Montserrat Caballe is a famous opera singer from Spain. She has a beautiful female soprano voice. Collaborated with the famous Russian opera and pop singer Nikolai Baskov.
Biography
It must be admitted that the biography of the singer is quite interesting. Her full name is very long - Maria de Montserrat Vivianna Concepción Caballe and Volk. As soon as she started performing on stage, the girl replaced her long name with a shorter and more memorable one.
Montserrat Caballe was born in the difficult thirties in a poor working-class family. Her life in her youth is unenviable. They did not live well: my father worked at a plant that produced chemical fertilizers, and my mother worked part-time in various places. In addition to the daughter, there were also boys in the family.
The girl grew up gloomy and withdrawn, did not communicate much with her peers, and art became her only outlet.
In the seventies, the popularity of Montserrat Caballe in Spain, Italy, and throughout the world reached unprecedented, cosmic heights. The fees quickly made her rich, and aspiring singers were ready to tear each other to pieces for the opportunity to perform a duet with her.
The singer was awarded many orders and medals, for example:
- Order of Friendship (from the government of the Russian Federation).
- Order of Arts and Literature (from the French government).
- Order of Princess Olga (from the government of Ukraine).
This list is far from complete. In total, the singer has about ten different awards and titles.
Montserrat Caballe was married and has two children. Interestingly, her daughter Montserrat followed in the footsteps of her mother in choosing her life path: she is also a popular opera singer in her native Spain.
Contribution to art
Montserrat Caballe is fluent in the technique of performing "bel canto", thanks to which she was able to take part in many performances of the classical repertoire.
According to the confessions of numerous listeners, her voice sunk deep into the soul as soon as she began to sing.
The singer's contribution to art is incredibly great:
- During her life she played more than 88 roles in operas, operettas and musical performances.
- She performed about 800 chamber works.
- She released the album "Barcelona" together with Freddie Mercury, the famous lead singer of the Queen group.
Together with the singer, Nikolai Baskov also sang.
The song Montserrat, which is dedicated to her "small homeland", Barcelona, became one of the two official anthems of the Olympic Games held there in the summer of 1992.
Montserrat Caballe can rightly be called a great man; a woman who changed the world through her songs and music. This singer has become a kind of singing symbol of her native Spain, glorifying her homeland to the whole world. Author: Irina Shumilova
Spanish opera singer Montserrat Caballe.
Origin and education
Montserrat Caballe (full name - Maria de Montserrat Viviana Concepción Caballe i Folk) was born in Barcelona on April 12, 1933 in the family of a factory worker. From childhood, she showed interest in music and was fond of singing. She studied music and vocals at the Liceu Conservatory in Barcelona, from which she graduated with a gold medal in 1954.
Musical career
After completing her studies, she left for Italy, and then to Basel (Switzerland). She made her debut at the Basel Opera as Mimi in Giacomo Puccini's La bohème. In 1958 she sang at the Vienna State Opera, in 1960 she first appeared on the stage of La Scala (Milan). She is famous for her soprano and bel canto technique. World fame came to Caballe in 1965, when she replaced the American singer Marilyn Horne in Gaetano Donizetti's Lucrezia Borgia on the stage of Carnegie Hall (New York). In 1970, she performed one of her best roles - Norma in the opera of the same name by Vincenzo Bellini. With this party in 1974 she came on her first tour to Moscow. Subsequently, she repeatedly performed in Russia, the last concert of the singer in Moscow took place in June 2018 as part of a tour dedicated to her 85th birthday.
In total, the singer's repertoire included over 125 opera parts. She was called "señora soprano" and "great prima donna". She has performed at venues such as Covent Garden (London), the Metropolitan Opera (New York), the Grand Opera (Paris), and also toured with concert programs. She has worked with outstanding orchestras and conductors of our time - Leonard Bernstein, Herbert von Karajan, James Levine, Georg Solti. She performed with Placido Domingo, Luciano Pavarotti, Alfredo Kraus. She contributed to the career of José Carreras, who made his debut as Flavio in Norma in 1970. The singer drew attention to the young tenor, and Carreras became one of her favorite partners, they sang together in more than 15 operas.
