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< New Tenors ~ Joseph Calleja

Nick Scott

Posted: 09:53, Fri 30 Jan 2004

Mezzo Forte Member (750+)Joined: 15:42, Sun 20 Jul 2003Posts: 755Location: London

Details of Jeseph Calleja's forthcoming album, with audio excerpts and a promotional video, can been seen here:

http://www.deccaclassics.com/artists/calleja/tenorarias/index.html

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Andrei Turcu

Posted: 10:37, Fri 30 Jan 2004

Pianissimo Member (100+)Joined: 16:10, Tue 13 May 2003Posts: 218Location: cluj-napoca, romania

Nick,a big WOW for this tenor Calleja; the top notes are well covered and he posses easyness in singing. His lamento approach impresses by lyrism and ability to do mesa di voce, which is quite rarely met today.

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Joern Anthonisen

Posted: 11:29, Fri 30 Jan 2004

Forte Member (1000+)Joined: 21:38, Fri 11 Oct 2002Posts: 1256Location: Spain: Malaga » Marbella

I knew about his tenor through Nick precisely, and seeing him signing for an exclusive Decca must entail that he has something going for him. Apart from that, I really like the voice, and think he might be one of the most promising voices around today.

Courtesy of Nick, here's a live "Ella mi fu rapita... Parmi vede le lagrime:"

http://www.grandi-tenori.com/audio/calleja_rapita_32k.mp3
(32k mp3pro, 870 kb)

/Jay

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Diego

Posted: 15:07, Fri 30 Jan 2004

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Joined: 04:40, Tue 21 Jan 2003Posts: 599Location: Villa Gral Belgrano - Cba - AR

Finally!!!!! It's the first time I listen to him.
John told me about him at the same time he told me about Florez.
And YESSS, IT's A BIG WOW like you said Andrei.

I can't play it loud 'cause my mother is still sleeping, so I cannot appreciate it but what I'm hearing is just impressive.

His vibrato reminds me of young Lauri-Volpi

Regards

Diego

NOTE: The messages you see about me editing my post are mostly writing mistakes that I find when I re-read my posts 'cause I have many difficulties with my english.

Last edited by Diego on 19:46, Fri 30 Jan 2004, edited 1 time in total.

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John dAncona

Posted: 17:04, Fri 30 Jan 2004

Mezzo Forte Member (750+)Joined: 15:15, Thu 24 Oct 2002Posts: 876

About time too!!! I have been waiting to hear Jospeh for a long time, seeing as I have known about the hype for ages, and I am certainly not disappointed. At last a proper vibrato. You can tell it is well produced, and sounds similar to Flores, and the old Pavarotti, Corelli, Gigli and Tagliavini. What's more is that he is musical aswell.

Few more points about him. You may or may not know that he is ridiculously young, and has been annoyingly good for ages. I can remember reading about him several years ago when he was seemingly just out of his mother's womb (well, he was 19, which in operatic terms is not far off). He is also very careful in the repertoire that he chooses, which is a relief; we certainly do not want him ruining his potential.

Also, his teacher was a Maltese Tenor called Paul Asciak. I found his only two cds whilst I was last in Malta, and the sound is really very good. He was a much darker voiced, dramatic tenor, with the wonderful vibrato and ability to sing gently. There are excerpts of him when he was in his 60's and the voice still sounds fantastic. He was also a noted Otello, and the excerpts of a live performance when he was about 60 prove this (story goes that he had already retired and was working out in eastern europe somewhere. The opera house was doing Otello, and their tenor dropped out at the last minute. Asciak stepped in and gave a great performance, which I think are the excerpts on his cd.).

Anyway, finally Calleja can be heard on cd. Friends who have seen him live also confirm how good the sound is.

