Montserrat Caballe is the most famous Spanish opera singer, the greatest soprano of our time. Today, even people who are far from opera art know her name. The widest range of voice, unsurpassed skill and bright temperament of the diva conquered the main stages of the world's leading theaters. She is the winner of various awards. He is the Ambassador of Peace, Goodwill Ambassador of UNESCO.
Childhood and youth
On April 12, 1933, a girl was born in Barcelona, who was given the name Montserrat Caballe. You can hardly pronounce her full name without training - Maria de Montserrat Viviana Concepción Caballe y Folk. Her parents named her so in honor of the sacred mountain of St. Mary of Montserrat.
In the future, she was destined to become the greatest opera singer, who was given the unofficial status of "Unsurpassed". The baby was born into a poor family of a chemical plant worker and a housekeeper. The mother of the future singer was forced to earn extra money where she had to. Montserrat from childhood was not indifferent to music, she listened to opera arias on records for hours. At the age of 12, the girl entered the Lyceum of Barcelona, where she studied until her 24th birthday.
Since the family was bad with money, Montserrat helped her parents, working first in a weaving factory, then in a store and in a sewing workshop. In parallel with getting an education and additional earnings, the girl took French and Italian lessons.
She studied for 4 years at the Liceo Conservatory in the class of Eugenia Kemmeni. Hungarian by nationality, former swimming champion, singer, Kemmeni developed her own breathing system, the basis of which was the strengthening of the muscles of the torso and diaphragm. Until now, Montserrat uses the breathing exercises of his teacher and her chants.
Music
Having received the highest score in the final exams, the girl begins her professional career. The patronage of the famous philanthropist Beltran Mat helped the young girl to get into the troupe of the Basel Opera House. The debut of the young Montserrat was the performance of the main role in the opera La bohème.
The young artist began to be invited to opera companies in other European cities: Milan, Vienna, Lisbon, native Barcelona. Montserrat masters the musical language of romantic, classical and baroque operas. But she especially succeeds in parts from the works of Bellini and Donizetti, in which all the power and beauty of her voice is revealed.
Montserrat Caballe - "Ave Maria"By 1965, the Spanish singer was already known outside her homeland, but world success came to her after her performance in the American opera Carnegie Hall, when Montserrat Caballe had to replace another star of the classical stage, Marilyn Horne.
After the performance, the audience did not let the main character of the evening leave the stage for about half an hour. It is noteworthy that just this year the solo career of the opera diva ended. Thus, the predecessor, as it were, handed over the palm to Montserrat Caballe, as the best soprano in the world.
The next peak in the singer's creative biography was her role in Bellini's opera Norma. This part appeared in Montserrat's repertoire in 1970. The premiere of the performance took place at the La Scala Theater, and four years later the Italian team came on tour to Moscow. For the first time, Soviet listeners could enjoy the sound of the voice of a talented Spaniard, who shone so much in the aria "Norma". In addition, the singer performed on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera in the leading parts of the operas Il trovatore, La traviata, Othello, Louise Miller, Aida.
During his career, Montserrat Caballe managed to collaborate with orchestras of such stellar conductors as Leonard Bernstein, Herbert von Karajan, Georg Solti, Zubin Meta, James Levine. Her stage partners were the best tenors in the world:, and. Montserrat was friendly with and Marilyn Horne.
In addition to the leading opera stages of the world, the Spaniard has performed in the Great Hall of Columns of the Kremlin, the White House in the United States, in the UN Auditorium and even in the Hall of the People, which is located in the capital of China. Throughout her creative life, the great artist has sung in more than 120 operas, hundreds of discs have been released with her participation. In 1976, at the 18th Grammy Awards, Caballe was awarded the Best Classical Vocal Solo Performance Award.
Montserrat Caballe captivates not only the art of opera. She tries herself in other projects. For the first time, the opera diva performed with a rock star, the leader of a musical group, in the late 80s. Together they recorded songs for the album "Barcelona".
