María de Montserrat Bibiana Concepción Caballé i Folch[2][3] orFolc[4][5][a] (12 April 1933 – 6 October 2018), simply known asMontserrat Caballé (i Folch),[b] was a Spanish (Catalan)operatic soprano. Widely considered to be one of the greatest sopranos of the 20th century,[8][9] she won a variety of musical awards throughout her six-decade career, including threeGrammy Awards.
Caballé performed a wide variety of roles, but is best known as an exponent of the works ofVerdi and of thebel canto repertoire, notably the works ofRossini,Bellini, andDonizetti. She was noticed internationally when she stepped in for a performance of Donizetti'sLucrezia Borgia atCarnegie Hall in 1965, and then appeared at leading opera houses. Her voice was described as pure but powerful, with superb control of vocal shadings and exquisitepianissimo.
Caballé was born inBarcelona on 12 April 1933.[12] Her family was of humble financial circumstances due to theCivil War.[12] She studied music at theLiceu Conservatory, and singing technique with Napoleone Annovazzi, Eugenia Kemény andConchita Badía. She graduated with a gold medal in 1954. She subsequently moved toBasel, Switzerland, where she made her professional debut in 1956 as a last minute replacement as Mimì in Puccini'sLa bohème.[13]
In 1962, Caballé returned to Barcelona and debuted at theLiceu, singing the title role in Strauss'sArabella. From the fall of 1962 through the spring of 1963 she toured Mexico, at one point singing the title role in Massenet'sManon at thePalacio de Bellas Artes. This was followed by several more successful appearances at theLiceu in 1963.[15]
Caballé's international breakthrough came in 1965 when she replaced a pregnantMarilyn Horne in a semi-staged performance of Donizetti'sLucrezia Borgia at New York'sCarnegie Hall, which earned her a 25-minute standing ovation.[16] While this was her first engagement in a bel canto opera and she had to learn the role in less than one month, her performance made her famous throughout the opera world. Later that year, Caballé made her debut at theGlyndebourne Festival singing her first Marschallin in Richard Strauss'Der Rosenkavalier and portraying the role of Countess Almaviva in Mozart'sLe nozze di Figaro.[17]Ryland Davies, who sang the Major Domo alongside Caballé in Der Rosenkavalier, told an anecdote about her. Onstage, she unexpectedly asked him for a cognac.[18]
Exiting stage left, he was met by an alarmed stage assistant, who was dispatched to the Long Bar to fetch one. Returning to the stage, he delivered the cognac to Caballé with the words "Ecco, Signora!" Whispering "Grazie, grazie!", she turned her back on the audience, drained the glass and continued in her role: "Abtreten die Leut!" ("Send everyone away.")[18]
In 1969, Caballé appeared at theArena di Verona in aJean Vilar production of Verdi'sDon Carlo. She was Elisabetta of Valois in an all-star cast includingPlácido Domingo andPiero Cappuccilli.[26] In the same period she also appeared in recital at the Teatro Corallo inVerona. In 1970, Caballé made her official debut atLa Scala in the title role ofLucrezia Borgia. She appeared as Leonora in Philadelphia, and returned to the Met as Amelia in a critically acclaimed production of Verdi'sUn ballo in maschera with Domingo as Riccardo, andReri Grist as Oscar.[27]
In 1972, she made her first appearances atCovent Garden and theLyric Opera of Chicago, both in the role of Violetta.[28] That same year she returned to the Met as Elisabetta inDon Carlo withFranco Corelli in the title role, and sang the title role of Bellini'sNorma in Philadelphia.[29] In 1973 she returned to Chicago to perform the title role in Donizetti'sMaria Stuarda withViorica Cortez but left mid contract because she was suffering with phlebitis. This marked her final performance at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.[16] That same year she performed at the Met as Bellini's Norma, oppositeCarlo Cossutta in his Met debut as Pollione andFiorenza Cossotto as Adalgisa.[28]
In 1974, Caballé appeared in the title role of Verdi'sAida at the Liceu in January, in Verdi'sI vespri siciliani at the Met in March,[30] and inParisina d'Este at Carnegie Hall, also in March.[31] She appeared as Norma at theBolshoi Theatre in Moscow and inAdriana Lecouvreur at La Scala in April. She was filmed as Norma inOrange in July byPierre Jourdan. She recordedAida withRiccardo Muti in July and made a recording of duets withGiuseppe Di Stefano in August. In September 1974, she underwent major surgery to remove a large benign mass from her abdomen.[32] She recovered and was performing again onstage by early 1975. In 1976 Caballé appeared at the Met once again as Norma and sang her first Aida in that house, alongsideRobert Nagy as Radamès and Marilyn Horne as Amneris.[33][34] She appeared in the title role ofAriadne auf Naxos by Richard Strauss and sang Mimì in Puccini'sLa bohème withLuciano Pavarotti as Rodolfo.[35][36]
In 1977, Caballé made her debut with theSan Francisco Opera in the title role of Puccini'sTurandot.[37] She returned to that house ten more times over the next decade in such roles as Elvira in Verdi'sErnani and the title roles in Ponchielli'sLa Gioconda, Rossini'sSemiramide, and Puccini'sTosca, among others.[38][39][40]
Having lost some of her earlier brilliance and purity of voice, Caballé offered more dramatic expressive singing in roles that demanded it. In 1978, she was Tosca in San Francisco with Pavarotti, Norma in Madrid, andAdriana Lecouvreur at the Met oppositeJosé Carreras. She continued to appear often at the Met during the 1980s, in roles such as Tosca (1980, 1985) and Elisabetta (1985), and also sang concerts in 1981 and 1983. She gave her final performances at the Met in October 1985 asTosca with Pavarotti as Cavaradossi andCornell MacNeil as Scarpia.[41][42]