In the 1980s, Caballe collaborated with rock musician Freddie Mercury. In 1988, their joint album Barcelona was released. Its title song, Barcelona, became one of the two hymns for the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. In 1997, the singer released the disc "Friends for Life" (Friends for Life), where she recorded works of rock and pop music. Her partners were Carlos Cano, Bruce Dickinson, Johnny Holiday, Lisa Nilsson and others. In the same year, the rock ballad One Life One Soul was recorded together with the Swiss rock band Gotthard. In addition, she collaborated with the Italian singer Al Bano, with the Greek composer and electronic music performer Vangelis.
In 2002, after a 10-year break caused by illness, Caballe sang the part of Catherine of Aragon in Camille Saint-Saens' opera "Henry VIII" (at the Liceu Opera House, Barcelona), in 2004 - the title role in Jules Massenet's opera "Cleopatra" ( Liceu, Barcelona) and, in 2007, the Duchess of Krakenthorpe in Gaetano Donizetti's The Regiment's Daughter (Vienna State Opera). In 2016 Caballe gave a concert in Sofia (Bulgaria).
Charity
Caballe was engaged in charitable activities. So, the singer donated the entire collection from the concert in Paris, dedicated to her 60th birthday, to the World AIDS Research Foundation. In November 2000, as part of the international program "Stars of the World for Children", she performed in Moscow with a concert, the proceeds of which went to help gifted disabled children.
Confession
The singer has been awarded orders and medals from various countries, including the Spanish Order of Isabella the Catholic, the French Order of Arts and Letters, and the Russian Order of Friendship.
Received several Grammy awards, including Best Vocal Solo (1969).
In 1994 she became a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador.
Personal Information
In 1964, she married tenor Bernabe Marty. There are two children in the family: son Bernabe Marti and daughter Montserrat Marti, an opera singer.
It is known that relatives of Montserrat Caballe on the maternal side live in St. Petersburg, who were taken to the Soviet Union during the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s.
She died on October 6 in a hospital in Barcelona at the age of 86. This is reported by El Pais. According to the source,
the artist, whose exact cause of death has not yet been reported, has been in the clinic since mid-September due to problems with her gallbladder. It is noted that the funeral of the famous singer will be held on Monday, October 8. Farewell to Caballe will be held on Sunday.
One of the first to express his condolences in connection with the death of the opera singer was the Prime Minister of Spain. According to him, the work of the artist will forever remain in the hearts of grateful listeners.
Photo report: Death of Montserrat Caballe
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“Sad news. The great ambassador of our country, internationally recognized Montserrat Caballe, has died. Her voice and tenderness will stay with us forever,” he tweeted.
The singer commented on the tragic news.
“The great singer will forever remain in our hearts. I regret not knowing her. I always listened to her very first performance, from her youth, appearance on stage. Such voices appear once in a hundred years, ”Gverdtsiteli noted, admitting that Caballe’s departure came as a surprise to her.
In turn, the artistic director and general director of the Mariinsky Theater expressed the opinion that the performances of Caballe, dated from the 60s, 70s and 80s of the last century, set a very high bar, which not everyone could conquer.
“This is a golden page in the history of opera performance - in the late 60s, in the 70s, in the 80s of the twentieth century.
I think her performances at that time set the bar very high and she fit in with a very small elite group of performers who, within the "Italian" repertoire, set the standard of excellence. And she very timely recorded many parties - cornerstone, famous, most important. And with the help of these records, we will keep the memory of her,”
Montserrat Caballe was born in the capital of Catalonia on April 12, 1933. At the end of World War II, she studied at the conservatory at Barcelona's Liceo Theatre. In 1956 she entered the Basel Opera, where her repertoire included the roles of Tosca, Aida, Arabella and Salome. In the same years, Caballe began to actively perform in opera houses in European cities, including Milan, Lisbon and Vienna, while in the mid-60s she impressed Mexican listeners with the part of Manon from Massenet's opera of the same name while touring America.
Around the same time, really great fame came to Montserrat, and helped the Spaniard in this case: she was entrusted to replace the famous American opera singer (shortly before entering the stage she felt unwell) in the part of Lucrezia Borgia in Gaetano Donizetti's opera, and Caballe took advantage of the opportunity.
