Decca Classics
CD 475 250-2 DH
May 11, 2004
Jospeph Calleja, tenor
TENOR ARIAS
Baritone: Giovanni Battista Parodi
Orchestra:Orchestra Sinfonica e Coro di Milano Giuseppe Verdi
Conductor: Riccardo Chailly
Balance Engineer: Philip Siney, Jonathan Strokes
Recording Producer: Andrew Cornall
Editor: Ian Watson, Jenni Whiteside m
Producer: Andrew Cornall
Recorded: Auditorium di Milano, 25 March - 14 September 2004
CD REVIEWS:
- The Golden Voice (2005): 01 · 02
- Tenor Arias (2004)
Colman Morrissey, The Ticket (The Irish Times)
25 June 2004
(5/5) http://www.ireland.com/theticket/
Just after the début of Rolando Villazon comes this release of another exciting new tenor voice. On disc Villazon has overtones of Domingo in the middle register, while Calleja is being compared to the young Pavarotti. Calleja, known here from appearances at Wexford, has a fine lyric tenor voice that he uses with bel canto elegance and sensitivity. Some arias duplicate the Villazon recital. In those, Calleja's voice seems significantly lighter than Villazon's, but his phrasing and vocal inflection penetrate the music to a greater extent, bringing out the light and shade of the text. However, both Villazon and Calleja are very exciting young singers, and it will be interesting to watch their voices and careers develop over the coming years.
Alex Baran, WholeNote (Toronto, Canada)
April 2004
http://www.thewholenote.com/
Young Maltese tenor… first commercial CD… most of the required standards for the venture BUT - and here’s the real surprise - this one’s got the potential to consign the three aging tenors into the history books as they descend from their vocal prime.
Sure, international televised monumental concerts by Carreras, Domingo and Pavarotti have made it difficult for any other tenors to be taken seriously. But as in life, timing is everything, and the 26-year old tenor is at the right stage in his career and vocal development to step onto world stages as they discover him. Already winning competitions and singing internationally, backing by DECCA and endorsement by Riccardo Chailly certainly can’t hurt.
The liner notes describe him as a light lyrical tenor - but that’s surely a momentary assessment. This is already a young powerhouse voice that will settle further into the chest, darken somewhat with a few more years work and become the next tenor wunderkind (what’s that in Italian?).
He easily delivers a few high B naturals and then stunningly finishes “Possente amor mi chiama” from Verdi’s Rigoletto with a sustained high D that I had to play it twice to make sure I was hearing the right note. The more I listened, the more I liked this young voice. Occasionally he moves into a rather fast vibrato so typical in the first half of the 20th century, but that will likely slow down as he matures and relaxes into his delivery. It certainly gives him the momentum to move through figures and dense melismatic passages.
Start a collection of Joseph Calleja recordings with this first CD and follow the soaring career of this Maltese falcon.
Robert Levine, Amazon.com
May 2004
http://www.amazon.com/
This is the debut recital of Calleja, a 26-year-old Maltese tenor. His voice is as bright as a new penny, with a quick vibrato and a sweetness---plangent at times---which is very appealing. He sings favorites here but imbues each of them with a really individual stamp: Alfredo's Act II aria from Traviata has rarely sounded so urgently youthful (here, and throughout, the leadership of Riccardo Chailly is wonderfully sensitive and alert); Macduff's aria is filled with sadness and sung with a long, heartfelt line; "Questo e quella" has swagger and so does "La donna è mobile," but neither is marred by giggles or outbursts of any kind, and the latter's cadenza encompasses every note, clearly articulated. His high notes tend to be a bit wiry (a D flat at the end of "Possente amor" is a dud) but they're still exciting. Edgardo's big scene from the end of Lucia rarely works on CD; here Calleja gives us the desperation, the shock and the tragedy in a vivid portr! ayal. All through the recital he's musically and textually attentive; he's scrupulous about the composer's markings and has thought about each character's situation. This is a very impressive introduction to a fine young tenor, and the presentation, with chorus where required and second verses included, is equally good. Bravo!
Edward Greenfield, The Guardian (UK)
14 May 2004
(4/5)http://www.guardian.co.uk
Among the latest contenders in the top tenor stakes, Joseph Calleja from Malta stands out for relating more closely than usual to examples set by tenors from the early years of recording.
His very distinctive timbre, with a rapidly flickering vibrato, brings a reminder of such a golden age singer as Alessandro Bonci, and his technique finds him just as happy in the bel canto of Donizetti as in the warm verismo phrases of Cilea and Puccini.
The most refreshing tenor recital for a long time.
Allen Schrott, AllMusic.com
2004
http://www.allmusic.com
On this introductory recording, the young maltese tenor Joseph Calleja displays the elegant, self-possessed singing that has made him a hot prospect on European stages. With the likes of conductor Riccardo Chailly weighing in behind him, Calleja is clearly on the fast track to success. That kind of backing doesn't come easily for a young singer. But Calleja clearly has some growing to do, and this recording is best viewed as a glimpse of an emerging talent.
The main strength of Calleja's voice is its youthful quality. It's a lively sound that never lapses into the labored muscling that you often hear from operatic tenors in pursuit of loudness above all else. That will never be in the cards for Calleja, who has one of the lightest tenor voices to come along in a long time. As a result, he explores a much softer range of dynamics than listeners might be accustomed to in this music, often with charming results. He never seems to go for more than is available to him, which is a refreshing quality. But he also often lapses into nasality on certain vowels, disrupting the easy flow of his sound. His musical inexperience shows in the shaping of many phrases, some of which seem clipped, rushed, or inadequately motivated. The most appealing tracks are his "Questa o quella" from Verdi's Rigoletto, which is by far the most stylish offering on the album, and, somewhat surprisingly, his "Tombe degli avi miei...Fra poco a me ricovero" from Donizetti's Lucia Di Lammermoor. The "only try this on recordings" awards go to "Addio fiorito asil" from Puccini's Madama Butterfly and "Lamento di Federico" from Cilea's L'Arlesiana, both of which are too heavy for Calleja. Chailly and the Giuseppe Verdi Orchestra Milan are outstanding throughout -- no singer could ask for better.
ABC Classic FM (Australia)
CD OF THE WEEK
26 April 2004
http://www.abc.net.au/classic/
There have been countless tenors over the years, each being presented as the greatest since the invention of sliced bread. Some have trouble singing at all, let alone making music. Maltese tenor Joseph Calleja, on the other hand, may just be the real thing. He has a thrilling and "big" voice, while demonstrating genuine musicianship, especially in the dramatic roles of verdi, Puccini and Donizetti. This is a genuinely interesting disc, well worth a listen.
