Montserrat Caballé
Maria de Montserrat Viviana Concepción Caballé i Folc, better known as
Montserrat Caballé (born
April 12 1933), is a
Catalan Spanish operatic
soprano renowned for her
bel canto technique and her interpretations of the roles of
Rossini,
Bellini, and
Donizetti.
Caballé was born in
Barcelona.. After studying music at the
Liceu Conservatory and singing technique under Eugenia Kemmeny teaching, she was awarded with the gold medal; then she joined the
Basel Opera in 1956, where she made her professional operatic debut in
1957 as Mimì in
La Bohème. For the 1960–61 season, she was engaged by the
Bremen Opera, where she developed the foundations of her wide repertoire. In 1962 Caballé returned to
Barcelona and made her debut at the
Liceu singing the title-role in the Strauss'
Arabella.
Caballé's international breakthrough came in
1965 when she substituted for an indisposed
Marilyn Horne in a semi-staged performance of Donizetti's
Lucrezia Borgia at
New York's
Carnegie Hall. While she had to learn the role in less than one month, and considering this was her first engagement in a bel canto score, her performance created a sensation and made her famous throughout the opera world. The day after the New York Times quoted "
Callas +
Tebaldi = Caballé". Later that year, Caballé made her debut at
Glyndebourne singing her first Rosenkavalier and at the
Metropolitan Opera as Marguerite in
Gounod's
Faust. In December 1965 she also returned at Carnegie Hall for her second bel canto opera, singing the tremendous part of Queen Elizabeth I in Donizetti's recently rediscovered
Roberto Devereux, (first modern performance in 1964 at the
Teatro San Carlo in
Naples, starring
Leyla Gencer).In 1966 she made her debut at the
Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in
Trovatore (and
Pirata in 1967) and in 1969 she produced an astonishing performance as
Elisabetta of Valois in an all-star cast (including
Domingo and
Cappuccilli) at the
Arena di Verona; in these performances she had to act on crutches because an accident occurred earlier that year in New York City, and her la on the final "ah" at the very end of the opera has become famous, lasting for more than 20 bars up to the final accord from the orchestra, driving mad an audience of more than 10.000. In the same period she also appeared in one of the most remarkable recitals of her career at the Teatro Corallo, also in
Verona.
In 1970, she made her delayed "official"
La Scala debut in
Donizetti's
Lucrezia Borgia and in 1972 her
Covent Garden debut as Violetta in
Verdi's
La traviata.1974 was probably the year when Caballé reached her peak, with a number of astonishing performances:
Aida at Liceu in January,
Vespri at the
Met in March,
Parisina d'Este at Carnegie Hall in March, 3 Normas in one week at the
Bolshoi in
Moscow with La Scala,
Adriana Lecouvreur in April,
Norma in
Orange in July (her top single performance, filmed in video by Pierre Jourdain), the recording of
Aida under
Muti in July and the Duets recording with
Giuseppe di Stefano in August. In September she undertook severe surgery for sporting a huge but benign tumoral mass from her stomach. She recovered quite well and she was again on stage for Norma in early 1975.
Although best known for her bel canto roles, Caballé eventually sang over eighty operatic roles, from
baroque opera to Verdi,
Wagner, and
Puccini, including the Marschallin in
Richard Strauss's
Der Rosenkavalier and the title role in
Salome.
Caballé is also a noted recitalist, particularly of songs of her native
Spain.
Her voice is noted for its purity, precise control, and power. She is admired less for her dramatic instincts and acting skills than for her superb technique, vocal shadings, and exquisite
pianissimos.
The result of one of her brief excursions to the world of pop music, Caballé's duet with rock singer
Freddie Mercury,
Barcelona , was a hit single in
1987, accompanied by an
album of the same name. The title track later became the anthem of the
1992 Summer Olympics which was hosted by the city, and appeared again in the pop music charts throughout Europe. Caballé also performed the song live, accompanied by a recording of the deceased Mercury, before the
1999 UEFA Champions League football final in
Barcelona's
Nou Camp stadium.
Caballé has dedicated herself to various charities. She is a
UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador and she has established a foundation for needy children in
Barcelona.
Caballé does not appear to have retired from the stage. She continues to be busy creating new roles: in 2002,
Saint-Saëns's
Henry VIII; in 2004, she sang
Massenet's
Cléopâtre, both at the Liceu. At the age of 73 (2006), she still maintains a busy schedule of recitals and concerts, mainly in
Germany. She is due to appear as The Duchess of Crackenthorp in
La fille du régiment at the
Vienna State Opera in 2007.
Caballé married the tenor Bernabé Martí in 1964. Her daughter, Montserrat Martí, is also a singer and the two occasionally perform together.
*
Official Website (in English and German)
*
Montserrat Caballé fan site (Unofficial)*
Montserrat Caballé - in German