Freddie Mercury and Montserrat Caballe - BarcelonaThe composition of the same name was performed by the famous duet at the 1992 Olympic Games, which were held in Catalonia. The hit broke all world chart records and became the anthem not only of the Olympics, but of the entire autonomous community of Spain.
At the end of the 90s, Montserrat Caballe recorded with the rock band Gotthard from Switzerland, and also gave a joint performance with an Italian pop singer in Milan. In addition, the singer is experimenting with electronic music: a woman is recording compositions with the author from Greece Vangelis, who is one of the creators of the new New Age style.
Montserrat Caballe and Nikolai Baskov Among the fans of the opera singer, the song-ballad "Hijodelaluna" ("Child of the Moon"), which was first performed by the group from Spain "Mecano", gained considerable popularity. Montserrat once noted the Russian artist. She recognized a great singer in the young tenor and offered him vocal lessons. Subsequently, Montserrat and the Basques sang together a duet from the musical The Phantom of the Opera and the famous opera Ave Maria.
Personal life
At 31, Montserrat Caballe married a colleague, operatic baritone Bernabe Marty. They met when Marty was asked to replace a sick performer in Madama Butterfly. There is a kissing scene in this opera. And then Marty kissed Montserrat so sensually and passionately that the woman almost fainted right on the stage. The singer no longer hoped to meet love and get married.
After the wedding, together with her husband, they sang on the same stage more than once. But after a few years, Marty decided to leave the stage. Some said that he was diagnosed with heart problems, others - that, being in the shadow of Caballe's popularity, he decided to devote himself to his family. One way or another, loving spouses kept the marriage throughout their lives. Shortly after the wedding, Montserrat gave her beloved two children: a son, Bernabe, and a daughter, Montserrat.
The girl decided to connect her life with singing, like her parents. To date, she is one of the best vocalists in Spain. In the late 90s, mother and daughter performed in the joint program “Two Voices, One Heart”, which opened the next opera season in Europe.
Montserrat Caballe with her daughter Neither the popularity of Montserrat nor her excess weight, which began to increase rapidly after a car accident, prevented the happiness of Caballe and Marty. She got into a car accident at a young age, after a head injury in her brain, the receptors that are responsible for lipid metabolism turned off. In an interview, the opera diva explained this as follows - when she drinks a glass of water, the body reacts to it as if she had eaten a piece of cake.
With a height of 161 cm, Montserrat Caballe began to weigh more than 100 kg, her figure eventually began to look disproportionate, but the brilliant singer managed to hide this flaw with the help of a special cut of clothes. In addition, Montserrat tries to stick to specific diets, and from time to time she manages to lose those extra pounds. The woman has long given up alcohol, for the most part in her diet - fruits, vegetables, herbs and grains.
Montserrat Caballe and Katerina Osadchaya The singer had problems and more serious than being overweight. Back in 1992, at a concert in New York, she became ill, she was hospitalized, and doctors diagnosed Montserrat with a disappointing diagnosis - cancer. They insisted on an urgent operation, but her friend Luciano Pavarotti advised her not to rush, but to contact the Swiss doctor who treated his daughter.
In the end, no surgery was needed. After some time, Caballe felt better, but decided to limit herself to solo concert activity, as she was very worried and worried on the opera stage, and the doctors advised her to avoid stress.
Montserrat Caballe with family On the eve of the new year 2016, a scandal erupted around the name of the singer Montserrat Caballe. The tax authorities of Spain have accused the opera diva of hiding part of the taxes since 2010. To do this, Caballe has for several years indicated the state of Andorra as the place of residence.
For non-payment of taxes, the court sentenced the 82-year-old vocalist to a term of 6 months and a fine. But this measure was applied conditionally in connection with Montserrat's disease. At the age of 80, the singer suffered a stroke, which greatly undermined her health.
By the beginning of 2017, the conflict between the authorities and Caballe had already been settled.
