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Every few years there's considerable hype about a young singer heralded as the Next Great Tenor. There is generally more hype than substance in these promotions, but in the case of Joseph Calleja, it's easy to imagine that if he manages his voice and career well, he may well live up to the exalted expectations. The Maltese Tenor, released in 2011 when he was 33, is his third solo album of operatic arias, and with it he seems to have hit his stride. It comes on the heels of a series of acclaimed performances at some of the world's top opera houses, including the Metropolitan Opera, Covent Garden, and the Vienna State Opera. Critics have frequently commented that his is a voice reminiscent of the golden age of bel canto, and their accolades don't seem misplaced, based on his accomplished performances on this album. He focuses on Romantic Italian and French opera, but apart from the music from Tosca, La bohème, and Faust, the selections come mostly from the periphery of the repertoire -- Verdi's Simon Boccanegra, Boito's Mefistofele, Puccini's Manon Lescaut, Massenet's Manon, Bizet's Les pêcheurs de perles, Offenbach's Les contes d'Hoffmann -- many of them roles that he had just recently sung on-stage. The basic quality of his voice -- large, glowing, open, vibrant, and ringing but warmly Italianate -- is supported by an assured, effortless-sounding technique that produces shapely legato arcs, and it's the combination that sends critics scrambling for superlatives and comparisons with great tenors of the past. His exemplary vocal production and his colorful, intense interpretations are consistent throughout the album. In the two arias from Tosca his strengths are on full display, in the lush Romantic ardor of "Recondita armonia" and the subdued melancholy of "E lucevan le stelle." It's in small details, though, like the startling, focused power of his entrance in "O Inferno" from Simon Boccanegra, and in "Salut! demeure chaste et pure" from Faust, the way his radiant, soaring final high C fades away almost to nothingness, that his distinctiveness is most pronounced.
Marco Armiliato leads l'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande in distinguished, beautifully nuanced accompaniment. Decca's sound is clean, nicely rounded, and the balance is excellent.
© TiVo
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La Bohème / Act 1 (Giacomo Puccini)
Richard Hale, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Giacomo Puccini, Composer - Luigi Illica, Author - Giuseppe Giacosa, Author - Daniel Zalay, Producer, Recording Producer - Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Orchestra, MainArtist - Marco Armiliato, Conductor, MainArtist - Joseph Calleja, Tenor, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Philip Siney, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2011 Decca Music Group Limited
Richard Hale, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Giacomo Puccini, Composer - Luigi Illica, Author - Giuseppe Giacosa, Author - Daniel Zalay, Producer, Recording Producer - Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Orchestra, MainArtist - Marco Armiliato, Conductor, MainArtist - Aleksandra Kurzak, Soprano, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Joseph Calleja, Tenor, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Philip Siney, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2011 Decca Music Group Limited
Simon Boccanegra / Act 2 (Giuseppe Verdi)
Richard Hale, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Giuseppe Verdi, Composer - Daniel Zalay, Producer, Recording Producer - Arrigo Boito, Author - Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Orchestra, MainArtist - Francesco Maria Piave, Author - Marco Armiliato, Conductor, MainArtist - Joseph Calleja, Tenor, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Philip Siney, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2011 Decca Music Group Limited
Les Contes d'Hoffmann / Act 1 (Jacques Offenbach)
Richard Hale, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Jacques Offenbach, Composer - Daniel Zalay, Producer, Recording Producer - Michel Carre, Author - Jules Barbier, Author - Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Orchestra, MainArtist - Choeur du Grand Théâtre de Genève, Chorus, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Marco Armiliato, Conductor, MainArtist - Joseph Calleja, Tenor, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Philip Siney, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2011 Decca Music Group Limited
Tosca / Act 1 (Giacomo Puccini)
Richard Hale, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Giacomo Puccini, Composer - Luigi Illica, Author - Giuseppe Giacosa, Author - Daniel Zalay, Producer, Recording Producer - Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Orchestra, MainArtist - Marco Armiliato, Conductor, MainArtist - Joseph Calleja, Tenor, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Victorien Sardou, Author, Original Text Author - Philip Siney, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2011 Decca Music Group Limited
Tosca / Act 3 (Giacomo Puccini)
Richard Hale, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Giacomo Puccini, Composer - Luigi Illica, Author - Giuseppe Giacosa, Author - Daniel Zalay, Producer, Recording Producer - Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Orchestra, MainArtist - Marco Armiliato, Conductor, MainArtist - Joseph Calleja, Tenor, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Victorien Sardou, Author, Original Text Author - Philip Siney, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2011 Decca Music Group Limited
Mefistofele / Act 1 (Arrigo Boito)
Richard Hale, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Daniel Zalay, Producer, Recording Producer - Arrigo Boito, ComposerLyricist - Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Orchestra, MainArtist - Marco Armiliato, Conductor, MainArtist - Joseph Calleja, Tenor, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Philip Siney, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2011 Decca Music Group Limited
Mefistofele / Act 4 (Arrigo Boito)
Richard Hale, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Daniel Zalay, Producer, Recording Producer - Arrigo Boito, ComposerLyricist - Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Orchestra, MainArtist - Marco Armiliato, Conductor, MainArtist - Joseph Calleja, Tenor, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Philip Siney, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2011 Decca Music Group Limited
Faust / Act 3 (Charles Gounod)
