Montserrat Caballé Health Remains Major Factor In Court Case

Soprano Montserrat Caballé, seen here in a wheelchair while visiting Garni Temple and Geghard Monastery 

back in 2013 with her daughter by her side, remains plagued by court issues in Spain while she remains ill.

"A Barcelona court is to send a medical examiner to the home of opera star Montserrat Caballé in order to verify whether her health problems really are preventing her from attending a hearing to ratify the deal she signed with the public prosecutor and the Tax Agency over fraud worth €500,000. The 83-year-old soprano’s lawyer has claimed that her mobility problems have stopped her coming into court to sign off on the agreement, in which she will admit to having defrauded €500,000 in tax in 2010. In exchange, she will receive a lighter, six-month sentence that will allow her to avoid jail time. The judge in the case has now agreed to a request from the public prosecutor to send a doctor to verify her claim. Several weeks ago, Caballé’s lawyer filed a request for his client to appear in court via videoconference to ratify the deal. While common practice for witnesses and medical examiners when making court statements, it is unheard of in the case of the accused. The judge will rule on the matter once the medical report is available. The case open against Caballé is the result of a complaint filed against her last year by the public prosecutor, which accused the singer of failing to present a tax declaration for 2010 after falsely claiming that she was living in Andorra, when, in reality, her main residence was Barcelona. After arduous negotiations, the soprano admitted to the charges and paid back the €500,000 defrauded, which allowed for the punishment to be reduced to a six-month sentence for tax crimes. The soprano has twice been summoned to formally sign off on the deal in recent months. On the first occasion, she presented a medical certificate to excuse her. But on the second, on May 12, she failed to offer any explanation for her failure to show up. However, her lawyer did appear to announce that there was a 'lack of confidence' between himself and his client, and he stated that he would no longer be defending her. Almost a month later, Caballé appointed a new attorney, who has since presented medical reports to back up the fact that the singer’s delicate health meant she has been unable to attend a hearing." [Source]

Take A Tour Of Spain Based On Birthplaces Of Great Sopranos

Deciding where to travel in a foreign country can become a daunting task with all the landscapes, museums, architecture, restaurants, and concert halls. It seems natural to put an operatic twist on the itinerary when looking for adventure. Why not let the birthplaces of famous sopranos (and some mezzo-sopranos) dictate the destination? Let's start in the country of Spain. With all the flamenco dancing, bullfights, and beaches, this culture is muy caliente! "Spain has an extraordinary artistic heritage. The dominant figures of the Golden Age were the Toledo-based artists El Greco and Diego Velázquez. Francisco de Goya emerged in the 18th century as Spain's most prolific painter and he produced some wonderfully unflattering portraits of royalty. The art world in the early 20th century was influenced by a remarkable group of Spanish artists: Pablo Picasso, Juan Gris, Joan Miró and Salvador Dalí, ambassadors of the artistic culture in Spain. Spain's architecture ranges from prehistoric monuments in Minorca in the Balearic Islands, to the Roman ruins of Merida and Tarragona, the decorative Lonja in Seville, Mudéjar buildings, Gothic cathedrals, castles, fantastic modernist monuments and Gaudí's intricate fabulist sculptures in Barcelona. They are all representative of the culture of Spain. Another example of culture in Spain is the invention of the Spanish guitar, which was invented in Andalusia in the 1790's when a sixth string was added to the Moorish lute. It gained its modern shape in the 1870's. Spanish musicians have taken the humble guitar to dizzying heights of virtuosity and none more so than Andrés Segovia (1893-1997), who established classical guitar as a genre. Flamenco, music rooted in the cante jondo (deep song) of the gitanos (gypsies) of Andalusia, is experiencing a revival. Paco de Lucia is the best known flamenco guitarist internationally. His friend Camarón de la Isla was, until his death in 1992, the leading light of contemporary cante jondo. In the 1980s flamenco-rock fusion (a.k.a. 'gypsy rock') was developed by the likes of Pata Negra and Ketama, and in the 1990s Radio Tarifa emerged with a mesmerizing mix of flamenco and medieval sounds. Bakalao, the Spanish contribution to the world of techno, emerged from Valencia." [Source] So why not add opera to the highest cultural contributions in Spain? Time to see the country as the famous opera singers would have experienced it while growing up. The tour begins after the jump.

Christina Scheppelmann New Artistic Director Of Gran Teatre del Liceu

"La comissió tècnica encarregada de la selecció de la Direcció Artística del Liceu ha proposat Christina Scheppelmann per a aquest càrrec. El seu nomenament correspondrà a la Comissió Executiva de la Fundació, que es reunirà en sessió ordinària a finals del mes de juny. El passat 28 de novembre de 2013, la comissió executiva de la Fundació del Gran Teatre del Liceu va acordar obrir una convocatòria internacional per a la designació de Director Artístic en substitució de Joan Matabosch. Un total de 49 candidats, d'onze nacionalitats i amb un alt perfil professional, van presentar la seva candidatura al final del termini fixat, el 2 de gener de 2014. A tots ells se'ls va requerir per presentar la seva proposta, d'acord amb el model artístic del Liceu. La recepció de les propostes ha tingut lloc al llarg del primer quatrimestre de 2014. Finalitzat aquest període es van determinar 9 candidatures finalistes. El període d’estudi i contactes amb els potencials candidats s’ha perllongat fins a mitjans del mes de maig, i en tot moment el procés s’ha dut a terme garantint la confidencialitat dels mateixos i la dels propis candidats. El procés ha comptat en tot moment amb la supervisió de les Administracions Públiques que integren la Comissió Executiva del Liceu: Ministeri d’Educació i Cultura, Departament de Cultura de la

Heir To Spanish Throne Attends Opera Amid Scandal

Royal arrival at the Gran Teatre del Liceu

"Il principe Filippo e la consorte Letizia sono stati accolti da fischi e «buu» fuori dal teatro dell'opera di Barcellona dove la coppia reale doveva assistere ad una rappresentazione «dell'Elisir d'amore» di Donizetti. L'erede al trono di Spagna e la moglie sono arrivati a bordo di un'auto ufficiale davanti al teatro dove si era radunata una folla di curiosi. Oltre ai fischi c'è stato anche qualche applauso per Felipe e Letizia che hanno risposto con un sorriso alle contestazioni. I reali spagnoli stanno vivendo una fase di scarsissima popolarità dopo l'incriminazione del genero del re, Inaki Urdangarin, in un caso di corruzione che rischia di travolgere anche l'infanta Cristina, e le spedizioni di caccia in Botwsana di Juan Carlos. Intanto, è stato deciso che sarà un consiglio indipendente e non un'agenzia statale a vigilare sul compimento della legge sulla trasparenza, che ha cominciato ieri l'iter parlamentare. La normativa sottopone alla trasparenza anche la monarchia spagnola, che sarà la prima in Europa ad essere soggetta in maniera esplicita al controllo." [Source]