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“The Maltese Tenor” refers not only to the tenor from Malta, Joseph Calleja, but also to his new CD, which bears the title. Joseph Calleja began singing at the age of 16 and made his professional debut in Malta in 1997 as Macduff in Macbeth. He won an award in the Belvedere Hans Gabor competition later that year and went on to win the 1998 Caruso Competition in Milan, as well as being a prize winner in Plácido Domingo’s Operalia the following year.

Mr Calleja treated us in England to an outstanding performance at this year’s BBC Proms, namely Prom 13, in Verdi’s Requiem, which I reviewed for Seen and Heard.

He has recently launched a new CD under the title The Maltese Tenor, as mentioned above, and so I thought that it would be interesting and appropriate to interview him. He readily agreed to do it, either over the phone or via e-mail, as he was on a break with his family in Malta. In the end, I went for the latter method, just because it is easier than long distance international phone calls. You can read the complete interview, in his unique, refreshing style, here or by clicking on his photograph at the top. Enjoy!

Photograph of Joseph Calleja by Johannes Ifkovits, courtesy of Mr Calleja’s Management