The crowded hall of the legendary Carnegie Hall, where the concert took place, was so dumbfounded by the talent of the European that they applauded her for about half an hour.
In 1965, she also made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera, performing the part of Margherita in Faust, while five years later she first performed at the famous La Scala theater in Milan, where she had no less success.
Caballe became widely known to fans of popular music in the late 80s, when she released her album “Barcelona” with Queen vocalist Freddie Mercury. The title song of that record in 1992 became the anthem of the Summer Olympic Games, held in the capital of Catalonia.
The opera singer has repeatedly given concerts in Russia, where she first performed back in 1974, performing the role of Norma in the opera of the same name. Caballe's last concert in Moscow took place in June of this year as part of a tour dedicated to the artist's anniversary.
One of the students of Caballe is considered to be the People's Artist of Russia Baskov. The opera singer was one of the first to notice the talent of the performer and subsequently repeatedly emphasized that Nikolai would have a bright future. Being amazed by Baskov's vocal abilities, the Spaniard also often performed together with the Russian on the same stage.
In 2015, Caballe was sentenced by a Spanish court to six months in prison for fraud - the singer was accused of tax evasion. According to Spanish law, the prison term of Montserrat, who admitted her own guilt and paid an impressive fine, was suspended, since the performer had committed this kind of fraud for the first time.
This great opera diva tried on about one and a half hundred images. She is considered the national pride of Spain, and the list of her titles and awards will take many pages. She has many orders and medals, and besides, she received the unofficial title of "singer with a golden heart" - thanks to her wide charitable activities in the world. Brilliant roles in the operas "Mary Stuart" and "Lucretia Borgia", "Tosca" and "Adriana Lecouvrere", "Salome" and many, many others... that while singing "it seems that she is all dissolved in the sound."
You probably already guessed that we are talking about the legendary Montserrat Caballe.
Maria de Montserrat Viviana Concepcion Caballe y Folk (this is her full name) was born on April 12, 1933, in a very poor family. At that time, her father worked at a chemical fertilizer plant, and Anna's mother worked wherever she could find work. The parents gave their daughter a name after the name of the local sacred mountain peak (there is a monastery bearing the name of Our Lady, called by the Catalans St. Mary of Montserrat). Hopeless poverty reigned in the family ... Classmates did not miss the opportunity to pry off the silent Montserrat, who each time came to class in the same dress.
But even then she had a dream…. From early childhood, Montserrat loved to listen to music on the radio. At the age of 7, her parents took the girl with them to the opera, and the death of Madame Butterfly struck her so much that Montserrat cried all the way home from the theater ... However, the matter did not end with tears. She learned the main character's aria from the record and at the same time made a firm decision to become an opera singer. And certainly rich and famous. At the age of 14, Montserrat was already taking singing lessons. And soon, along with this, she began to study commercial expertise ...
It became very difficult when my father fell ill, so much so that he was forced to leave work. Then the future singer followed the path of the famous opera heroine Carmen and got a job at a factory - to embroider handkerchiefs. What has she been doing since then? Cutter, saleswoman, seamstress. However, she did not give up her studies. Moreover, she studied English and French.
And it is still unknown how her life would have turned out if it were not for the Beltran Mata spouses - patrons who passionately wanted to help some young talent. The couple paid the aspiring singer an allowance of 1,000 pesetas so that she could continue her studies. Thanks to their efforts, Caballe got into the famous Barcelona Conservatory "Liceu".
The Hungarian teacher Eugenia Kemeny instantly assessed which diamond fell into her hands, and for four years carefully cut it. She taught her student a system of her breathing exercises, which she still does in the morning. Later, the Beltran family "sent" a talented girl to Italy, to the great baritone Raimundo Torres, paying all expenses.
The first Italian audition ended in failure. "Go home, get married, you have to take care of the children and the kitchen," the girl heard. But she was distinguished by perseverance, and soon ended up in the Florentine theater "Maggio Fiorentino". This was followed by a contract with the Basel Opera House, then - the Bremen Opera House.
