Famed Opera singer Montserrat Caballe dies at 85

The Spanish singer died in Barcelona after a long career in which she performed 90 opera roles.

Montserrat Caballé (photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)
Montserrat Caballé
(photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)
Spanish soprano singer Monsterrat Caballe died at the age of 85 in the Saint Paul hospital in Barcelona, the Guardian reported on Saturday.
Spanish media reports the singer was admitted to the hospital due to gallbladder issues in September.
Discovered at age seven when she began to sing Bach cantatas, Caballe leapt to the top of the opera world when she took on the role of Lucezia Borgia, the lead role in the same-named opera by Gaetano Donizetti in New York in 1965.
Her success lead to a career in which she starred in 90 opera roles and performed approximately 4,000 times.
She recorded "Barcelona" with Freddie Mercury in 1987 and the song was used for the 1992 Olympic Games, introducing her to a new generation of fans.
Caballé married Spanish tenor Bernabé Martí in 1964. They had two children; their daughter, Montserrat Martí, is also an operatic soprano.