"Calleja is a typical Italian-style tenor with full-throated sonority, supple and intensely glowing top notes. He is almost reminiscent of Pavarotti. He radiated a special glow in the dramatic pieces by Verdi (“Rigoletto”) and Puccini (“Bohème”)."
Andreas Berger, Braunschweiger Zeitung
REVIEWS: RECITALS & CONCERTS
Joseph Calleja and Anna Netrebko recital tour, Germany, Autumn 2005
Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung
Plenty of Show – Even More Quality
Anna Netrebko doesn’t make life easy for herself, she doesn’t work with a partner who just gives her cues, but rather an opposite number with a powerful sound in the person of the young Maltese tenor, Joseph Calleja.
Calleja counters Ms. Netrebko’s glories putting his somewhat closely calibrated yet solidly produced voice to the test in Roméo’s cavatina “Ah, lève-toi, soleil” and the sun isn’t the only thing that glows here. Regardless of whether he joins forces with Donizetti to set a “furtive tear” flowing or takes the part of a downright raffish Duke of Mantua to sing of his fondness for “this one or that one”, he delivers trenchant proof that nobody has to worry over high notes since the “Three Tenor” made their final exit. Netrebko is certainly the star of the evening, but to her credit she doesn’t put on a one‑woman show, but rather features partnership: the “any note you can hold, I can hold longer” competition in the duets always has a playful quality to it. But that – among other things – makes for the charm of the evening.
Rainer Wagner
Braunschweiger Zeitung
Anna Netrebko and Joseph Calleja in the TUI Arena
What magic a beautiful woman weaves. Some 8,000 spectators filled the TUI Arena in Hanover yesterday to hear Anna Netrebko, the ultimate beautiful Russian girl with the ultimate beautiful voice. An evening of bravura arias, which gave her and her tenor partner Joseph Calleja every opportunity to convince their audience with technical perfection, vocal brilliance and personal radiance.
In her duet with Joseph Calleja, Anna Netrebko also proved that forming a realtionship with her co-artist means something to her. One particular touching feature was the soft singing in the Bohème duet.
Calleja is a typical Italian-style tenor with full-throated sonority, supple and intensely glowing top notes. He is almost reminiscent of Pavarotti. He radiated a special glow in the dramatic pieces by Verdi (“Rigoletto”) and Puccini (“Bohème”).
Andreas Berger