Real international recognition came to the singer in 1965. The reason for this again was the case. Then, she was offered to replace the American singer Marilyn Horne in New York's Carnegie Hall, who performed the part of Lucrezia Borgia. The applause in the hall lasted more than 20 minutes ...
The next day, The New York Times published an article with the headline: "Callas + Tebaldi = Caballe." Thus, Caballe was ranked among the greats of this world. By a strange coincidence, the same year was the last in the theatrical career of Maria Callas. As if she transferred her powers to a new star.
The fate of Caballe has since been a foregone conclusion: any of her performances was marked by a brilliant success. The audience of the Great Hall of Columns of the Kremlin and the White House of Washington, the Auditorium of the UN General Assembly in New York and the Hall of the People in Beijing received her with open arms. Montserrat has performed with famous conductors: Bernstein, Karajan, Levine, Meta, Solti, singers Jose Carreras, Placido Domingo, Luciano Pavarotti, Marilyn Horne, Alfredo Kraus…
But let's get back to the starting point. A year before the success of the theater in the life of Montserrat, there were other significant changes. The marriage with the famous opera singer Bernabe Marti was the first and only - for life. By that time, the bride was already 31 years old ...
They met while working together on Madama Butterfly. During the performance, Bernabé, who was singing the Pinkerton aria, suddenly kissed Montserrat hard on the lips, and this kiss lasted so long that it caused a breakdown in the orchestra and confusion among the artists and spectators. It was true romantic love at first sight. At the same time - backed up by strict conservative ideas of a not quite young bride. “If you don’t think about marriage, we have nothing to do together,” she once said to her future husband. Bernaba had no choice but to propose to her. Moreover, in depth he shared similar views - after all, he himself came from the same patriarchal Spanish family.
Soon Bernabe and Montserrat got married. The wedding took place in a monastery on Mount Montserrat. Such was the idea of the pious Anna, the mother of the singer. It just started to rain, and the old Volkswagen, in which the girl climbed the mountain with her mother, got stuck in the roadside mud, and the engine stalled. Desperate to dry it with hairspray, Montserrat rushed out to vote on the road. As a result, she arrived at the wedding in a cattle truck, soaking wet, and very late.
Nevertheless, the "unsuccessful" beginning continued with a happy and long life together. Children named after their parents were born - the son of Bernabe Marty and the daughter - Montserrat Marty (who followed in the footsteps of her mother and is now also a famous opera singer). And the fact that Bernabe's career gradually faded away did not overshadow, as is often the case, the relationship of the spouses. And Caballe has always been an exemplary model of the wife and mother of the family.
“I am happy that fate allowed me to make a career. But first of all, I am proud that I created a wonderful family, and I have two wonderful children,” Caballe once said. “I have always tried to make sure that my children do not suffer because their mother is a celebrity.After all, music is only my job.And besides music, of course, I have other interests and responsibilities.And this is, first of all, my family.I hope "that for my family and my friends I'm still more needed than for art. And when the moment comes that I won't sing anymore, I don't want to be pitied. I'll still be happy."
These words are confirmed by an incident that occurred several years ago. When the singer's son fell ill, she canceled concerts in one of the countries and flew to Spain. The theater sued Caballe, but she won the case. “Apparently, even the judges understand that there can be nothing more important than a family in life,” the singer summed up then.
In 1974, she performed one of her most brilliant parts - the part of Norma. In the same year, Moscow also heard Caballe-Norma - the theater "La Scala" came to the capital on tour. She had been to Moscow before… In 1959, Montserrat came with her mother on family matters. Then they tried to find Uncle Montserrat, like many Spaniards, who emigrated to the Soviet Union in the 30s, fleeing from the dictator Franco. By the way, the relatives of the great singer still live in St. Petersburg, which allows her to talk about blood ties that connect her with Russia.
In the 80s, she began to expand the "genre" area of her work ... Freddie Mercury, the lead singer of the Queen group, was an ardent admirer of her talent. When they met, they sang to the piano all night. Mercury wrote the play "Exercises in Free Love" in honor of her, which she subsequently performed for the first time in London, in the presence of the singer himself. But the top of their joint work was, of course, the famous hit "Barcelona". Later, the album "Friends for Life" will include her duets with Vangelis, Johnny Holiday, Lisa Nilsson ... She has hit various pop charts more than once. But the main thing, of course, has always been opera. Her repertoire includes over 125 opera parts. Caballé recorded 40 complete operas in total.
