On Saturday morning, October 6, Spanish opera singer Montserrat Caballe died in San Pau hospital in Barcelona. She was 85 years old.

According to the publication El Pais, she has been treated since the beginning of September. It is noted that the funeral will be held in the capital of Catalonia on Monday, October 8.

Caballe began her professional career in 1956 after completing her studies at the Conservatory at the famous Liceu Theater in Barcelona. Until 1965, she performed at various European venues, particularly in Milan, Vienna and her native Barcelona. One of the first successes of this stage was the performance of the party Mimi in the opera “La Boheme”.

However, the opera singer gained world fame by moving overseas. In 1965, Caballe replaced the American Marilyn Horn in the part of Lucrezia Borgia in the eponymous opera. The performance took place in the famous Carnegie Hall concert hall in New York. Kaballe conquered the audience - a foreign actress was applauded for almost half an hour.

In the same year, she performed at the Glyndebourne festival with the operas Cavalier of the Rose and The Marriage of Figaro, and also debuted at the Metropolitan Opera.

Later, Caballe sang not only on such generally recognized opera houses as the Vienna State Opera, La Scala in Milan, Royal Theater Covent Garden, Opera Garnier in Paris, but also in the Kremlin, in the White House and in the Hall of the People in Beijing.

In addition, she successfully performed with rock musicians - with Freddie Mercury and the band Gotthard from Switzerland. Together with vocalist Queen Caballe even released a joint album, and his main composition Barcelona became the anthem of the Olympic Games in the capital of Catalonia.

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In the career of Montserrat Caballe was a total of about 4,000 performances. She performed over 120 operatic roles and released over 100 CDs. She has a wide variety of international awards, including Grammy. She was awarded with awards and titles in different countries, including the Russian Order of Friendship.

Four months ago, Caballe visited Moscow with the only Russian concert as part of a tour dedicated to her 85th birthday. On June 6, her daughter Montserrat Marty, granddaughter Daniela and many young artists also performed on the stage of the State Kremlin Palace.

“I do not consider myself to be either a legend of the opera, nor the last diva, as journalists sometimes say. Each era has its own divas, and in my case the only thing I could do is do my job well, at the highest level, ”she said in 2014.

"Breakthrough in space"

Montserrat Caballe was a great singer and actress. About this RT stated her student Elena Makarova, daughter of Elena Obraztsova.

“This is an era that, I think, will be taught by many more generations, because, unlike some modern singers, she sang not only with her voice, but also with her heart and soul. Kaballe gave a lot to people. She was a completely amazing person with a great sense of humor, ”she said.

According to her, Caballe was very courageous, quickly returning to the stage after operations. “Behind the scenes she could cry in pain, but she still went out, smiled, and gave people all the joy at which they came to concerts,” explained Makarova.

She noted that Caballe was “a very strict teacher,” but this helped her achieve results from her students.

“She took with her a very large piece of my life, and I think, along with her, a huge layer of the culture of this world left,” the singer concluded.

Montserrat Caballe, her voice and tenderness will remain with us forever. This was stated by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez. “The sad news. The great ambassador of our country, an internationally recognized opera soprano, has died, ”he wrote on Twitter.

In the Spanish royal house, Caballe was called "the best among the best."

“The great lord of opera, a legend of world culture, the best among the best and capable of discovering new spaces of creativity with the greatest. Her unique personality and incomparable voice will always be with us. We are very sorry for the loss, ”the report says.

As opera singer José Carreras noticed on the air of Catalunya Radio, Caballe was “a very cheerful woman” and “a unique actress”.

Russian pianist Denis Matsuev, in a conversation with RT, called the death of Montserrat Caballe a loss for all art.

“Less and less remains div not only in opera music, but in general in culture and in art. The creative fate of Caballe is not only outstanding opera productions. For me, for example, the support of young talents is no less important, because it revealed many and helped many. On my way, fortunately, there were people on a global scale in different professions. And I can say: the higher the person, the more talented and genius, the easier it is to communicate. We talked with her repeatedly, and it was always easy. It seemed that we had known each other for many years, ”he said.

People's Artist of Russia expressed his admiration for the duet Caballe and Mercury.

“It was a breakthrough in space. And still, in my opinion, in the combination of classical and rock music, no one has come close to this level. I always remember their Barcelona, ​​because these are two unique voices, personalities, temperament. This is an absolute classic. I listened to her a hundred times, and this is brilliant. This is a huge loss for all art, ”he concluded.

Representatives of the opera houses, where the opera singer performed, the Liceu theater in Barcelona, ​​the Royal Opera in London, the La Fenice theater in Venice, also expressed their condolences.

The Spanish Royal Theater will dedicate the play "Faust", which will be held on Saturday evening, in memory of the legendary singer.

“Montserrat Caballe’s amazing artistic career is one of the most brilliant global opera performances in history. The unusual beauty of her voice, expression, the richest palette of her timbre, amazing technique, expressiveness of the refined line of singing, incredible dramatic plasticity of vocal interpretations associated with the desire to explore unknown or forgotten works put her name in the gallery of the greatest singers of the second half of the 20th century, ”says in a statement of the theater.