John

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JussiTM23

Posted: 03:47, Sun 01 Feb 2004

Pianissimo Member (100+)Joined: 01:33, Tue 15 Apr 2003Posts: 188Location: New York, NY

Ok, I don't mean to sound arrogant or overly critical, I'm merely curious....
Calleja has, undoubtedly, a beautiful voice, and sings with supreme artistry. However, while his technique does sound better than the multitude of purported "4th tenors" to come about recently, I cannot discern anything truly unique in his sound (at least from listening to the tracks on the website, and the live "parmi...") that places him in another category all-together (as Jon's comments seemed to suggest). To my ear the upper register sounds a bit falsetto-y, or perhaps swallowed. Although it is, again, a voice of the highest quality, i don't recognize the presence of an "old school" technique, as maestro chailly referred to in the website's video, and don't really understand how Calleja's singing is so drastically different from the majority of other tenors around today (in ways other than perhaps possessing a voice of greater natural beauty, or singing with more nuance). Again, I really don't mean to sound arrogant or overly critical, because Calleja has undoubtedly accomplished incredible things for such a young guy (and I can only hope to one day sing a tenth as well), but I'd like to ask John or others to explain what makes Calleja's vibrato "proper" (and how this can be discerned throgh listening to his recordings), and to respond to my comments on Calleja's upper register. Thanks much.

Best regards,

JussiTM23[/i]

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Kenzu

Posted: 05:58, Sun 01 Feb 2004

Pianissimo Member (100+)Joined: 17:11, Mon 29 Dec 2003Posts: 151

Very beautiful voice and waiting what future brings to this fine tenor. With my minor knowlidge I was waiting a little more fuller upper register. His pianissiomo is wonderful and of course his vibrato. Only thing what keep me wondering is the sound quality of these clips. They don´t give the full right to anyones voice only in 32 kbs should at least be 128???? to hear how it really sounds

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Pawelotti

Posted: 17:06, Sun 01 Feb 2004

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Joined: 17:22, Wed 16 Oct 2002Posts: 2697Location: Amsterdam, The Netherlands

I do hear some of the oldskool in there but most of all I must say I love the vibrato and his musicianship. He cares so much for all the words and the piece I like him a lot. Valenti and now Calleja.. Guess the future is brighter for tenor lovers than I initially thought

I can see what JussiTM23 means, but it's only partially so. Even though there may be oldskool in Florez, Valenti, or Calleja.. style or technique etc. The smooth voice of today seems to be a lot smoother than it used to be.. As if also a certain raw unique timbre is being smoothed out when equalising along the way.
I wonder how much we 'think' we hear due to the ways of recoding, though. If voices of today would be recorded in the ways Caruso and early Gigli recorded and we'd hear it.. I wonder what effect that would have on the very comments people would make......

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Kenzu

Posted: 18:49, Sun 01 Feb 2004

Pianissimo Member (100+)Joined: 17:11, Mon 29 Dec 2003Posts: 151

To hear everything in the song needs better recordings and files due to that its possible to her all the nyansies-emotions fully-the meaning of music :wink:

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John dAncona

Posted: 17:06, Mon 02 Feb 2004

Mezzo Forte Member (750+)Joined: 15:15, Thu 24 Oct 2002Posts: 876

I understand what you mean, Jussi-in-New-York, and I certainly don't see your views as arrogant etc.

The difference in vibrato is, I admit, very tiny, in what you can hear compared to other singers, and not meaning to be patronising or anything, but you need to be a geek like me and know what to listen out for! This is something I have been particulary studying and researching, hence why I can hear the difference. It comes down to two things: consistent pulses, regardless of pitch/volume; and clarity of the note. Whereas there are many singers who have consistent pulses in their vibrato, the clarity of the note is often slightly too wide (for example, Alagna now). For me I can hear the notes far more clearly in Calleja and Flores, as I can do in people like Corelli, young Alagna, young Pav, Gigli, Bjorling etc. The correct vibrato should sound 'vibrant' rather than 'shuddering' or wobbly. Also, a correct vibrato appears also when the mechanism is working easily, without strain etc, and will also have an influence in how their voice will survive throughout their career: if they know how to preserve the voice, there is not reason why their voice shouldn't have the same sort of freshness at 60, that they had when they were young.

