Montserrat Caballé

Montserrat Concepción Bibiana Caballé Folch (Barcelona, 12 April 1933) is a Spanish Catalan operatic soprano. One of the greatest sopranos of the 20th century, she possesses a voice of remarkable beauty and of great range and flexibility, renowned for her flawless bel canto technique and unfailling musicianship. She is particularly admired for her interpretations of the works of Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti and Verdi. Caballé was born in Barcelona... more

Montserrat Concepción Bibiana Caballé Folch (Barcelona, 12 April 1933) is a Spanish Catalan operatic soprano. One of the greatest sopranos of the 20th century, she possesses a voice of remarkable beauty and of great range and flexibility, renowned for her flawless bel canto technique and unfailling musicianship. She is particularly admired for her interpretations of the works of Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti and Verdi. Caballé was born in Barcelona and studied music at the Liceu Conservatory and singing technique under Napoleone Annovazzi, Eugenia Kemény and Conchita Badía. She graduated with the gold medal in 1954. Her first steps were rather modest, until she moved to Basel, Switzerland, where she made her professional debut in 1956, as Mimì in La bohème and became part of the Basel Opera company between 1957 and 1959, covering a repertoire that included Mozart (Erste Dame in The Magic Flute) and Strauss (Salome), unusual for Spanish divas, and all sung in German, but which was very... less