Winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, José Saramago on 28 February was honoured with the title of ‘Favoured Son of Andalusia’. In an emotional ceremony, Saramago was given the task of representing all those awarded medals by the regional authorities. The Portuguese writer, who has for more than 20 years of been married to a journalist from Seville, revealed the profound and sincere affection in which he holds Andalusia, a place which for him is now “my homeland”.


María de Montserrat Viviana Concepción Caballé i Folc (born Barcelona, 12 April 1933) is one of the world’s most admired opera singers. She studied for 12 years at the Liceu Music Conservatory in Barcelona, winning the institution’s gold medal in 1954. She later joined the company of the Basel Municipal Theatre, where she made her opera debut in 1956, playing Mimi in La Bohème. Her marvellous voice won her roles in a wide range of productions, including Tosca, by Giacomo Puccini, Aida, by Giuseppe Verdi, and Arabella and Salome, by Strauss. She was hired by the Bremen Opera House for the 1960-1961 season and a year later returned to Barcelona to debut at the Liceu with Arabella. Two years later, in 1964, she married the tenor Bernabé Martí. Her first international success came in 1965, when she replaced Marilyn Horne in the production of Lucrezia Borgia at New York’s Carnegie Hall. Her performance caused a veritable sensation, catapulting her into the limelight The same year she further established her star status at the Glyndebourne Festival, as well as with her performance of the role of Marguerite in the Metropolitan’s production of Gounod’s Faust. óá1972 saw her debut at La Scala in Milan, with Norma, by Bellini, as well as Violetta, at the Royal Opera House in London. Montserrat Caballé has played more than 80 operatic, roles, ranging from Baroque opera to Verdi, Wagner, Puccini and Strauss. She has also lent her voice to popular Spanish songs, and even ventured into rock music, alongside Freddie Mercury, for the song Barcelona, which became the anthem of the 1992 Olympic Games. Her voice is noted for its purity, control and power, and she stands out less for her interpretative skill than her excellent technique, vocal range and delightful ‘pianissimos’. Over recent years she has been involved in a number of charitable activities. She is a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador, and has set up a foundation to help needy children in Barcelona. Montserrat Caballé has been awarded the highest honours in the world of lyric theatre, most notably the Liceu Medal (1966), the Ribbon of the Dame of the Order of Isabel la Católica (1966), the World’s Greatest Singer (New York, 1968), the Parisian Lyrical Record Academy Award (1970), the Gold Theatre Medal (1972), the National Spanish Theatre Award (1971), the Gold Medal of Merit in the Fine Arts (1973), the Madrid Gold Medal (1988), and the Prince of Asturias Award for the Arts (1991).