Joseph Calleja - The Maltese Tenor

I have to admit that the first time that I heard a recording of Joseph Calleja I was not immediately taken aback. The voice is extremely distinctive and if one was to listen to a recording one would be able to tell who the tenor was from the first phrase that he sung. This could be predominately attributed to the quick vibrato that Calleja possess and unique lyrical tone that he has been graced with. In saying this however I was not blown away on first listening by the voice. I found Calleja's quick vibrato would get in the way of the beautiful tone that this tenor possesses. However I continued to listen to recordings and found that the voice grew on me and Callaja's musicality and fantastic vocal control took the listener on a musical and vocal, a journey very different than that of any other tenor of his generation.


The "Maltese Tenor" is the third individual recording of Calleja. The record includes faviourite tenor arias such as "Che gelida manina" from La Boheme, "E lucevan le stelle" from Tosca as well as some more obscure arias from Simon Boccanegra and Mefistofele. An aria that would have stand out would have to be "Salut, demeure chaste et pure!" (Faust), where Calleja shows his musicality and his  vocal control by singing the famous and treacherous top C with an even more trecherous diminuendo. All in all this is a very impressive recording which showcases why many people have taken to this unique lyric tenor. 



Tracklist:

1. La Bohème, Act 1 – Che gelida manina

2. La Bohème, Act 1 – O soave fanciulla

3. Simon Boccanegra, Act 2 – Oh inferno…Sento avvampar

4. Les Contes d’Hoffmann, Act 1 – Il était une fois à la cour d’Eisenach (La légende de Kleinzach)

5. Tosca, Act 1 – Recondita armonía

6. Tosca, Act 3 – E lucevan le stelle

7. Mefistofele, Act 1 – Dai campi, dai prati

8. Mefistofele, Act 4 – Giunto sul passo estremo

9. Faust, Act 3 – Quel trouble inconnu…Salut! Demeure chaste et pure

10. Manon Lescaut, Act 1 – Ma se vi talenta…Tra voi, belle

11. Manon Lescaut, Act 1 – Donna non vidi mai

12. Manon, Act 3 – Je suis seul…Ah, fuyez, douce image

13. Luisa Miller, Act 2 – Oh! fede negar potessi… Quando le sere al placido

14. Un ballo in maschera, Act 3 – Forse la soglia attinse… Ma se m’è forza perderti

15. Les pêcheurs de perles, Act 2 – De mon amie, fleur endormie… Léila! Léila!… Ton coeur n’a pas compris le mien!

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