Joseph Calleja signs contract with Decca

Twenty-five-year-old tenor Joseph Calleja has made Maltese musical history by signing an exclusive contract with the prestigious Decca record label. The contract is for four years, with an option to extend for a further three.

During this period a total of five solo recital CDs will be released, first three of them, and two at a later stage.

This is certainly great news not only for Calleja's many admirers but also for Malta. By signing on with Decca he is joining the ranks of big names like Roberto Alagna, Josè Cura, Cecilia Bartoli, Placido Domingo, Angela Gheorghiu and a host of other famous singers, conductors and orchestras.

Calleja, who studies with Maltese tenor Paul Asciak, made his debut at the Astra Opera House in Gozo as Macduff in the acclaimed 1997 production of Verdi's Macbeth. Since then he has sung Nemorino in Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore and Alfredo in Verdi's La Traviata, both at the Manoel. His career has been steadily progressing to the great satisfaction of audiences and several leading critics. By now he has sung no fewer than 17 leading roles in some of the most prestigious opera houses in more than one continent.

Decca has described Calleja as "an exciting new signing", saying that "only six years after his debut, followed by a string of critically-acclaimed performances, 25-year-old Maltese lyric tenor Joseph Calleja is about to become a household name. Decca have signed an exclusive contract with him: an international label for a world-class voice".

Decca's own press release quotes several flattering critical comments on Calleja, such as one from The Independent: "Calleja... can do anything he likes with a God-given voice and what seems an innate sense of style." From the Daily Telegraph on Rigoletto: "Calleja is a great find. He has a clean, easy, high-flying voice, with a pleasant burr to its timbre, and he sailed through the Duke's arias effort-lessly."

Continuing on this performance, Michael Kennedy in The Sunday Telegraph said: "Even if he would have been a wooden and unimaginative actor, he would still have held the stage because of his lyrical, unforced and totally secure singing. Never for a moment did one fear that he might betray some strain in any register; it was an admirable peformance."

It was Calleja's last-minute standing-in for a performance of Rigoletto at Covent Garden last September, which led him on the road to Decca. The company invited him to a test recording and, according to Decca's vice-president of Artists and Repertoire (Department) Jean-Hugues Allard: "The result was spectacular. Not only did it confirm the wonderful stage impression he left, but also emphasised a whole range of colour and style that one only recollects from the greatest of tenors. Signing this amazing voice and personality continues the tradition of Decca signing the greatest voices."

Conducting these sessions was Riccardo Chailly, who says: "When I first heard Joseph Calleja, I was immediately struck by the lyric Italianate sound of the voice, but also by an impressive musical maturity. For some time I have not heard such a talent at this young age, with a sound harking back to a quality I thought we had long lost. Having recently worked with Joseph, I am pleased to confirm my initial impressions. I wish Joseph Calleja all the best for the challenges to come in the future."

Before concluding, a look at a few more press notices on Calleja. According to The Irish Times, he has "vocal power, lyric quality, musical intelligence and extraordinary stage presence. Watch out for him." The Financial Times remarked on his "smooth voice, with a light tremolo and limpid tone. He phrases musically and is an advocate of Verdian elegance; Parmi veder was a textbook example of how to caress the vocal line. He has the looks of a handsome college boy, at ease under the stage spotlight."

Two more comments clearly foretell stardom for Calleja, such as The Independent on Sunday which last year said that "At 24 years, Calleja has the kind of voice most 30-year-old tenors would dream of: glossy, virile, lyrical and powerful. Guess what? He uses it beautifully... this boy is going far." Again, the Financial Times, May 2002: "He made his mark in Wexford last autumn and is clearly launched on a significant career."

After debuts last year at Covent Garden and Copenhagen's Royal Theatre, among the most exciting engagements Joseph Calleja has on his books is his debut at Vienna's Staatsoper this September, when he sings Elvino in Bellini's La Sonnambula.