However, the singer has never been closed only at work. She enjoys growing flowers and painting. And if he leaves for a long time, he always takes albums with him and reproduces on paper the views from the windows of hotels. Her paintings are always dominated by green. The singer herself jokingly calls it "the green period of Caballe."
She also loves to swim, drive a car and cook delicious food. The singer never hid that she loves to eat delicious food. In cooking, Caballe likes to use his mother's recipes. On them, she bakes pies with strawberries and prepares a family signature paella. “I love having breakfast with the whole family,” Caballe said in one of her interviews. “It doesn’t matter when someone wakes up. We will still have breakfast together. This is the law.”
As for excess weight ... Caballe never experienced any feelings about him. And moreover, she said that when working as an opera singer, "it is important to keep the diaphragm, and for this you need volumes. In a thin body, there is simply nowhere to place all this."
The iron will of Montserrat has always won. After the car accident, the singer courageously performed at concert venues, chained in plaster, and costume designers dressed her in wide clothes with huge sleeves ...
Among the factors that give the singer support is her faith. Caballe is a devout Catholic.
She has always helped people. Giving many charity concerts, acting as a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador, traveling with her daughter to many "hot spots" of the planet. And, of course, supporting young artists.
Caballe helped the beginning José Carreras, taking him on stage with her in the operas Nabucco and Lucrezia Borgia. It was after the performance of parts in these operas that success came to him. When Jose, much later, fell ill with leukemia, Montserrat helped him in every possible way to fight the disease and organized a concert for him in the main square of Barcelona. And the fact that the singer was able to return to the stage is largely her merit.
The Russian media quite often mention the Caballe-Basque creative union. Their acquaintance took place in St. Petersburg in 2000. Since then, Nikolai Baskov has been ranked among the students of the great Caballe. And she, according to rumors, deals with him at home for free. From time to time they give joint concerts in our country. Not so long ago, together with the singer's daughter Monsita (abbreviated version of the name) and Ukrainian baritone Oleg Romashin, the winner of the competition organized by Caballe in Barcelona, they made a tour along the route "Krasnoyarsk - Novosibirsk - Tyumen - Yekaterinburg - Moscow - St. Petersburg". The Basques suggested that the singer travel by rail - in special wagons. This allowed Caballe to get an unforgettable experience. “I was on the train and thought what a big country Russia is,” she said.
Do not think that Montserrat Caballe is a kind of angel in the flesh. Her surroundings are well acquainted with the singer's unbridled fits of anger. The opera diva assumes threatening poses, and her eyes begin to sparkle like lightning.
One of the main catalysts for Caballe's anger is unprofessionalism on one's part. However, seeing the real fright on their faces, the singer may apologize.
The singer's anger is offset by humor. Once, during her performance at the theater on the Champs Elysees, she suddenly fell silent, after which she went to the forefront, leaned over to one of the spectators and asked: "Is everything all right? Can we continue?" Then she explained to everyone else: "Sorry, but here one monsieur in the front row recorded me on a tape recorder, but he ran out of tape while he was changing it, I decided to stop for a minute."
That's how different she is. The woman who says, "You don't have to give up anything in life. Life is the best university in the world."
The date of birth of Maria de Montserrat Viviana Concepción Caballe y Falk (singer's full name) is April 12, 1933. Montserrat's father was a simple worker at a chemical fertilizer plant, and my mother did not have a permanent job at all, and she was forced to earn extra money for a penny salary.
When little Montserrat went to school, the children immediately disliked her for her silent and secretive nature, besides, they laughed at her because she constantly went to class in one modest dress. The Caballe family already lived on the verge of poverty, and then my father had to leave his job due to a serious illness. However, no domestic difficulties not only did not frighten Montserrat, but on the contrary, they tempered her character. In order to somehow help the family, the girl went to work in a handkerchief factory.
