artist : Joseph Calleja
title : The Maltese Tenor
label : Decca
cat# : 4782720
genre : Opera
street date : 2011-05-20
tracks : 15
bitrate : 227 kbps avg. 44.1/Joint Stereo
size : 107.63mb
source : CD
type : Retail
url : http://www.josephcalleja.com
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It was summer 2010, and Joseph Calleja was making his role debut as
Gabriele Adorno in VerdiÆs Simon Boccanegra. The house was Covent Garden
in London, and his co-stars included a certain Plßcido Domingo, now
singing the baritone title-role.
Calleja had planned to study the challenging role of Adorno during the
previous summer, but had lost that time preparing for another new role,
OffenbachÆs Hoffmann, which he had taken on at short notice at the
Metropolitan Opera in New York after another tenor withdrew. ôSo, contrary
to all my principles, I studied Adorno for just two weeks before I came to
Londonö, Calleja explains, laughing. ôI had no other time. But the voice
was telling me it was ready for new things. And the minute I started on
the piece, it just fitted into the voice as if I had been singing it for
ten years. It was really one of those instances when it all just works.ö
The critics enthusiastically agreed: plaudits for Calleja not only matched
those for Domingo himself, but in some cases even came close to exceeding
them.
ItÆs a story that doesnÆt just attest CallejaÆs increasing prominence on
the world operatic stage, but also his development as a dramatic artist.
ItÆs now five years since the Maltese singer, now thirty-three, recorded
his last recital album, The Golden Voice (a follow up to 2004Æs Tenor
Arias) û a long time to be away from the studio. ôBack then I was an
extremely young artist to be recording CDs at allö, he replies. ôOf course
I enjoyed the success, but I also had a long way to go. WhatÆs changed is
that IÆm much more in control of my vocal facility and I have a maturity
which only time on stage can bring to oneÆs art. If you know the role
inside out, then you can find the right nuances and inflection much more
easily.ö
So one way into The Maltese Tenor is through the roles that Calleja now
knows from the immediacy of live performance. There is, of course,
AdornoÆs aria ôSento avvampar nellÆanimaö, a late addition to the album,
but one that Calleja felt was indispensable after his London triumph. It
is still rarely performed outside of complete performances of the opera.
ôBut any self-respecting tenor with a good voice should make it a
show-stopper, because itÆs so beautifully written.ö
Hoffmann, another recently acquired role, is here too, as part of a
quartet of French heroes that also includes MassenetÆs Des Grieux (from
Manon), GounodÆs Faust and, in a languorous duet with the Polish soprano
Aleksandra Kurzak, the lovesick fisherman Nadir in BizetÆs Les PΩcheurs de
perles.
ôThe next four to five years are ideal for me to explore these full lyric
French rolesö, Calleja explains. ôThere are so many opinions about what
the æFrench styleÆ really is. The consensus is that the French line gives
you less room to manoeuvre, to do your own thing as a singer. But the way
I see it is through the Italian bel canto style. ItÆs what I try to do
with Hoffmann, particularly in the middle of his aria, which is more
lyrical.ö
In the celebrated ôSalut, demeureö from Faust, meanwhile û a role Calleja
has sung in Berlin and would love to reprise û the challenge is to give
fresh spontaneity to one of operaÆs hit numbers. ôThis kind of aria is
sung so much in concert that one tends to forget about whatÆs in the text,
what the aria means in context.ö The Pearl Fishers duet, too, followed
live concert performances in Frankfurt starring both Calleja and Kurzak.
ôAt the end of the evening we had a thirty-minute standing ovationà so I
thought we had to repeat that duet on the album.ö
A stronger dramatic take on these arias hasnÆt diluted CallejaÆs fidelity
to that bel canto style. ItÆs one reason why his voice has often been
described as ôold-fashionedö: grace and elegance matched to a timbre
thatÆs lighter than that of many other tenors of CallejaÆs generation and
flecked by a rapid, persistent vibrato. Early on in CallejaÆs career, some
found that intrusive. ôFor a period of time, my vibrato was very, very
fastö, Calleja concedes. ôBut people fail to mention or think about how
old I was at the time. If you listen to very early recordings of Jussi
Bj÷rling, Enrico Caruso or Giuseppe di Stefano, they all have it.