Montserrat Caballe now
In 2018, the opera diva celebrated her 85th birthday. Despite her age, she continues to perform. In June, the singer came to Moscow to give a concert at the Kremlin Palace. And the day before, she came to visit the Evening Urgant program, where she talked about the upcoming performance.
The concert turned out to be a family one, together with her daughter Montserrat Marti and granddaughter Daniela came out. Of the 16 numbers, the opera singer performed only 7. The prima spent the entire concert in a wheelchair. Recently, Caballe has had problems with her legs, it is difficult for her to walk.
On October 6, 2018, it became known about the singer. She died in Barcelona, in the hospital where she was due to problems with the bladder.
parties
- Part of Mimi in the opera La bohème by D. Puccini
- Part of Lucrezia Borgia in the opera of the same name by G. Donizetti
- Part of Norma in the opera of the same name by V. Bellini
- Pamina in The Magic Flute by W. Mozart
- Marina's part in "Boris Godunov" by M. Mussorgsky
- Tatyana's part in "Eugene Onegin" by P. Tchaikovsky
- Part of Manon in the opera of the same name by J. Massenet
- Part of Turandot in the opera of the same name by D. Puccini
- Part of Isolde in "Tristan and Isolde" by R. Wagner
- Part of Ariadne in "Ariadne auf Naxos" by R. Strauss
- Part of Salome in the opera of the same name by R. Strauss
- Part of Tosca in the opera of the same name by G. Puccini
Opera singer Montserrat Caballe has died in Barcelona at the age of 86. Fame brought her roles in classical operas by Bellini, Donizetti and Rossini. Experts considered her technique of singing bel canto to be unique. She is also known to the general public for her duet with the leader of the Queen group, Freddie Mercury - they recorded the hit song Barselona, which was supposed to be performed at the opening of the 92 Olympics. About the creative path of the singer - in the RBC photo gallery.
Montserrat Caballé was born in 1933 in Barcelona. In 1954, she graduated with honors from the Philharmonic Drama Lyceum of Barcelona. At the beginning of her career, she worked in the opera houses of Basel and Bremen, performed in the theaters of Lisbon, Milan and Barcelona.
In 1965, she replaced the suddenly ill Marilyn Horne (pictured left) at New York's Carnegie Hall, performing the title role in the opera Lucrezia Borgia by Gaetano Donizetti, known for its complexity. The performance brought Caballe international recognition. The American mezzo-soprano called Caballe the next day with congratulations: “You sang and showed such Lucrezia that I would never sing!”
Montserrat Caballe on the stage of the Bolshoi Theater
In 1974, Caballe performed with the La Scala troupe in Moscow, performing the role of Norma from the opera of the same name by Vincenzo Bellini. Sharing her impressions of her first performance in the Russian capital, she said: “I never thought that the Bolshoi is such a wonderful theater, absolutely unique, there are no others like it in the world. The acoustics are perfect. You can sing very quietly, and you can be heard in the very last rows. Since then, the singer has repeatedly visited Russia
In 1987, the artist, together with the leader of the Queen group Freddie Mercury (pictured), recorded the song Barcelona, which a year later was included in the duo's self-titled album. “If I was crazy about the Beatles in my youth, then why not sing with Mercury now? ..” — said Caballe. The artists were supposed to perform the song at the opening of the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, but the lead singer of Queen died in November 1991, and the prima donna refused to perform the hit with anyone else.
From left to right: Frank Sinatra, Diana Ross, Luciano Pavarotti and Montserrat Caballe
In 1992, the singer's health deteriorated, she was diagnosed with cancer. After undergoing therapy, Caballe managed to avoid surgery, but she had to leave the opera stage, because doctors advised her to avoid stress. Nevertheless, the singer continued to give recitals, and in 2002 she returned to opera, performing in her native Barcelona on the 40th anniversary of her debut at the Liceo Theater.
