the surgery, Montserrat learned to speak, walk and sing again.

Biography of Montserrat Caballe

Montserrat Caballé was born on April 12, 1933 in Barcelona to a poor family. She studied at the Conservatory of Barcelona's Liceu Theater and graduated in 1954. She entered the Basel Opera in 1956, where her repertoire included the roles of Tosca, Aida, Arabella and Salome.

Between 1956 and 1965, Montserrat Caballe sang in opera houses in various European cities - Bremen, Milan, Vienna, Barcelona, ​​Lisbon, and also performed in Mexico City in 1964 the part of Manon in the Massenet opera of the same name. International fame came to Caballe in 1965, when, due to Marilyn Horne's illness, she replaced the American singer in the part of Lucrezia Borgia in Gaetano Donizetti's opera of the same name (concert performance at Carnegie Hall). The triumph of Caballe was so great that the audience gave the singer a 20-minute standing ovation. The New York Times newspaper, headlined the review "Callas + Tebaldi = Caballe", wrote:

“It was enough for Miss Caballe to sing the first romance ... and it became clear that she not only has a clear and beautiful voice, but also has excellent vocal skills ... She can soar on pianissimo in the highest register, completely controlling every note, and at the highest volume her voice does not loses the clarity and accuracy of the contour ... ".

The Herald Tribune also wrote:

In the same 1965, Caballe, at the personal invitation of Rudolf Bing, made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera (New York), where she performed the part of Marguerite in Faust. After that, she performed on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera until 1988. Among the best parties performed on the stage of the famous theater: Louise in Louise Miller, Leonora in Il trovatore, Violetta in La Traviata, Desdemona in Otello, Aida, Norma in the opera of the same name by Vincenzo Bellini.

On January 24, 1970, she made her debut at La Scala, also as Lucrezia Borgia. In subsequent years, she performed at the La Scala Theater Mary Stuart, Norma, Louise Miller, Anne Boleyn.

In the 1970s, she first came to the USSR, met her relatives here - members of her mother's family, who emigrated to the Soviet Union in the 1930s during the Spanish Civil War.

Since 1972, she has performed on stage at Covent Garden in London (debut as Violetta in La Traviata).

Caballe's creative career lasted 50 years. She has performed all over the world with such masters of the opera stage as Luciano Pavarotti and Placido Domingo, performing almost 90 roles and about 800 chamber works. The singer gained international recognition due to the beauty of her voice and the dramatic reading of the roles. Her fans called her La Superba - "superb".

Caballe's notable vocal accomplishments include:

• the part of Norma in the opera of the same name by Vincenzo Bellini - a video recording from the ancient Roman theater in the city of Orange, made on July 20, 1974; also 3 performances of "Norma" as part of the tour of the La Scala theater in Moscow in the summer of 1974, where Caballe was a huge success (recorded by the Central Television of the USSR);
• the role of Imogen in Vincenzo Bellini's Pirate is a party from the repertoire of the bel canto era and, according to Caballe herself, the most difficult in her repertoire in her entire career; broadcast recording from Florence from the Florentine Musical May festival (June 1967);
• the part of Queen Elizabeth in Gaetano Donizetti's Roberto Devereux - Caballe performed it repeatedly and at different periods of her career; in particular, a recording was made by broadcast from New York on December 16, 1965 (concert performance at Carnegie Hall);
• part of Leonora in Giuseppe Verdi's Il trovatore - broadcasted from Florence in December 1968, conductor Thomas Schippers; See also a 1972 video from Orange, where Montserrat Caballe performed with Irina Arkhipova.

When the performance was successfully shown in Paris, Maria Callas, two days after the premiere, called Caballe and congratulated her. In Italian (the singers usually spoke among themselves in this language), Callas remarked: "The greatness of your service to both music and role."

In 1964, she married Bernabe Marty. In 1966, the son of Bernabe was born, in 1972, the daughter of Montserrat.

The song "Barcelona", recorded five years before the 1992 Olympics, was planned to be presented to the public by Freddie Mercury and Montserrat Caballe, but in November 1991 the singer died, and the song was recorded.

