Joseph Calleja
Tenor
© Andrew Borg Carabot
The Maltese tenor Joseph Calleja, one of the most sought after singers in the world, is back in Frankfurt where he sang Gounod's Romeo, Rodolfo (La Bohème), Edgardo (Lucia di Lammermoor) and in concert performances of Mascagni's L'Amico Fritz, Bizet's Les Pêcheurs des perles/Pearl Fishers and Puccini's La rondine, to repeat his portrayal of Don José in this production of Carmen. Since making his professional debut in 1999 at the Spoleto Festival in America he has appeared at houses including Dallas Opera, the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich, the Deutsche Oper and Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin, the Semperoper in Dresden, Metropolitan Opera in New York, Covent Garden in London, La Scala Milan and the Salzburg Festival. His repertoire includes Cavaradossi (Tosca), Enzo Grimaldi (La Gioconda), Rodolfo (La bohème), the Duke (Rigoletto), Edgardo (Lucia di Lammermoor) and the title role in Faust. Roles during the 2024/25 season included Rodolfo at the Met and Alfredo Germont (La traviata) in Graz and he recently made his debut, in concerts, at the Shanghai Performing Arts Center. Joseph Calleja appeared at the Hamburg State Opera for the first time in 2018, as Rodolfo (Luisa Miller), where he can be heard again later this season as Cavaradossi in Tosca.
Joseph Calleja has been under exclusive contract to Decca since 2003. The government in Malta made him an ambassador for culture in 2012.