Old style to me refers to a well produced voice, of which the vibrato is a product of. People like Kraus had the style of the old school, though I have reservations about the clarity of his voice, and hence whether he produced it 'well' (heinous claim, I admit, though the man was a great artist).

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hobo1975

Posted: 10:11, Tue 03 Feb 2004

Mezzo Member 500+Joined: 15:55, Wed 13 Aug 2003Posts: 656Location: sydney,australia

when i played the first track i instantly thought of pav.i feel he has some similarities to pavarotti which may be intentional or not but listening to all the tracks i find this less obvious.i like his voice and the healthiness of his voice very refreshing to hear.
i think he has a small voice no?i miht buy his cd which is rare for me.lol.
thanx nick for the post.
i loved the la dolcissima effigie it is soo beautiful i never heard it before.

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Geoff. Mallinson

Posted: 01:27, Mon 01 Mar 2004

Fortissimo Member (1500+)Joined: 23:40, Mon 07 Apr 2003Posts: 1870Location: Cleethorpes, N.E.Lincolnshire, U.K.

Very impressive, I think. John, you are absolutely right about his vibrato. It's rather quick at the present time but it's correct; the pulse, the pitch and the note come through clearly. I am hoping that there will be greater clarity and maybe more 'roundness' of tone on the CD, which I shall certainly purchase when it's released. I don't think that even the magic of present-day recording engineers will play tricks with this one considering the reviews he's getting from live performances.

Geoff.

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Andres

Posted: 03:07, Tue 30 Mar 2004

LurkerJoined: 00:55, Wed 10 Mar 2004Posts: 42

Has anyone here heard him on the theater? Unfortunately I haven't, but I could hear some excerpts of a broadcast of La Bohème. The voice is beautiful, as on recordings, the vibrato is fantastic, the voice is flexible, the phrasing is good, etc.. but the sound seemed to be covered under the other singers (above all when he sang with the baritone singing Marcello), and by the orchestra in some parts (I am not sure that everyone in the theater could hear the phrase "l'anima ho millionaria", in the broadcast it sounded almost like karaoke version). Live recordings can be very tricky, although I usually trust them more than studio recordings. Can anyone here tell me how does the man really sound in the theater? his vocal size? does the voice carry? I have some doubts about it. In all other aspects, I just love his sound. He seems to be a very good singer, and with an amazing future ahead.

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Lucia946

Posted: 12:07, Sat 29 May 2004

LurkerJoined: 10:27, Tue 03 Feb 2004Posts: 22Location: UK

Thanks to Nick (and Jay) for the "Ella mi fu rapita... Parmi vede le lagrime" clip. In some ways, Calleja's voice reminds me of the very young Carreras, at least on first listening.

I've posted an MP3 clip of Carreras singing this at the New York City Opera in 1973. You can access the file directly here:
http://carrerasmedia.homestead.com/file ... NYCO73.mp3

Or go to:
http://carrerasmedia.homestead.com/Private.html
and click on the link.

Best, Jean

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Geoff. Mallinson

Posted: 14:26, Sat 29 May 2004

Fortissimo Member (1500+)Joined: 23:40, Mon 07 Apr 2003Posts: 1870Location: Cleethorpes, N.E.Lincolnshire, U.K.

I've just purchased his CD. My view is that Joseph Calleja is a rare talent cast in a mould similar to that of Florez. That is not to say that their respective voices bear comparison - they don't. My meaning is that just as Florez has made an impact as a world class tenor of distinction at an early age, so I think that Calleja will do the same. He's going to go to the very top. We now have three 'real' tenors; Villazon, Calleja and Florez. There are other good ones around; it's just that these three are exceptional.
Geoff.

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