Barcelona (Freddie Mercury and Montserrat Caballé song): Difference between revisions

The song has been described as a rare textbook example of a combination of pop and opera singing which accentuated their differences.<ref>{{cite book|author=John Shepherd|title=Continuum encyclopedia of popular music of the world: VolumeII: Performance and production|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pJvzEzjahkQC&pg=PA455|access-date=1 March 2011|date=27 February 2003|publisher=Continuum International Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-8264-6322-7|page=455}}</ref> Whereas Mercury articulates his every word, Caballé focuses on the tone; her lines are much harder to comprehend, and further, she uses both English and Spanish languages. Consequently, she keeps her part melodic throughout all the song at the expense of the text, whereas Mercury has to resort from singing to nearly shouting at the [[crescendo]] part in order to deliver his words.<ref>{{cite book|author=John Potter|author-link=John Potter (musician)|title=Vocal Authority: Singing Style and Ideology|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=las-bpkbnIIC&pg=PA188|access-date=1 March 2011|date=2 November 2006|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-02743-4|pages=188–189}}</ref> Mercury was reportedly amazed by the legendary ability of Caballé to control her voice; for example, in the fadeout, Mercury moves away from the microphone to decrease his vocal dynamic, whereas Montserrat relies on her classical training to decrease the dynamic.<ref>Freestone, p. 109</ref>

In October 1987, the official [[music video]] was released, directed by [[David Mallet (director)|David Mallet]], who had collaborated with [[Queen (band)|Queen]] on their previous videos. [[Mike Moran (music producer)|Mike Moran]], who co-wrote the song, appears in the video conducting the orchestra with a light stick; he is often wrongly confused with [[Brian May]], mostly due to their almost identical haircuts. In 2019, the original 35&nbsp;mm film was scanned and digitally remastered into 4K resolution.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.udiscovermusic.com/news/freddie-mercury-barcelona-video/|title=Watch New 4K Version Of Freddie Mercury’sMercury's ‘Barcelona’'Barcelona' Video|date=2 November 2019 |publisher=udiscovermusic.com|access-date=2 November 2019}}</ref>

Its next important performance occurred on 8 October 1988, at the open air La Nit festival in Barcelona, which was staged on the occasion of the arrival of the Olympic flag from [[Seoul]]. Together, Mercury and Caballé sang three tracks from the forthcoming album ''Barcelona'', namely "Barcelona", "How Can I Go On" and "The Golden Boy".<ref>Freestone, p. 127</ref><ref>[http://www.hotshotdigital.com/WellAlwaysRemember/FreddieMercuryBio.html Freddie Mercury Biography]. hotshotdigital.com. Retrieved on 2011-03-01.</ref> This was the last live performance by Mercury, who was already beginning to suffer from AIDS.<ref>[http://www.freddie.ru/e/bio/ Freddie Mercury: biography]. Freddie.ru. Retrieved on 2011-03-01.</ref> He died in 1991, so the recording of the song was played over a travelogue of the city at the start of the international broadcast of the [[1992 Summer Olympics opening ceremony|opening ceremony]] of the [[1992 Summer Olympics]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdksitehDJ8 |title=Barcelona 92: inicio de la ceremonia |publisher=YouTube |access-date=2011-03-23}}{{cbignore}}{{Dead Youtube links|date=February 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://hemeroteca.elmundodeportivo.es/preview/1992/07/20/pagina-16/1266027/pdf.html|title=La ceremonia de inauguración|access-date=2011-07-24|work=[[El Mundo Deportivo]]|date=1992-07-20}}</ref>

Prior to the start of the [[1999 UEFA Champions League Final]] between [[Manchester United F.C.]] and [[FC Bayern Munich]] held at the [[Camp Nou]] stadium in Barcelona, Caballé performed "Barcelona" live, accompanied withby a recording byof Mercury, who also appeared on the stadium's electronic screen.<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A3818793 Queen's Greatest Hits 3], [[BBC]], 22 March 2005</ref>

! Chart (1987/881987–1988)

{{singlechartsingle chart|Ireland2|8|artist=Freddie Mercury and Montserrat Caball|accessdate=6 October 2018}}

{{singlechartsingle chart|Dutch100|37|artist=Freddie Mercury & Montserrat Caballé|song=Barcelona|accessdate=6 October 2018}}

{{singlechartsingle chart|Sweden|15|artist=Freddie Mercury & Montserrat Caballé|song=Barcelona|accessdate=6 October 2018}}

{{singlechartsingle chart|West Germany|32|artist=Freddie Mercury & Montserrat Caballé|song=Barcelona|songid=2401|accessdate=19 October 2018}}

{{singlechartsingle chart|Australia|42|artist=Freddie Mercury & Montserrat Caballé|song=Barcelona|accessdate=6 October 2018}}

{{singlechartsingle chart|Flanders|21|artist=Freddie Mercury & Montserrat Caballé|song=Barcelona|accessdate=6 October 2018}}

{{singlechartsingle chart|France|6|artist=Freddie Mercury & Montserrat Caballé|song=Barcelona|accessdate=6 October 2018}}

{{singlechartsingle chart|Ireland2|2|artist=Freddie Mercury and Montserrat Caball|accessdate=6 October 2018}}

{{singlechartsingle chart|Dutch40|2|year=1992|week=35|accessdate=3 December 2021}}

{{singlechartsingle chart|Dutch100|2|artist=Freddie Mercury & Montserrat Caballé|song=Barcelona|accessdate=6 October 2018}}

{{singlechartsingle chart|New Zealand|2|artist=Freddie Mercury & Montserrat Caballé|song=Barcelona|accessdate=6 October 2018}}

{{singlechartsingle chart|Sweden|12|artist=Freddie Mercury & Montserrat Caballé|song=Barcelona|accessdate=6 October 2018}}

{{singlechartsingle chart|SwissSwitzerland|8|artist=Freddie Mercury & Montserrat Caballé|song=Barcelona|accessdate=6 October 2018}}

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable" style="text-align:center"

! scope="col"| Chart (2018)

! scope="col"| Peak<br /> position

{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

! scope="col"| Chart (1992)

! scope="col"| Position

! scope="row"| Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.top40.nl/bijzondere-lijsten/top-100-jaaroverzichten/1992|title=Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 1992|publisher=Dutch Top 40|accessdate=3 December 2021}}</ref>

! scope="row"| Netherlands (Single Top 100)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://dutchcharts.nl/jaaroverzichten.asp?year=1992&cat=s|title=Jaaroverzichten – Single 1992|website=dutchcharts.nl|accessdate=3 December 2021}}</ref>