Montserrat Caballé to Appear at Met Luncheon and Opera Shop

By Ben Mattison
April 19, 2005

Legendary soprano Montserrat Caballé will be honored at the Metropolitan Opera Guild's annual luncheon today. On April 20, the 72-year-old singer will appear at the Metropolitan Opera Shop to sign books and recordings.

Soprano Deborah Voigt will perform at the luncheon, and Marilyn Horne and Sherrill Milnes will pay tribute to Caballé. Other figures from the opera world scheduled to attend include Licia Albanese, Marcello Giordano, Dmiti Hvorostovsky, René Pape, Paul Pishka, Eve Queler, and Julius Rudel.

Born in Barcelona, Caballé made her Met debut in 1965 as Marguerite in Gounod's Faust. In 14 seasons with the company, she performed 97 times in 15 different roles, including Adriana Lecouvreur, Aida, Ariadne, Amelia in Un ballo in maschera, Mimì in La bohème, Elisabetta in Don Carlo, Luisa Miller, Norma, Desdemona in Otello, Tosca, Violetta in La traviata, Leonora in Il trovatore, Liù in Turandot, and Elena in I vespri siciliani.

Tickets for the luncheon, which begins at 12:15 p.m., are $225 and $400; proceeds benefit the Guild's education program. Caballé will appear at the Opera Shop from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m.

Call 212-769-7009 for more information on the Guild luncheon and 212-580-4090 for information on the Opera Shop appearance.