In November 2000, she participated in a charity concert-action of the World of Art Foundation "Stars of the World for Children", held in Moscow.

On June 4, 2013, during a visit to Armenia, Caballe also visited the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. President Bako Sahakyan received the opera singer. The arrival of Caballe in Karabakh caused dissatisfaction on the part of Azerbaijan, since its authorities consider the NKR as an occupied territory. In connection with Caballe's trip to NKR, the Azerbaijani embassy handed a note of protest to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Spain. The note stated that Caballe would not receive an Azerbaijani visa, as he would become persona non grata. On June 7, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan signed a decree on awarding Caballe with the Order of Honor.

06.10.2018 21:00

The opera singer was 85 years old.

Opera singer Montserrat Caballe has died at the age of 85 in Barcelona.

The funeral of Caballe will be held on Monday, October 8. The day before, a farewell ceremony will take place at the Les Corts Funeral Center in Barcelona.

The cause of death of Montserrat Caballe became known to the media

It is known that a few years ago, Caballe struggled with oncology. A tumor in her head, under the cerebral cortex, appeared after the accident, due to which the artist once fainted on stage in Japan. There, she was later operated on by a local pro, removing her education. After surgery, the performer learned to speak, sing and walk again.

The exact cause of Caballe's death will be announced later.

Biography of Montserrat Caballe

Maria de Montserrat Viviana Concepción Caballe i Volk was born on April 12, 1933 in Barcelona, ​​in a family of ordinary people. The girl was given a name in honor of the monastery and the sacred mountain on which it is located. Among the Catalans, the mountain is called Saint Mary of Montserrat.

Little Montserrat loved to sing and she was very good at it. At first she performed songs of her favorite artists. Later, training began with the best music teachers.

Since the family lived in poverty, the girl decided to get a job, she had to earn extra money as a seamstress and cutter, she also worked as a seller, all this was together with her studies.

Another hobby of Caballe is the study of foreign languages. Studying in was given with ease, graduating from the Lyceum in 1954, she received a gold medal.

Even in the years of study, noticing her talent, the teachers recommended that she visit Italy to audition in the theater. But in a modest family there were no such funds and the move was impossible. Only thanks to the participation of patrons, Caballe was able to get into the theater, she was given a job.

At one of the performances, she was noticed by the director of the Basel Opera House, he was fascinated by her unique voice. After the performance, an invitation to work at the Basel Theater followed.

In 1956, the singer agreed and moved to Switzerland for a year. Opera diva career Once in New York, Caballe was offered to perform the part of Lucrezia Borgia with a performance at Carnegie Hall. The performance went great, the audience was fascinated by her extraordinary voice and applauded standing for almost half an hour.

Almost instantly, Caballe became famous and the most famous stages of the world opened up for her.

The singer did not want to stop there and continued to improve her voice. Her efficiency and perseverance can be envied and surprised. The repertoire of the opera diva is complex and multifaceted, it consists of 40 full-fledged operas, as well as 130 opera parts.

Caballe is one of the few opera singers whose pop recordings have hit the charts. In 1988, together with the leader of the Queen group Freddie Mercury, she recorded the album Barcelona, ​​the title song from which, created for the 1992 Olympic Games, eventually became a symbol of Barcelona and all of Catalonia.

For many years in a row, the singer was the best in the world. By the way, she even once gave singing lessons to Nikolai Baskov at home, teaching him the correct breathing technique, since this is very important for opera singers.

The singer has many prestigious international awards. She has been awarded orders and medals from various countries, including the Spanish Order of Isabel, the French Order of the Commander of Arts and Letters, the gold medal of the Italian Academy of Literature, Science and Arts, and the Russian Order of Friendship.

Family and personal life of Montserrat Caballe

In 1964, Montserrat married opera singer Bernabe Marty. The singer says that she is happy in family life.

From childhood, she learned a lesson about the equality of spouses in marriage, how important it is to maintain respect for each other and properly educate their children. There are two in the family. Son - Bernabe (1966) and daughter Montserrat (1976).

