Montserrat Caballé
Oh, the purity of Montserrat Caballé's vocal line! It can be found, miraculously, in even her oldest recordings, such as her splendid 1967 Traviata, recorded at Rome under the personal direction of Georges Prêtre. La Caballé was thirty-two when she set down this legendary version alongside one radiant Carlo Bergonzi and Sherill Milnes, who was just starting out. The softness of her timbre, her incarnation of the role, her sublime flights (the Addio del passato [CD 2 Track 11, if you are playing it from Qobuz] without the habitual cuts is exquisite). With the young Caballé, emotion comes from the breath and the simplicity of the line taken from the bel canto tradition. But her long career contains plenty of other surprises.
Born into a very modest and pious family in Barcelona (her Christian name comes from the famous Black Madonna of Montserrat, patron of Catalonia), she was quickly noticed within the town's Conservatoire, where her precocious talent stunned and delighted. It was in Basel, where she spent two long seasons as an understudy while waiting for her moment, that she took her chance one day, standing in for a colleague who had dropped out. And the rest, as they say, is history. La Caballé had success after success and played a huge range of roles. In 1965 her Lucrezia Borgia by Donizetti set New York's Carnegie Hall ablaze, when she suddenly replaced the great Marilyn Horne. Thanks to her attention to detail and her exceptional vocal technique, Montserrat Caballé sang on all the great stages of the world, playing princesses and queens with an unfailing success. Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti, Spontini, Verdi, Puccini, but also Mozart, Gounod and Massenet are her favourite composers, loved by the whole world. At the end of her career, she even broke into the Wagner repertoire.
When the fashion swung towards svelte singers, disincarnate and the same age as the characters they played, her imposing physique could have seen her relegated from the stage; but her vocal presence was more imposing still. Her discographic career is immense and covers her whole repertoire. Her voice began to transform in the early 1980s: Montserrat Caballé put the emphasis on the dramatic and theatrical side of her performances, and diversified her repertoire, no longer hesitating to throw herself into crossovers, in particular with Freddie Mercury. She also had a lot of fun on stage, playing a hilarious Madama Cortese, in Rossini's Journey to Reims, under the direction of Claudio Abbado, at the Festival de Pesaro, a performance which remains famous to this day.
Despite poor health that plagued her from childhood, and persistent stage fright which led her to cancel several billings, Montserrat Caballé nonetheless led one of the 20th Century's finest careers. She can be found, intact, in this record with little miracles like the recording of Turandot under the direction of Zubin Mehta, where she plays an extremely fragile and moving Liù. Norma, to be sure, but also this Giovanna d'Arco, a little-known work by Verdi under the electric direction of James Levine. Her title "Queen of bel canto" has yet to be usurped.
© FH / Qobuz
Artistas semelhantes
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Barcelona (Special Edition - Deluxe)
Freddie Mercury, Montserrat Caballé
Pop - Lançado por Emi em 01/01/1988
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Verdi : Aida
Plácido Domingo, Montserrat Caballé, Riccardo Muti, New Philharmonia Orchestra
Opera - Lançado por Warner Classics em 01/01/1974
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Barcelona (Special Edition - Deluxe)
Freddie Mercury, Montserrat Caballé
Pop - Lançado por EMI em 01/01/1988
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Diva Eterna
Classical - Lançado por Sony Classical - Sony Music em 04/10/2019
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Romantic Caballé
Classical - Lançado por RCA Red Seal em 29/03/2013
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Puccini: Turandot (Highlights)
Dame Joan Sutherland, Luciano Pavarotti, Montserrat Caballé, Nicolaï Ghiaurov, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Zubin Mehta
Classical - Lançado por Decca Music Group Ltd. em 01/01/1973
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bellini: I Puritani
Montserrat Caballé, Philharmonia Orchestra, Riccardo Muti
Classical - Lançado por Warner Classics em 10/10/1998
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Very Best of: Montserrat Caballe
Classical - Lançado por Warner Classics em 03/02/2003
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Così Fan Tutte (Complete Mozart Edition)
Montserrat Caballé, (Dame) Janet Baker, Nicolai Gedda, Wladimiro Ganzarolli, Sir Colin Davis
Classical - Lançado por Decca Music Group Ltd. em 01/01/1974
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
En Recital
Classical - Lançado por RCA Red Seal em 23/04/2003
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Il Pirata
Montserrat Caballé, Piero Cappuccilli, Flaviano Labó
Opera - Lançado por Opera d'Oro em 17/11/1998
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mascagni: Cavalleria rusticana - Leoncavallo: Pagliacci
Montserrat Caballé, José Carreras, Renata Scotto, Riccardo Muti, Philharmonia Orchestra
Opera - Lançado por Warner Classics em 22/10/1990
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Amor - Opera's Great Love Songs
Classical - Lançado por Decca Music Group Ltd. em 01/01/1998
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Montserrat Caballé - The Diva
Classical - Lançado por Sony Classical em 24/05/2013
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
R. Strauss: Selections From "Salome", 5 Songs; Boito: Mefistofele (Prologo)
Montserrat Caballé, Nicolaï Ghiaurov, Leonard Bernstein
Classical - Lançado por Deutsche Grammophon (DG) em 03/09/1990
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Presenting Montserrat Caballé
Classical - Lançado por RCA Red Seal em 01/01/1966
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Hijo De La Luna
Classical - Lançado por RCA Victor em 10/12/2012
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Giordano: Andrea Chénier
Luciano Pavarotti, Montserrat Caballé, Leo Nucci, Welsh National Opera Chorus, National Philharmonic Orchestra, Riccardo Chailly
Classical - Lançado por Decca Music Group Ltd. em 01/01/1984
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Great Operatic Recordings
Classical - Lançado por Warner Classics em 23/03/2009
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Puccini: Turandot - Highlights
Dame Joan Sutherland, Luciano Pavarotti, Montserrat Caballé, Nicolaï Ghiaurov, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Zubin Mehta
Classical - Lançado por Decca Music Group Ltd. em 01/01/1973
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ponchielli: La Gioconda
Classical - Lançado por Decca Music Group Ltd. em 01/01/1981
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo