Spanish soprano Montserrat Caballe settles tax evasion case - report

MADRID (Reuters) - Montserrat Caballe, one of the world's leading sopranos, has agreed to a fine of 250,000 euros (196,562 pounds) and a symbolic six-month jail term to avoid trial in a tax evasion case, the Spanish news agency Europa Press said on Tuesday. Caballe, 80, had been charged in April for failing to declare some 500,000 euros ($690,000) of income in 2010. Because the jail sentence is under two years, she will not have to spend any time in prison. A lyric soprano renowned for her performances of Italian opera, she also collaborated with the late rock idol Freddie Mercury on his hit album Barcelona - the city of her birth - and the late tenor Luciano Pavarotti. Spain has been cracking down on tax evasion as it attempts to fill public coffers and rein in a large public deficit during a prolonged economic crisis. Caballe was not immediately available to comment. (Reporting by Julien Toyer; Editing by Tracy Rucinski and Kevin Liffey)