REVIEWS: LA TRAVIATA

The Daily Express

“The arrival of Alfredo (Joseph Calleja) who declares his love for Violetta with such insistence that she eventually relents, kick-starts the plot. After a slightly shaky start both Calleja and American soprano Renée Fleming hit their stride at the end of Act I, with Calleja magnificent in his declaration of love (Un di, felice, eterea) and Fleming acting beautifully in her solo response, flinging herself backwards on the bed while still singing.

[...]

Act II in Alfredo’s country house offers fresh delights – Calleja’s tenor has a warmth of tone that enfolds the listener. [...] The American singers perform as if behind an invisible barrier that filters out human emotion. No such problem with the Maltese Calleja, however, whose every gesture, every vocal flourish strikes directly to the heart.

[...]

In the closing act, with death hovering in the air, Verdi’s masterstroke is the duet between Violetta and Alfredo (Parigi, o cara, noi lasceremo), a song of hope that is riven with despair. Fleming sings brilliantly, swooping easily from coloratura to a deep, throaty dramatic tone but the distance is still there. Consequently, the burden of care falls on Calleja.

He’s good for it."

Neil Norman, The Daily Express, 26 June 2009

The Sunday Times

“Fleming gets luxury support from Joseph Calleja’s elegantly phrased Alfredo and Thomas Hampson’s seamlessly sung Giorgio. Not to be missed if you can get a ticket."

The Sunday Times

What's On Stage

"Crucially, for the credibility of the piece, Fleming operates within a glittering constellation of co-stars. What Joseph Calleja’s Alfredo lacks in physical charisma – one can’t claim red-hot passion between the pair – is made up by his pulse-quickening tenor voice. Its purity, strength and sustain made light work of the showcase arias, and added necessary romance to the duet exchanges, and his performance was duly commended at the curtain call"

What's On Stage

Music OHM

"It's hard to imagine the male roles better cast. As Alfredo Joseph Calleja proved why he is in such demand by all the major opera houses across the globe. His tenor has a fast, appealing vibrato and despite the fact there wasn't much sexual chemistry between him and Fleming, he give an exquisitely nuanced performance full of Italiante warmth."

Music OHM

The Times of London

"Calleja, though a bit a of a blank slate dramatically, more than compensates vocally. The Maltese tenor’s beautifully rounded voice oozes old-school class — he’s shiveringly good."

The Times of London

The Telegraph, UK

"Joseph Calleja was the most endearing of Alfredos, singing with fresh, forthright, vibrant tone [...]"

The Telegraph, UK

The Independent, UK

"Experience and authority fleshed out act two more than one can say with even the young head on old shoulders of Joseph Calleja displaying fabulous maturity. What a distinctive quality this warm and engaging voice has, the flutter of rapid vibrato lending a wonderfully inviting quality to his ample middle range."

The Independent, UK

La Provincia, Spain

"Joseph Calleja possesses a voice both capable of romantic singing and powerful singing – he has grown a lot as an artist especially as an actor."

La Provincia, Spain

The Stage, UK

"Calleja perhaps overpowers her [Fleming] in their duets - his ringing Italianate tone exuding an intense power to thrill - although just occasionally one wishes for a more sophisticated control of the colour."

The Stage, UK

Seen And Heard International

"It is easy to give the impression that she [Fleming] was alone on stage but she was part of truly luxury casting - for once - at Covent Garden. The young Maltese tenor, Joseph Calleja, has a splendid and rare tenor voice, one that starts high and moves down smoothly without any distortion at all. He is also capable of softening a loud note and returning to full voice anger or passion without effort or unduly showing off. Some might find his quick vibrato slightly off-putting but given the overall sweetness of his voice, I didn’t. Sadly there was only one verse of ‘O mio rimorso!’ and no top C something he could have done with ease surely? There are times when tenors should show off. His ‘Parigi, o cara’ with Violetta was accompanied at a leisurely pace by Pappano and was excellent. Calleja is rather tall and sturdily built and this gave his rather awkward, lovelorn interpretation an engaging appeal throughout the evening."

Seen And Heard International

Financial Times

"In her [Fleming] duets with Joseph Calleja’s Alfredo it’s always the tenor who commands interest – not just for his sense of style and posture, but also for the way he distils a voice that, though not of outstanding quality, always sounds personable."

Financial Times

The Guardian, UK

"In previous revivals, Joseph Calleja's Alfredo proved the complete vocalist but an indifferent actor. Here, in his newfound engagement with the character of Violetta's young lover, he takes several steps forward. Formerly stiff, he now presents an ideal combination of the vulnerable and the headstrong; when he hurls his winnings at Violetta in the gambling scene, his violence is genuinely shocking."

The Guardian, UK

The New York Times

"But the cheers were comparable for Mr. Calleja, which worried me a little. This Maltese tenor, just 31, is coming up fast. He is the real thing, a tenor who naturally combines plaintive sound with burnished intensity. He sings with heart and intelligence. But he still seems to be working out technical aspects of his singing, and I hope he has people around him cautioning patience."

Anthony Tommasini, The New York Times, 7 July 2009

Opera Today

"Fleming’s partner, in the role of Alfredo, was the Maltese tenor, Joseph Calleja. He more than matched her musical mastery. Possessing a sweet, smooth voice, he sustained an Italianate warmth and took the Alfredo’s rigorous cabaletta, ‘O mio rimorso’, in his stride, although surprisingly he offered us only one verse. Calleja is not a natural actor, and the chemistry between him and Fleming was lacking in potency, but he inhabited the role with increasing conviction as the opera progressed, and in Act 2 his anger and bitterness were truly shocking as he hurled his gambling winnings at Violetta."

Claire Seymour, Opera Today, 26 June 2009