Eventually it settles down and matures.ö
Calleja grew up soaked in the golden voices of the twentieth century and
wonÆt be lectured on what they did or didnÆt do to keep their voices in
peak condition: listening to their recordings was a cornerstone of his
studies in Malta with his childhood mentor, the tenor-turned-teacher Paul
Asciak. ôHe sang concerts with Tito Schipa, he was friends with Franco
Corellià what he gave me is really the way they used to do things back
then, based on listening to the old recordings. Some people say that when
theyÆre preparing a new role they donÆt listen to anybody else. I can
understand that, but I donÆt accept it! If you donÆt listen to what your
predecessors did before you, itÆs like being a leaf on a tree and not
knowing which tree youÆre on.ö
The old masters will be CallejaÆs guide as he tackles the bigger, meatier
Italian repertoire, too. ItÆs a new direction in The Maltese Tenor: not
just PucciniÆs La bohΦme, but Tosca and Manon Lescaut, too; Verdi, aside
from Boccanegra, is represented by the more spinto (literally: pushed)
operas Un ballo in maschera and Luisa Miller. Some would call BoitoÆs
version of the Faust story, Mefistofele, from which Calleja sings the
winsome ôDai campi, dai pratiö, another step up altogether on the ladder
to the big dramatic repertoire. ôThe voice should tell the singer by
itself when itÆs time to move on from La bohΦme or Lucia di Lammermoor to
this repertoireö, Calleja observes. ôMefistofele and Un ballo in maschera
in particular are both beautifully written, theyÆre all on the breath and
the approach is still bel canto. Just because itÆs Verdi doesnÆt mean you
have to shout your way through it.ö
You could call this the wisdom of the mature Maltese tenor. Or, if youÆre
Joseph Calleja, you might simply call it gut instinct. ôIÆm sorry I
havenÆt anything more intellectual to offer youö, he laughs, by way of
apology. ôBut I just want to sing as beautifully as possible û without
losing my commitment to the work.ö
http://www.josephcalleja.com
http://www.deccaclassics.com
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01 Che Gelida Manina (Puccini, La BohΦme) 4:45
02 O Soave Fanciulla (Puccini, La BohΦme) 4:09
03 O Inferno! ... Sento Avvampar Nell'Anima (Verdi, Simon Boccanegra) 5:01
04 Il ╔tait Une Fois └ La Cour d'Eisenach (Offenbach, Les Contes 5:20
d'Hoffman)
05 Recondita Armonia (Puccini, Tosca) 2:46
06 E Lucevan Le Stelle (Puccini, Tosca) 3:06
07 Dai Campe, Dai Prati (Boito, Mefistofele) 2:38
08 Giunto Sul Passo Estremo (Boito, Mefistofele) 2:57
09 Quel trouble inconnu me pΘnΦtre! ...0 Salut! Demeure Chaste Et 5:55
Pure (Gounod, Faust)
10 Ma Se Vi Talenta ... Tra Voi, Belle, Brune E Bionde (Puccini, 1:40
Manon Lescaut)
11 Donna Non Vidi Mai (Puccini, Manon Lescaut) 2:53
12 Je Suis Seul! Seul Enfin! ... Ah! Fuyez, Douce Image (Massenet, 4:54
Manon)
13 Oh! Fede Negar Potessi Agli Occhi Miei ... Quando Le Sere Al 5:06
Placido (Verdi, Luisa Miller)
14 Forse La Soglia Attinse ... Ma Se Ne M'Φ Forza Perderti (Verdi, Un 5:15
Ballo In Maschera)
15 De Mon Amie, Fleur Endormie ... LΘila! LΘila! Dieu Puissant ... 9:15
Ton Coeur N'a Pas Compris Le Mien! (Bizet, Les PΩcheurs De Perles)
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65:40