Montserrat Caballe and her daughter Montserrat Marti
In 1964, Caballe married the Italian operatic baritone Bernabé Marti. Together they sang in several operas until the singer's husband left the stage. The couple had two children: a son, Bernabe, and a daughter, Montserrat, who also became an opera singer. They performed together with Caballe more than once
The singer was actively involved in charity work, since 1994 she has been a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador. In 2012, she was going to give a charity concert in Yekaterinburg, but on the night before the performance she lost consciousness and fell. In one of the clinics in Yekaterinburg, she was diagnosed with a microstroke and a fracture of the humerus. She continued her treatment in Spain.
In 2013, before a concert in Yerevan, Caballe visited Nagorno-Karabakh, a disputed territory that official Baku considers to be occupied by Armenia. As a result, the singer is persona non grata in Azerbaijan
In September 2018, the media reported that the singer was undergoing treatment in a hospital in Barcelona. On October 6, she died at the age of 85. The funeral is scheduled for October 8th.
The name Montserrat Caballe was heard even by those people who have nothing to do with opera. This greatest woman captivated an audience of millions with her lyric-coloratura soprano and excellent command of the bel canto technique.
It is unlikely that at least one of the new prima donnas is able to compete with Montserrat with the vastness of the repertoire and the number of concerts. The combination of lightness, smiling, femininity, kindness, confidence and calmness allow Caballe to be called the ideal of a woman ..
Opera diva Montserrat Caballe
Biography
The biography of Montserrat Caballé dates back to 1933. The date of birth of the opera diva is April 12.
Childhood, youth
A girl was born in poverty. The Montserrat Caballe family barely made ends meet. My father was engaged in the production of chemical fertilizers, and my mother worked as a housekeeper. At school, the girl was not loved for her aloofness and silence. In addition, due to poverty, Montserrat always came to class in the same dress. The children laughed at her. This greatly offended Caballe. On top of that, after the birth of his brother, Pope Montserrat became very ill.
Start of Montserrat Caballe
For the first time the girl heard opera at the age of seven. She remembered this experience for the rest of her life. Montserrat was so shocked by the death of Madame Butterfly that she wept all the way from home.
The girl decided to learn the aria by heart and did it. And in 1940, at Christmas, she performed it in front of the whole family.
Legendary opera singer
A panicky lack of money forced Montserrat to work at a handkerchief factory at a young age. Probably, Caballe would have continued to work in this area, but then the Bertrand family arrived in their city, which was looking for young talents. After listening, no one had any doubts that Montserrat is a real star of the opera.
Studies
The Bertrands helped the girl enter the Liceo Conservatory in Barcelona. Supervised the future diva Eugenia Kemmeni. It was she who managed to put the voice of a novice performer. Thanks to Eugenia, Montserrat maintained the strength and purity of her voice for 40 years. In addition, Kemenni revealed to Caballe all the secrets of vocal mastery. She taught her a special breathing technique that the singer always used in her concerts.
Montserrat in his youth
All expenses and financial concerns were taken over by the Bertrand spouses. In addition, they took care of the education of their younger brother Montserrat Carlos, found a good job for her father. All this, in their opinion, was to pay off when Caballe reached fame and performed in concerts at the Gren Teatro del Liceo, which they owned.
Career
In 1965, the biography of Montserrat Caballe was replenished with another bright moment. On 17 November she sang Mimi in La bohème by Giacomo Puccini. The action took place on the stage of the Basel Theater. This performance became crucial for the aspiring singer and opened her way to the world stage.
In 1965, the singer is already known outside her homeland, in particular, in Vienna, Milan, Lisbon.
However, world success came to the singer only in 1966. Montserrat was then offered to replace the famous Marilyn Horne in the Carnegie Hall opera.
Montserrat Caballe
After the performance, the audience applauded Caballe standing up. After the performance, the audience did not let the singer out of the hall for about half an hour.
The next fateful performance was participation in the opera "Norma" by Bellini. 4 years after the premiere of the play, the team led by Moserrat Caballe came on tour to Moscow.