Charles Gounod, Composer - Richard Hale, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Daniel Zalay, Producer, Recording Producer - Michel Carre, Author - Jules Barbier, Author - Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Orchestra, MainArtist - Marco Armiliato, Conductor, MainArtist - Joseph Calleja, Tenor, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Philip Siney, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2011 Decca Music Group Limited
Manon Lescaut / Act 1 (Giacomo Puccini)
Richard Hale, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Ruggero Leoncavallo, Author - Giacomo Puccini, Composer - Luigi Illica, Author - Giuseppe Giacosa, Author - Daniel Zalay, Producer, Recording Producer - Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Orchestra, MainArtist - Domenico Oliva, Author - Giulio Ricordi, Author - Marco Praga, Author - Marco Armiliato, Conductor, MainArtist - Joseph Calleja, Tenor, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Philip Siney, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Antoine-François Prevost, Author, Original Text Author
℗ 2011 Decca Music Group Limited
Richard Hale, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Ruggero Leoncavallo, Author - Giacomo Puccini, Composer - Luigi Illica, Author - Giuseppe Giacosa, Author - Daniel Zalay, Producer, Recording Producer - Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Orchestra, MainArtist - Domenico Oliva, Author - Giulio Ricordi, Author - Marco Praga, Author - Marco Armiliato, Conductor, MainArtist - Joseph Calleja, Tenor, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Philip Siney, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Antoine-François Prevost, Author, Original Text Author
℗ 2011 Decca Music Group Limited
Manon / Act 3 (Jules Massenet)
Jules Massenet, Composer - Richard Hale, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Philippe Gille, Author - Daniel Zalay, Producer, Recording Producer - Henri Meilhac, Author - Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Orchestra, MainArtist - Marco Armiliato, Conductor, MainArtist - Joseph Calleja, Tenor, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Philip Siney, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2011 Decca Music Group Limited
Luisa Miller / Act 2 (Giuseppe Verdi)
Richard Hale, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Giuseppe Verdi, Composer - Salvatore Cammarano, Author - Daniel Zalay, Producer, Recording Producer - Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Orchestra, MainArtist - Friedrich Schiller, Author, Original Text Author - Marco Armiliato, Conductor, MainArtist - Joseph Calleja, Tenor, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Philip Siney, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2011 Decca Music Group Limited
Un ballo in maschera / Act 3 (Giuseppe Verdi)
Richard Hale, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Giuseppe Verdi, Composer - Daniel Zalay, Producer, Recording Producer - Eugene Scribe, Author, Original Text Author - Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Orchestra, MainArtist - Antonio Somma, Author - Marco Armiliato, Conductor, MainArtist - Joseph Calleja, Tenor, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Philip Siney, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2011 Decca Music Group Limited
Les pêcheurs de perles / Act 2 (Georges Bizet)
Richard Hale, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Georges Bizet, Composer - Daniel Zalay, Producer, Recording Producer - Michel Carre, Author - Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Orchestra, MainArtist - Eugene Cormon, Author - Marco Armiliato, Conductor, MainArtist - Aleksandra Kurzak, Soprano, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Joseph Calleja, Tenor, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Philip Siney, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2011 Decca Music Group Limited
Album review
Every few years there's considerable hype about a young singer heralded as the Next Great Tenor. There is generally more hype than substance in these promotions, but in the case of Joseph Calleja, it's easy to imagine that if he manages his voice and career well, he may well live up to the exalted expectations. The Maltese Tenor, released in 2011 when he was 33, is his third solo album of operatic arias, and with it he seems to have hit his stride. It comes on the heels of a series of acclaimed performances at some of the world's top opera houses, including the Metropolitan Opera, Covent Garden, and the Vienna State Opera. Critics have frequently commented that his is a voice reminiscent of the golden age of bel canto, and their accolades don't seem misplaced, based on his accomplished performances on this album. He focuses on Romantic Italian and French opera, but apart from the music from Tosca, La bohème, and Faust, the selections come mostly from the periphery of the repertoire -- Verdi's Simon Boccanegra, Boito's Mefistofele, Puccini's Manon Lescaut, Massenet's Manon, Bizet's Les pêcheurs de perles, Offenbach's Les contes d'Hoffmann -- many of them roles that he had just recently sung on-stage. The basic quality of his voice -- large, glowing, open, vibrant, and ringing but warmly Italianate -- is supported by an assured, effortless-sounding technique that produces shapely legato arcs, and it's the combination that sends critics scrambling for superlatives and comparisons with great tenors of the past. His exemplary vocal production and his colorful, intense interpretations are consistent throughout the album. In the two arias from Tosca his strengths are on full display, in the lush Romantic ardor of "Recondita armonia" and the subdued melancholy of "E lucevan le stelle." It's in small details, though, like the startling, focused power of his entrance in "O Inferno" from Simon Boccanegra, and in "Salut! demeure chaste et pure" from Faust, the way his radiant, soaring final high C fades away almost to nothingness, that his distinctiveness is most pronounced.
Marco Armiliato leads l'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande in distinguished, beautifully nuanced accompaniment. Decca's sound is clean, nicely rounded, and the balance is excellent.
© TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 15 track(s)
- Total length: 01:05:38
- Main artists: Joseph Calleja Ernest Ansermet, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande Marco Armiliato
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: Decca Music Group Ltd.
- Genre: Classical
© 2011 Decca Music Group Limited ℗ 2011 Decca Music Group Limited
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