The singer always treated her fame and celebrity calmly and tried so that the "star disease" did not hurt the children.

Caballe was fond of painting, drove a wonderful car and loved to eat delicious food. Her zodiac sign is Aries, height - 1.61 m, weight - 100 kg.

SENORA SOPRANO MONTSERRAT CABALE

Destined to become the last of the caste of great opera divas of the twentieth century. At one time they assigned the epithet "Divine", and Renata Tebaldi was called "Amazing". quite worthy of the title "Unsurpassed".

Opera first shocked Montserrat at the age of seven, when she sobbed all the way back from the theater, upset by the death of Madame Butterfly. The girl learned the heroine's aria by listening to an old record and vowed that she would become a famous and rich opera singer.

Talented ugly Montserrat Caballe

Maria de Montserrat Viviana Concepción Caballé y Faulk was born into a very poor family in 1933. Dad was a worker at a chemical fertilizer plant, and mom worked where she could. The family was barely making ends meet. At school, Montserrat's affairs were also unimportant. The children did not like her because she was a taciturn savage and came to class in the same dress. Classmates did not miss the opportunity to laugh at her. On top of all the troubles, my father became seriously ill and left his job. But domestic difficulties only tempered the character of the girl.

She got a job at a factory where handkerchiefs were embroidered. And soon fate smiled at her, introducing the Beltran Mata spouses into life. They were patrons who helped young talents. Thanks to their support, Caballe ended up at the famous Barcelona Liceo Conservatory with a Hungarian teacher Eugenia Kemmeni. For four years, she cut the nugget, turning it into a real diamond. For many years, every day of the great singer began with breathing exercises according to the Kemmeni system.

To Italy!

She studied at the Lyceum of Barcelona for twelve years. Having finished it with a "gold" medal, the future singer went to storm the bastions of the opera Mecca - the theaters of Italy. However, the 24-year-old "impostor" in her homeland and Puccini were in for a severe disappointment: some petty impresario categorically declared to Montserrat that a stage career was out of the question for her - with such a figure she should find herself a husband and raise children. All in tears, Caballe rushed home, where the furious Catalan, her brother Carlos, defended the family property. He personally volunteered to take the place of the impresario of Montserrat, so that henceforth no one could interfere with the take-off of his sister.

Caballe made her professional debut in 1956 as Mimi in La bohème by Giacomo Puccini. on the stage of the Basel Theatre, small but famous.

Soon Montserrat married the then-famous tenor Bernabe Marty. Young people met at the same landmark for Montserrat "Madama Butterfly". During a love duet, he attracted Caballe to him and pressed his lips to hers. The passionate kiss lasted so long that the orchestra fell silent. Both the audience and the artists waited in bewilderment when the hero would break away from the young singer. Caballe appreciated Marty's resourcefulness and immediately fell in love with him. And the next day, Bernabe offered Montserrat a hand and a heart.

Bernabe's career gradually faded away. But he was not jealous of his wife for fame: he understood how many men all over the world envied the only owner of the heart of Senora Soprano, as they call Caballe in their homeland. And she reciprocated, giving her husband a son and daughter - Bernabe Jr. and Monsit.

Wedding Adventure Montserrat Caballe

As far as the singer is collected and purposeful on stage, she is so unorganized in life. She was late to her own wedding!

It was in 1964. The wedding was to take place in a temple attached to a nearby monastery. from Barcelona. It seemed to the mother of the bride, the strict Donna Anna, that it would be very romantic: a ceremony overshadowed by the patronage of the Reverend Montserrat herself. And on the day of the wedding, Caballe leaves with his mother in an old Volkswagen. And it must happen that in August it rains in Barcelona. By the time we got to the mountain, the road was rough. The car is stuck. Neither here nor there. Stalled motor. They had 12 kilometers left. All the guests are already upstairs, and mother and bride are floundering downstairs, and there is no chance to climb up. And then Montserrat, in a wedding dress and veil, wet, gets up on the road and begins to vote. For such a shot, any paparazzi would now give half his life. But then no one knew her. Passenger cars indifferently drove past a large dark-haired girl in a ridiculous white dress, frantically gesturing on the roadway. Luckily, a beat-up truck did pull up. Montserrat and Anna climbed on it and rushed to the church, where the poor groom and the guests no longer knew what to think.