The singer performed on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera in arias:
- "Othello";
- "Aida";
- "Troubadour";
- "Trivia";
- "Louise Miller".
Montserrat collaborated with stellar orchestras led by:
- James Livian;
- Herbert von Karajan;
- Georg Solti;
- Leonard Bernstein;
- Zubin Meta.
In duet Caballe performed with Freddie Mercury, Placido Domingo, Luciano Povorotti, Marilyn Horn and Elena Obraztsova.
The singer's repertoire includes 130 opera performances. Throughout her creative career, she has released more than a hundred records, was awarded the Grammy Award for the best performance of a vocal classical solo.
The opera diva also performed in a duet with Freddie Mercury. With the soloist of the Queen group, she recorded 2 songs for his album Barcelona.
Caballe and Freddie Mercury
In addition, Montserrat taught vocals and sang together with Nikolai Baskov. They performed a composition taken from The Phantom of the Opera, Ave Maria.
Opera diva with Nikolai Baskov
Personal life
The personal life of the singer is not as bright as her performance. She gave all her love to one single person and gave birth to two wonderful ones.
Wedding of Montserrat Caballe
Family
Montserrat met her future husband at the play Madama Butterfly. As it turned out, this performance was twice fatal for the opera diva. At the performance, the man clung to her lips so passionately that he could not tear himself away. The kiss lasted a very long time. Caballe immediately fell in love with a young man.
Montserrat Caballe with her husband
Barnabe later proposed to her. After a few years, Marty gave up his career. The man preferred the stage to his family. For about 50 years, the couple lived in perfect harmony.
Husband
The husband of the singer Marty Barnabe is a big and significant chapter in the biography of Montserrat Caballe. The singer became known to the general public in the middle of the 20th century. Marty is 5 years older than Caballe. The marriage took place on Mount Montserrat.
Husband of singer Marty Barnabe
The love and happiness of the couple was not prevented by either the glory of Caballe or her rapidly gaining, the cause of which was the accident. After that, the receptors responsible for lipid metabolism were switched off in the singer's brain. With a height of 161 cm, Caballe weighed 100 kg.
Children
In marriage, the couple had a daughter, Montserrat (in the photo she is very similar to her mother). The second child in the family was Bernabe. The biography of Montserrat Caballe and her daughters are somewhat similar, because the girl followed in the footsteps of her star mother and is already one of the best Spanish performers.
Montserrat Caballe with son and husband
News 2019
Unfortunately, Montserrat Caballe is no longer with us. She died on October 6 in the morning. The cause of death is still unknown. However, the journalists managed to find out that at the end of September the singer was hospitalized due to problems with the bladder.
The funeral of the opera diva is scheduled for Monday.
It is noteworthy that the singer several years ago underwent surgery to remove a cancerous tumor on the brain. The intervention went well. However, the singer had to re-learn how to walk, speak and sing.
Maria de Montserrat Viviana Concepción Caballe i Folk is a world-famous Spanish opera singer, professional vocal teacher, mother of two children
Date of Birth: April 12, 1933
Place of Birth: Barcelona, Spain
Zodiac sign: Aries
“Music is magic. Anyone who is lucky enough to live with her experiences something unusual. When you hear a melody for the first time, work on the image, sit down at the piano and start playing, you suddenly feel that the music penetrates the blood, passes through the whole body. It's not just a momentary flash. Enjoying music is the best thing in life."
Biography of Montserrat Caballe
The city where the famous singer was born is Barcelona. Father often took little Montserrat for walks along the seashore. The sea is their common passion. She had wonderful parents who taught her and her brother to survive in difficult conditions.
In the house of the worker and day worker - the parents of Montserrat, music always sounded. And little Montserrat also sang at Christmas parties arias from the opera Madama Butterfly by Giacomo Puccini, which she had heard many times. She sang without words or repeated one line: "On a clear day, desired, desired, desired." It was then that she realized that she wanted to make music.
