Montserrat Caballe, an icon of the opera, aged 85, passed away in hospital in Barcelona on Saturday, the Spanish daily El Pais wrote with reference to hospital sources.

Her funeral will take place in the Catalan capital on Monday, the paper said. The world-famous opera singer was hospitalized in the middle of September for a gallbladder health problem.

Lucrezia Borgia at Carnegie Hall in New York brought her international fame in 1965.

She is best known for her duet with Freddie Mercury, the lead singer of the British rock band Queen, performing the signature song of the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.

Caballe first came to Moscow with a concert tour in 1974 with the Norma party in the opera by Vincenzo Bellini, and has repeatedly visited Russia since then. Her last concert in Moscow took place in June 2018 as part of a tour timed to coincide with her 85th birthday.