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BIOGRAPHY:
Maltese tenor, Joseph Calleja is, at only 32 years old, already one of the most sought after tenor voices with the leading opera houses in both Europe and USA.
Calleja was born in Attard, Malta, in 1978 and began singing at the tender age of 16. Shortly after he was discovered by the Maltese tenor Paul Asciak, with whom he continues to study.
His voice has, by critics and opera lovers alike, been described as the first voice in the new millennium to bridge the old school sound and timbre (something many feared lost long ago), to the 21st century operatic world.
Joseph Calleja made his professional debut in Gozo, Malta, as Macduff (Macbeth) in 1997 and since then his career has been on the "up and up" - appearing in more than twenty leading roles.
His first solo album “Tenor Arias” (Riccardo Chailly) released in the spring of 2004 was praised by critics all over the world. His 2nd solo album "The Golden Voice" was released in October 2005 and has been covered with both critical and popular acclaim. Calleja can also be heard in the complete opera recording “Maria Stuarda”, Puccini Discoveries w/Riccardo Chailly and on Renee Fleming's latest CD release “By Request.” 2009 saw see the release of Bellini's "I Capuleti e i Montechi" (complete recording) with Anna Netrebko and Elina Garanca, to critical praise.
Spring 2011 saw the release of his third solo CD - The Maltese Tenor - on the Decca label, and when straight to the number one spot on several music charts, in Europe. 24 October 2011 will see the release of The Maltese Tenor in USA with a completely unique releaset concert at one of Greenwich Village's hippest music clubs, (Le) Poisson Rouge.
Joseph Calleja begins the 2011-12 season with recitals in Eastern Europe — at the Ljubljana Festival in Slovenia, and at the Dvořák Prague Festival in the Czech Republic — and will embark on a concert tour in Korea. He follows this with concerts in Paris, Munich, and Vienna, performing repertoire from The Maltese Tenor and will take part in a performance of Verdi’s Requiem in Cologne. In December, Calleja will appear with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic at the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize Concert in Stockholm, a performance which will be broadcast on international television. Returning to the opera stage at the end of the year, the tenor sings Nadir in Bizet’s The Pearl Fishers at the Deutsche Oper Berlin. He kicks off 2012 performing the title character in a new production of Gounod’s Faust at the Metropolitan Opera, then returns to Europe for the title roles in Donizetti’s Roberto Devereux at Munich’s Bayerische Staatoper, and Mascagni’s L'amico Fritz at the Frankfurt Opera. In the spring, in a highly anticipated return to the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Calleja sings Rodolfo in La bohème. He concludes the season with a concert at the famous Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen; singing Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor in a return to the Deutsche Oper Berlin; and appearing once more as Rodolfo at the Munich Opera Festival.
Last season, Joseph Calleja took on three signature roles at the Met: Rodolfo in La bohème, Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor, and the Duke of Mantua in Rigoletto (the role in which he made his house debut in 2006.) Also at the Met, he debuted in the title role of Bartlett Sher’s new production of Tales of Hoffmann, where he “gave his all, singing with ardor, stamina, and poignant vocal colorings and winning a rousing ovation” (New York Times). Other recent successes include the role of Pinkerton in a new, season-opening production of Madama Butterfly at the Houston Grand Opera, and a role debut at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, where, almost “steal[ing] the show” (Independent), he proved himself a “thrilling Adorno” (Financial Times) opposite Plácido Domingo in Simon Boccanegra.
