MADRID, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- Spanish famous opera singer Montserrat Caballe has died at the age of 85, the Spanish media confirmed on Saturday morning.
The soprano passed away in the early hours of the morning at the Hospital Saint Pau in Barcelona.
She had been admitted to the hospital after suffering from health problems in the past few weeks and had previously suffered a stroke in 2012.
Caballe became known in 1965 when she took on the difficult role of Lucrezia Borgia in Gaetano Donizietti's Opera of the same in New York. Her performances shot her to fame and began her 50-year career.
However, the Barcelona born signer's most famous moment was probably her performance of the song 'Barcelona' in a duet with Freddie Mercury, the lead signer of the rock group 'Queen'.
They recorded the song at the request of the International Olympic Committee in 1987 and it was one of the official themes for the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, which so helped to transform the fortunes of the city.
The signer had some financial problems later in her life and was given a suspended 6-month jail term and fined 250,000 euros (288,400 U.S. dollars) for tax evasion after it was discovered she had used a company in Andorra to channel her earnings, despite residing in Barcelona.
