BARCELONA, Spain (AP) – Montserrat Caballe, a Spanish opera singer known for her bel canto technique and her portrayals of Rossini, Bellini and Donizetti, has passed away. She was 85 years old.

Caballe died Saturday at Barcelona's San Pau Hospital, hospital spokesman Abraham del Moral told The Associated Press. The Caballe family has asked that the cause of death not be released, said del Moral, adding that she had been in the hospital since September.

Spanish media reported that Caballe had entered the hospital last month because of a gall bladder problem.

Condolences from the world of the opera and the highest Spanish authorities have flocked.

King Felipe VI tweeted that Caballe was "the great lady of opera, legend of universal culture, the best of the best" and that "her personality and unmatched voice will accompany us forever". Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said that a "great ambassador of our country is dead".

For tenor José Carreras, the opera lost its "best soprano" with the death of Caballe.

"Of all the sopranos I've heard live, I've never heard anyone like Montserrat," Carreras told Radio Catalunya.

Carreras praised her "versatility", claiming that she "could do anything from the purest bel canto to Wagner's Tristan und Isolde".

The Barcelona High School, where he has played more than 200 times, and the Venice Teatro La Fenice have also published tweets lamenting his loss. Madrid's Teatro Real said it would dedicate Saturday's performance of "Faust" to Caballe's memory, praising the "singular beauty of his voice" and his prodigious technique.

The Royal Opera Company of London stated that she was "saddened to learn" Caballe's death and that she "sang with us on several occasions between 1972 and 1992 and inspired millions of people during his career with his amazing voice ".

Born into a working class family in Barcelona, ​​Caballe soon unveiled her musical talents, singing Bach cantatas at the age of 7.

In her almost unlimited repertoire, she has performed in 90 opera roles with nearly 4,000 performances on stage. It is said that once, the opera singer Maria Callas answered "Only Caballe …" when she was asked once who she considered a worthy successor.

At the age of 8, Caballe entered the Liceo Conservatory of Barcelona with Eugenia Kenny, Conchita Badea and Napoleone Annovazzi among her first teachers. She gets the gold medal from her school in 1954. She then studies opera in Milan. In 1956 she joined the Basle Opera and played her first major role in the city's Staatstheater as Mimi in Puccini's "La Boheme".

Four years later she was lead singer at the Bremen Opera.

In 1964, Caballe gave a very laudatory rendition of Jules Masenet's "Manon" in Mexico City, but it was a year later in New York that a stroke of luck propelled him on the road to international fame.

On short notice, Caballe replaced the indisposed American soprano Marilyn Horne during a concert given at Donizetti's "Lucrezia Borgia" at Carnegie Hall in New York and was a resounding success. It has opened the doors to all the major opera houses of the world.

She produced a highly acclaimed performance as Elisabetta de Valois in a cast of stars of Verdi's "Don Carlo" at the Arena di Verona in 1969. The concert became famous for her "la" finale "ah" at the end. of the opera, which lasted more than 20 bars, made the audience thrilled.

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Caballe was also a famous narrator, including songs from her native Spain. She was particularly admired for her purity of voice, her vocal nuances and her exquisite pianissimos.

During a brief excursion into pop music, Caballe's "Barcelona" duet with Freddie Mercury, of the rock band Queen, 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 in the city.

Caballe performed the song live, accompanied by a recording of Mercury, during the 1999 UEFA Champions League football final at Camp Nou Stadium in Barcelona.

Queen's guitarist Brian May posted a message on Instagram, saying Caballe was "a source of inspiration for all of us, but especially for Freddie, your beautiful voice will be with us forever."

In 1997 she sang on two tracks from an album of the new age composer Vangelis.

In 2015, Caballe was convicted of tax evasion and sentenced to a six-month suspended sentence. It has avoided this sentence, as the first convictions involving sentences of less than two years in Spain may be suspended by a judge. She had not paid the Spanish Treasury more than 500,000 euros in taxes on her income.

Caballe, born Maria de Montserrat Viviana Concepcion Caballe i Folch, is dedicated to various charities and has been a goodwill ambassador of UNESCO. She has also created a foundation for needy children in Barcelona. In 1964, she married the Spanish tenor Bernabe Marti. They had two children, Bernabe Marti, Jr. and Montserrat Marti, herself a successful soprano.

The funeral of Caballe will take place Monday in Barcelona.

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