Montserrat Caballe, La Superba Of The Opera

The Spanish soprano Montserrat Caballe was one of the leading lyric singers of the 20th century. 1965 was her lucky year to launch her into the international opera scene, when she replaced another vocalist in the difficult role of Lucretia Borgia, at Donizetti's opera of the same name in New York. She performed a wide range of roles, but was best known for Verdi's work, but also for the bel canto repertoire she dealt with, with the most characteristic works of Rossini, Bellini and Donizetti.

Montserrat Caballé or La Superba was known to have a personality that one could not ignore. The woman with the warm voice gave unique moments to her audience and sang in the biggest operas of the world. She has given over 4,000 memorable performances in a wide range of increduble roles, including those in "Norma", "Madama Butterfly", "Turando" and "Tosca".

She was born in Catalonia in a poor family, studied piano and vocals from the age of 6 and was admitted to the Higher Conservatory of Music at this age, where she was taught by Napoleon Anovaci, Eugenia Kemenia and Kemeni. She graduated in 1953 and went to Italy, where she began her career with a few supporting roles, which skyrocketed after her successful appearance as Mimi in Giacomo Puccini's "La Bohem" at the Swiss State Opera.

In 2003 she starred in the documentary Caballé Beyond Music, which featured many popular opera singers. In Greece, her last appearance was on September 17, 2012 at the Herodium with the National Symphony Orchestra of ERT, while in the past she collaborated with the great Vangelis Papathanassiou on the album El Greco about the great Greek painter.

Cabaye died on October 6, 2018 at the age of 85, after being in hospital for a month at the Sant Pau Hospital in Barcelona.