Montserrat Caballé Biography

Fast Facts

• Is a Goodwill Ambassador for UNESCO and started a foundation for underprivileged children in Barcelona
• Attended the Conservatorio del Liceo in Barcelona and studied with singers like Eugenia Kenny, Napoleone Annovazzi, and Conchita Badía
• Made her operatic debut as Mimi in Puccini's "La Bohème" in Basel, Switzerland in 1956
• Her big break came when she substituted for Marilyn Horne in Donizetti's "Lucrezia Borgia" at Carnegie Hall in 1965
• Quote: "I am not now nor have I ever been a diva․․․I am only Montserrat!"
• Sang in a bel canto soprano and specialized in performing Rossini, Bellini, and Donizetti, although she experimented with other musical styles
• Best known as an opera singer who sang with Queen's Freddie Mercury on the song "Barcelona․"
• Her best known performance is "Vissi d'Arte" from Puccini's "Tosca," although her favorite was a performance of "Norma" in 1974
• Offered master classes in singing called The Architecture of Sound and held a singing competition in 2013