Maltese tenor Joseph Calleja will be singing into people's living rooms on Christmas Day, thanks to an hour-long concert to be screened on national broadcaster TVM. 

The concert was shot during the past weeks in some of the most beautiful locations around Malta and Gozo, specifically for Christmas 2020.

Calleja’s rendition of popular Christmas song Adeste Fideles was shot at Valletta’s majestic basilica of St Dominic, one of the finest testimonies of the genius of Maltese artist Giuseppe Calì, or the ‘devil with the brush’ as he was known.

The concert will be broadcast on Christmas Day at 1 pm on TVM. 

The initiative was developed through a collaboration between Bank of Valletta, NNG Promotions and other international artists. 

Speaking about this initiative, BOV CEO Rick Hunkin said, "This has been a truly extraordinary year for everyone, a time of uncertainty as we adapted and changed all that we considered as ‘life as normal.

St Dominic’s basilica was chosen as one of the settings due to the ties that Bank of Valletta has with the basilica.St Dominic’s basilica was chosen as one of the settings due to the ties that Bank of Valletta has with the basilica.

"As a truly Maltese bank, we are delighted to be associated with this performance from the wonderful Maltese tenor as Joseph Calleja brings the gift of song to us all. The choice of St Dominic’s basilica as one of the settings for Joseph Calleja’s songs stems from our ties with this magnificent building.”

“Giuseppe Calì, just like Calleja, left an indelible mark on a significant chapter of Malta’s artistic heritage and at Bank of Valletta we are proud to have supported this massive project in a church that boasts so many of his works. I am very eager to watch a great Maltese tenor performing in a church adorned by a genius Maltese artist,” continued the BOV CEO. 

The restoration of the Calì paintings on the ceiling of the church as well as his titular painting St Dominic’s Confrontation with the Heretics, were totally supported by Bank of Valletta. Calì was born in Valletta and baptised in this basilica, and most of the interior decoration bears his name.

“On behalf of all of us at Bank of Valletta, I wish you all a blessed and healthy Christmas, as we look forward to a better year ahead,” Hunkin said. 

Preparations for the performance.Preparations for the performance.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.