Safe Harbor Montserrat

with husband Bernabe Marty

As a true Catholic, the singer valued her family most of all, whose members wake up at different times, but still have breakfast all together. Then everyone goes about their own business. The opera singer did not like to cook too much, especially since she could not eat many dishes.

In the evening, Montserrat usually sat down to answer letters that came to her from different parts of the world. Although, most of the letters were processed in her office and prepared answers that Montserrat had only to sign.

Caballe loved to draw. Pictures with an abundance of green were especially good for the singer, only on her wedding anniversary she surprised her husband with a pink painting “Dawn in the Pyrenees”.

Daughter Montserrat Marty Caballe followed in her mother's footsteps, becoming a successful opera singer. In 1997 they performed together at the opening of the European opera season with the program "Two Voices, One Heart".

At the top of the glory

daughter of Monsita and Nikolai Baskov

Caballe counts his triumph from a specific performance in 1965, when the singer received a telegram: “Come to New York urgently. You are offered a party at the Lucrezia Borgia. Montserrat was to replace a sick colleague. Entering the stage, she nearly broke her heel with excitement, but at the end of the performance, the ovation and encore cries turned into real ecstasy. The next day, The New York Times came out with a front-page headline: "Callas + Tebaldi = Caballe." So Montserrat woke up famous.

"Iron" Caballe

The role of Norma in Bellini's opera of the same name Montserrat ranks among his highest achievements. It was under this title that her extensive biography came out, which became a bestseller all over the world. In 1974, Moscow heard a fantastic Caballe-Normu at the very zenith of her talent, during the tour of La Scala. Her singing is the highest form of creativity. She tried on almost one and a half hundred images.

Majestic Caballe learned not to worry about her solid physique. Many years ago, she had a terrible accident and received a severe head injury. Since then, part of the brain has atrophied, and the system responsible for burning fat in the body has not worked. Therefore, if Caballe drank a glass of water, the effect was as if she had eaten a whole pie. But even such a problem was not able to unsettle her.

Montserrat had an iron will. After all the same car accident, the singer, chained in plaster, moving on crutches, did not leave the concert venues. And on the opera stage of Verona, the crippled prima came to the aid of costume designers. They came up with wide clothes with immense sleeves, where Montserrat was able to hide and slowly move around the stage in front of an unsuspecting audience. And in the costumes of court ladies under Elizabeth, whose part was performed by Caballe, just in case, nurses from the orthopedic clinic were dressed.

Wrath of unsurpassed Montserrat

with Nikolai Baskov

Behind the always friendly smile was a unique personality that was not alien to incredible outbursts of anger if her professional requests and desires were left unattended. But, when the incident was over, she quickly calmed down. She could even ask for forgiveness if she noticed that the person was seriously frightened. A story that took place in Paris at a concert at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées became a story. Unexpectedly, during the performance of the next number, Caballe fell silent, in the ensuing deafening silence she went to the fore, leaned over and asked someone: “Is everything all right? May I continue?" Then he explains to the stunned audience: “Sorry, but here one monsieur in the front row was recording me on a tape recorder, he ran out of tape while he was changing it, I decided to stop for a minute.”

DATA

By some mystical coincidence, 1965 was the last year in the theatrical career of the great Callas. Prima seemed to have handed over the operatic throne to a new diva.

with Freddie Mercury

In the 1980s, she agreed to the proposal of the group leader to sing a duet. "Barcelona" in their performance became not only the anthem of the 1992 Summer Olympics, but also a worldwide hit. Long time senora Montserrat nurtured the Russian opera and pop singer.

Together with the Swiss rock band Gotthard, she recorded the rock ballad "One Life One Soul" in 1997.

And in 2000 they gave a joint concert in the Milan Cathedral, which was released on DVD in the Jubilaeum collection series.

Updated: April 13, 2019 by: Elena