Montserrat's acquaintance with operatic art happened when she was only seven years old. The little girl was so amazed by what she heard and saw that she sobbed bitterly over the fatal fate of Madame Butterfly all the way back from the theater. Little Montserrat really liked the opera: while listening to an old gramophone record, she learned the aria of the main character, and, being a seven-year-old child, she swore that she would definitely become a rich and famous opera singer.
And, a few years later, fate smiled at Montserrat, introducing into her life spouses-philanthropists Beltran Mata, who help young talents. It was thanks to them that the girl got into the famous Liceo Conservatory in Barcelona, to the Hungarian teacher Eugenia Kemmeni, who turned a rare nugget into a priceless diamond. By the way, even now the great Montserrat Caballe begins her day with special breathing exercises, once developed by her teacher Kemmeni.
The path to the opera
Montserrat studied at the Barcelona Philharmonic Drama Lyceum for 12 years and graduated with honors in 1954. Patrons of Beltran Mata advised the future singer to start her career in Italy: they paid all travel expenses and provided her with a letter of recommendation to the famous opera singer Raimundo Torres, who, in turn, recommended Montserrat to the director of the Florentine Maggio Fiorentino theater - Sicilyani. After the audition, Siciliani accepted Caballe into his theater.
The first performance at the Maggio Fiorentino theater in Montserrat brought her another success in the person of the director of the Basel Opera House, who came to the performance - he was so fascinated by the voice of the debutante that he offered her a contract for three years.
Montserrat accepted the offer and left for Switzerland. The date of the singer's professional debut is November 17, 1956, when she performed the part of Mimi in Giacomo Puccini's opera La bohème on the stage of the Basel Theater. The success was amazing!
When in 1959 Caballe was already working at the Opera House in Bremen, she received an invitation to perform at her native Barcelona Lyceum. Montserrat gladly agreed and captivated the audience with the part of Arabella Strauss.
The singer received international fame in 1965, and quite unexpectedly. She was offered to perform in New York at Carnegie Hall instead of the ill American singer Marilyn Horne with the part of Lucrezia Borgia.
The American public, spoiled by the performances of real opera stars, listened to Montserrat's first aria with bated breath, after which they burst into a 20-minute ovation. In the morning, the front pages of all the newspapers were devoted to the incredible performance of the Spanish singer - it was a ticket to world recognition.
From that day on, the theatrical fate of Caballe was a foregone conclusion: all her performances on the most famous stages of the capitals of the world were a resounding success. Wherever she performed: in the Great Hall of Columns of the Kremlin, and in the White House in Washington, and in the New York Auditorium of the UN General Assembly, and in the Hall of the People in Beijing, and in many other famous places.
In 1974, Montserrat Caballe received the status of Honorary Ambassador of the United Nations and Goodwill Ambassador of UNESCO.
Life of Montserrat outside the scene
Being a true Catholic, the opera diva always put her family first. In 1964, she became the wife of Bernab Marti, who at that time was a fairly well-known opera singer, and for decades Montserrat has been happily married. The singer has two, now adult children - the son of Bernabe Marty and the daughter of Montserrat Marty, who also chose the career of an opera singer.
Montserrat Caballe is an excellent driver, loves swimming and walking. Another old hobby of the singer, which has grown into a real passion, is painting. According to Montserrat herself, at first she painted in watercolor, then in pencil, and as she acquired skill, she even dared to paint in oils. And although the singer herself calls her works "naive painting", nevertheless, she owns a brush no worse than her magical voice.
Majestic Montserrat learned to "get along" with her solid physique. Once she received a serious head injury in an accident, as a result of which the part of the brain responsible for the normal metabolism in the body atrophied, therefore, no matter how little the singer eats, she cannot lose weight. The same accident tempered the will of Montserrat: even being chained in plaster, on crutches, the singer continued to perform.
Caballe has a wide and not indifferent soul to someone else's grief - an opera star quite often gives charity concerts on various "non-prestigious" stages. Despite world fame, the singer is convinced that the main thing is not the hall in which she performs, but the people for whom she sings.
Faith in God considers Montserrat Caballe the basis of his work. This faith helps her to be above all behind-the-scenes passions and intrigues, to be wise and strong, and to serve people, giving them her magical voice and her talent.
Freddie Mercury & Montserrat Caballe
