MADRID (REUTERS) - Montserrat Caballe, one of the world's leading sopranos, has agreed to a fine of €250,000 (S$400,000) 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 (S$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.