What is Montserrat Caballé?
'''Montserrat Caballé''' (12 April 1933 &ndash; 6 October 2018) was a Spanish ([[Catalan people|Catalan]]) operatic [[soprano]]. She was one of the greatest [[opera]] singers of the 20th century. She possessed a voice of remarkable beauty and considerable power, range and agility enabling her to sing a wide variety of roles. After her sensational success as Donizetti's Lucrezia Borgia, she was particularly associated with the [[bel canto]] repertoire in which she was considered one of the finest modern exponents. ==Life and career== Caballé was born in [[Barcelona]], [[Spain]]. She studied at the Music Conservatory there and graduated in 1954 with a gold medal. She began her professional career in [[Basel]] in 1956 as Mimi in ''[[La bohème]]''. She then joined the [[Bremen]] Opera. She sang from 1959 to 1962 in a wide variety of roles. International recognition came in 1965, when she appeared in a concert performance of [[Donizetti]]'s ''Lucrezia Borgia'' at [[Carnegie Hall]] in [[New York City]] as a replacement for an indisposed Marilyn Horne. The performance won her great acclaim from the public and critics alike, and it made her an overnight sensation. Her success led to her first performance at the [[Metropolitan Opera]] that same year as Marguerite in [[Gounod]]'s ''[[Faust (opera)|Faust]]''. She was later invited to sing at most of the major opera houses and festivals of the world. She was especially admired in works by composers such as [[Rossini]], [[Donizetti]], [[Vincenzo Bellini|Bellini]] and [[Verdi]]. She revived a number of long-neglected works by these composers. In 1987, she duetted with [[Queen (band)|Queen]] frontman [[Freddie Mercury]] for the hit single ''Barcelona''. That single became a hit again in 1992 during the Olympics that were being held there. From 1964 until her death, she was married to tenor [[Bernabé Martí]]. They had two children. Caballé died on 6 October 2018 at the age of 85 from a [[gallbladder]] infection in [[Barcelona]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://elpais.com