Caballe was a student at the Liceu Theater in Barcelona. For the first eight months, she and the other students were only engaged in physical education - the teacher wanted to develop them physically and musically so that they could easily produce sound.
In difficult times, when there was not enough money, Caballe found a job that she had never done before - she had to cut fabric for scarves. People worked with her who gave her all kinds of support, because they were very sorry. She had to quit her studies due to a difficult financial situation, but she continued to work. However, Mata's family of patrons came to the aid of the talented girl, and Caballe graduated in 1954.
She was 23 years old (in 1956) when she first appeared on the stage of the opera house in Switzerland, in Basel. Her whole family moved there from Barcelona. Colleagues helped her in everything, the theater had a strong, friendly team. For example, since Caballe did not know German, the staff translated the role for her into Spanish.
Then she went to the musical heart of Europe - to Germany. At the Bremen Opera, she was offered a role, she began rehearsing Giuseppe Verdi's operas La Traviata and Il trovatore. It was a new school. Caballe learned a large repertoire during this period and received a base not only technically, but also musically. True, at that time she was thinking about leaving the profession, but her brother Carlos convinced her. By the way, it was Carlos Caballe who discovered Jose Carreras to the world.
Caballe returned to the stage of her native Liceo theater in Barcelona only in 1962 with Strauss' Arabela.
The world learned about Caballe in 1965 when she replaced the American singer Marilyn Horne as Lucrezia Borgia in Gaetano Donizetti's opera of the same name. Horn was pregnant, so the leadership of Carnegie Hall decided to invite Caballe. Her performance delighted the audience so much that Caballe was not allowed to leave the stage for 20 minutes and applauded the diva. Horn herself recalled this triumph:
“It was one of the most brilliant successes. She took New York by storm! Not everyone can do it, especially in this country.”
In 1965, Caballe was invited to sing the part of Marguerite in Faust. On this stage, Carnegie Hall Montserrat performed more than once until 1988.
On January 24, 1970, the singer made her debut at the La Scala theater, in the already familiar part of Lucrezia Borgia. In subsequent years, she performed at the La Scala Theater Mary Stuart, Norma, Louise Miller, Anne Boleyn.
Spanish opera singer Placido Domingo about Montserrat Caballe:
“I saw the performance of Montserrat at La Scala. It was an unforgettable "Norma", which went down in the history of this theater. I saw the reaction of the public after the aria "Casta Diva". This happened not only at Norma, but also at other performances: the audience gave a standing ovation for about 40 minutes after Norma's exit part.
“We worked together for several years and each time we made some kind of discovery. And everything around us was filled with magic.”
In 1972, the artistic director of the London Opera, Danny Davis, asked the singer to take part in the play Lucrezia Borgia. Most of Caballe's discs were recorded in London. She took part in several performances at once: these were the terms of the contract.
In 1987, a significant event took place that changed the attitude of the whole world towards classical opera music. It was a duet of two great people: opera singer Caballe and rock singer Freddie Mercury with the composition "Barcelona".
In November 2000, Caballe was invited to Moscow to participate in a charity concert-action of the World of Art Foundation "Stars of the World for Children".
Indian conductor Zubin Meta about Montserrat Caballe:
"Monserrat has set me and many other singers, such as Placido Domingo, the bar, the level that is very difficult to achieve."
Personal life
In 1964, Caballe became the wife of the Spanish opera singer Bernabe Marti, with whom she first kissed on stage in the opera Madama Butterfly. Montserrat later joked:
"I'm probably the only Madame Butterfly who ever married a Pinkerton."
"I will never forget the feeling of happiness that I experienced on my wedding day."
They were much more than husband and wife, they were friends and colleagues. Two years after the wedding, the son of Bernabe was born, and in 1972, the daughter of Montserrat.
Almost the entire life of the singer was devoted to work. My husband remembers the old days like this:
“I know how she was worried, how she wanted to be with the children for a while after work, but this is our profession: we must be the best in it.”
