They say that getting in touch with a great personality is a good way to learn a lesson. Well, in this sense the contact with Montserrat Caballé is not unlike long schooling. The great opera diva, her daughter Montserrat Marti and conductor Ramon Tebar spared an hour for a press conference held at the Bulgarian National Radio on the occasion of the concert of Caballé and her daughter due tonight in which the two singers will be accompanied by the BNR Symphony Orchestra. Music editor Irena Gadeleva, who was the conference’s moderator, opened the event with the words, “We have here a big voice coupled with an invincible spirit.” Maestra Caballé arrived in a wheelchair after suffering a trauma, but seconds after the start everybody had forgotten about this detail. Radio Bulgaria asked the diva the following question: “Who are the teachers who fostered in you the assets of the great artist?”
“My first teachers were my parents. The first thing my mom taught me and my brother was how to tell good from bad. Good is really good when it is accepted in this way by the whole community. We were short of money, but the optimism of my father was always there to support us. During the war and the crisis we were thrown out of the house where we lived. We slept in the park. But that optimism, the unbeatable spirit and the support we had from our father was the main lesson I learned from him. I was happy to be born in a family with genuine values. My parents made me what I am now. When my talent showed my mother did the impossible to persuade the rector of the conservatory to let me study singing free of charge. I owe a lot to my first vocal teacher, as she showed to me the right way to breathe. This is the most precious skill for a singer that provides for a creative and ordinary human longevity.”
Maestra Caballé also said: “Any of us has got four stages in life. During the first two he or she is still unaware what they should do. At the third stage, one becomes aware of mistakes and looks for ways to correct them. The best thing is to reach the fourth stage. I have done that. Now I can communicate with people with great ease and receive much more love. Love and positive attitudes are the key to everything good in this world!”