Her voice was noted for its purity, precise control, and power. She was admired less for her dramatic instincts and acting skills than for her superb technique, vocal shadings, and exquisitepianissimos, which were inspired byMiguel Fleta.[43][44][45][46][47]
In Bellini'sNorma, Caballé recorded both the title role (forRCA Red Seal in 1972, with Domingo as Pollione) and later the role of Adalgisa, toJoan Sutherland's Norma in a 1984Decca recording conducted byRichard Bonynge. Although Bellini conceived the role of Adalgisa originally for a soprano, it is usually now sung by amezzo-soprano. Caballé was one of few sopranos to have recorded the role, although she was over age 50 at the time of the recording in 1984.[48] In 1986, she also took a role in the biographic filmRomanza final, directed byJosé María Forqué.[49]
Caballé in 1982
In 1987, Caballé made a rare excursion into the world of pop music when she released a duet withFreddie Mercury, the lead singer of the rock bandQueen, which was titled "Barcelona".[50] The song was inspired by Caballé's home city and later used as one of the two official theme songs for the1992 Olympic Games.[50] Mercury was a great admirer of Caballé, considering her voice to be "the best in the world".[51] The single was followed by analbum of the same name which was released the following year and featured further collaborations between the two performers. The title track later became the anthem of the1992 Summer Olympics which was hosted by Caballé's native city, and appeared again in the pop music charts throughout Europe. Caballé also performed the song live, accompanied by a recording by Mercury, who had died in 1991, before the1999 UEFA Champions League final in Barcelona'sCamp Nou stadium.[52][53]
In 1994, writing forThe Independent,Fiammetta Rocco said: "Caballe is one of the last of the true divas. Callas is dead,Kiri Te Kanawa is busy making commercials forSainsbury's, andMirella Freni has never really risen out of the narrow confines of being an opera lover's opera-singer. Caballe, on the other hand, has always had an enormous following, and it's still with her today."[54]
Caballé dedicated herself to various charities. She was aUNESCO Goodwill Ambassador and established a foundation for needy children in Barcelona. In 2003, she starred in her own documentary filmCaballé: Beyond Music, which featured many well-known opera singers, including Domingo, Pavarotti, Carreras, andRenée Fleming.[56]
In 2002, she appeared as Catherine of Aragon inHenri VIII by Saint-Saëns, and in 2004 in the title role of Massenet'sCléopâtre, both at the Liceu. She appeared as The Duchess of Crakenthorp in Donizetti'sLa fille du régiment at theVienna State Opera in April 2007.[57]
In 2003, Patrick O'Connor wrote inGramophone that:
no diva in memory has sung such an all-encompassing amount of the soprano repertory, progressing through virtually the entire range of Italian light lyric,lirico-spinto and dramatic roles, including all the pinnacles of the bel canto, Verdi and verismo repertories, whilst simultaneously being a remarkable interpreter of Salome, Sieglinde and Isolde.[58]
In 2015, Caballé was under prosecution over allegations oftax evasion or fraud.[60] She admitted that despite living in Spain in 2010, she had registered inAndorra in order to avoid payingtax in Spain. In December 2015 the Spanish court found her guilty of fraud and gave her a six-month suspended jail sentence, ordering her to pay a fine of €254,231. She was also banned from receiving any public subsidies for 18 months.[61]
On 20 October 2012, during her tour in Russia, Caballé suffered a stroke inYekaterinburg and was quickly transferred to theHospital de Sant Pau in Barcelona.[64]
In September 2018, she was admitted to the same hospital for agallbladder problem.[50][65] She died there on 6 October 2018 at the age of 85. The cause of death was not given.[66][67]Felipe VI of Spain described Caballé as "the best of the best", and Spanish prime ministerPedro Sánchez called her the great ambassador of Spain.[67] Caballé was buried in theCementiri de Sant Andreu [ca;es] in Barcelona.[68]
Caballé recorded extensively throughout her long career and made many notable recordings of complete operas as well as recital albums. After a number of recordings early in her career forRCA Victor Red Seal, Caballé also recorded forEMI,Decca, andPhilips among other labels.[69] She left a "vast discography" of her major roles, including Aida, conducted byRiccardo Muti, Elisabetta inDon Carlo conducted byCarlo Maria Giulini, Fiordiligi in Mozart'sCosì fan tutte withColin Davis,[58] Tosca with Colin Davis alongsideJosé Carreras, Liù inTurandot alongside Joan Sutherland and Pavarotti, conducted byZubin Mehta,[70] and Salome withErich Leinsdorf. She recorded many bel canto and Rossini roles. Recital recordings include a Puccini collection withCharles Mackerras, a Strauss collection withLeonard Bernstein, and duets withShirley Verrett. She recorded the soprano solo in Verdi'sRequiem withJohn Barbirolli in 1969, andZubin Mehta in 1980.[58]
Montserrat Caballé, artist. Carlos Caballé, producer. Mauricio Tonelli, engineer. Josep Baiges & Marc Blanes, engineers/mixers –La Canción Romántica Española
John Goberman, producer; Marc Bauman, coordinating producer; Isaac Stern, Itzhak Perlman and Montserrat Caballé, performers -New York Philharmonic Celebration with Isaac Stern
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