Joseph Calleja

Joseph Calleja, (born 22 January 1978), is a Maltese tenor. He began singing at the age of 16, and being discovered by Paul Asciak, continued his studies with him. At 19, he made his operatic debut as Macduff in Verdi's Macbeth at Astra Theatre in Gozo and went on to become a prize winner in at the Belvedere Hans Gabor competition the same year. In 1998 he won the Caruso Competition in Milan and was a prize winner in Placido Domingo's Operalia in 1999. He has since been considered one of the most promising young tenors of the 21st century.

In Europe Joseph has performed in many Opera Houses including Royal Opera House in Covent Garden in London, the Vienna Staatsoper, Frankfurt Opera, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Opera National du Rhin in Strasbourg,Teatre Principal in Majorca, Gran Teatre de Liceu in Barcelona and many more.

In the USA Calleja has performed at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, Los Angeles Opera,Seattle Opera and the Civic Opera House in Chicago. Calleja has recorded two CDs of opera arias: "Tenor Arias" and "The Golden Voice."

REPERTORY

Zephoris in "Si j'étais roi" (by Adolphe Adam)
Tebaldo in "I Capuleti e i Montecchi" (by Vincenzo Bellini)
Arturo in "I Puritani" (Bellini)
Elvino in "La Sonnambula" (Bellini)
Lind in "Isabella" (by Azio Corghi)
Nemorino in "L'elisir d'amore" (by Gaetano Donizetti)
Edgardo in "Lucia di Lammermoor" (Donizetti)
Leicester in "Maria Stuarda" (Donizetti)
Ernesto in "Don Pasquale" (Donizetti)
Roberto Devereux in "Roberto Devereux" (Donizetti)

Faust in "Faust" (by Charles Gounod)
Romeo in "Romeo et Juliette" (Gounod)
Don Ottavio in "Don Giovanni" (by Mozart)
Rodolfo in "La Bohème" (by Giacomo Puccini)
Rinuccio in "Gianni Schicchi" (Puccini)
Count Almaviva in "The Barber of Seville" (by Gioacchino Rossini)
Fenton in "Falstaff" (by Giuseppe Verdi)
Edoardo di Sanval in "Un giorno di regno" (Verdi)
Macduff in "Macbeth" (Verdi)
The Duke in "Rigoletto" (Verdi)
Alfredo in "La Traviata" (Verdi)

Recordings and videos

2003: DVD of "Maria Stuarda" featuring Calleja as Leicester, recorded by the Fondazione Orchestra Stabile de Bergamo.

2004: Solo recital disc, "Tenor Arias," conducted by Riccardo Chailly with the Orchestra Sinfonica e Coro di Milano.

2005: Solo recital disc, "The Golden Voice," conducted by Carlo Rizzi with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields.

Date unknown: "Puccini Discoveries"

Calleja made a guest appearance on Renée Fleming's album "By Request," singing the role of Alfredo in the Act 1 closing scene of "La Traviata".

External links

[http://www.josephcalleja.net/ Official website]