What do Enrique Granados and Freddie Mercury have in common?

Granados undertook piano studies in Barcelona and, following an interlude at the Paris Conservatory, returned to achieve his first successes there in the 1890s. A century later, Mercury sang his smash hit “Barcelona” in the city, in duet with soprano – and Barcelona native – Montserrat Caballé.

Caballé, a champion of Granados’ songs, was approached to come up with something celebratory, after Barcelona was selected as the home of the 1992 Summer Olympics. She enlisted Mercury, an enthusiastic operaphile and a Caballé fan. Furthermore, she suggested that “Barcelona” should be more than just a single, and that their teaming should encompass an entire album. Mercury was delighted. They began recording together in 1987.

Sady, both Granados and Mercury wound up dying before their time. Granados drowned while attempting to save his wife after their ship was torpedoed by a German submarine in 1916; Mercury succumbed to AIDS-related illness in 1991.

Following Mercury’s death, “Barcelona” was embraced as the official anthem of the 1992 Summer Games. During the opening ceremony, Caballé sang her part live, opposite Mercury on a video screen. Fueled by Olympic fever, the song became one of the biggest “solo” hits of Mercury’s career.

Finally, Granados and Mercury both wore signature mustaches. Mercury had already shaved his prior to this live performance:

Caballé sings Granados’ “The Maiden and the Nightingale”:

Caballé remembers Freddie Mercury in her final interview. (The subtitles are a little choppy, but someone provides a more fluent translation in the comments section beneath the video.)

This post is what happens when the birthday of Enrique Granados coincides with the Summer Olympics!