Royalty, fans turn out for Caballe’s funeral in Barcelona

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Royalty, political leaders and fans attended the funeral in Barcelona on Monday of Spanish opera singer Montserrat Caballe.

The 85-year-old Caballe died Saturday at a hospital in the Catalan capital where she had been since September.

Spain’s Emeritus Queen Sofia attended the funeral in the Les Corts district of the Catalan capital. Also present were Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Catalan regional president Quim Torra and Spanish tenor Jose Carreras.

“She was like a big sister to me,” Carreras said.

The leaders of some of the country’s political parties and Barcelona Mayor Ada Colau were also present, as were scores of fans.

The government said it planned to pay homage to Caballe with events in Madrid and Barcelona in the near future.

Caballe was buried at the Sant Andreu cemetery, next to her parents.

Caballe achieved international fame as an opera singer in the mid-1960s.

Later, she performed the duet “Barcelona” with Freddie Mercury of the rock group Queen and sang on two tracks on an album by New Age composer Vangelis.