Calleja provides a grand night of singing in Celebrity Series recital
Joseph Calleja performed a recital with pianist Kevin Miller Friday night at Jordan Hall for the Celebrity Series. Photo: Robert Torres
Joseph Calleja is riding high these days.
The Maltese tenor has received widespread acclaim for his performances in principal roles at the Royal Opera House, the Viennese Staatsoper, and the Metropolitan Opera. His meteoric rise even attracted the attention of Hollywood as he made his film debut last year impersonating Enrico Caruso in The Immigrant.
As a recitalist, Calleja is a newcomer to the United States and Friday night at Jordan Hall, in a concert sponsored by the Celebrity Series, the tenor made his long-awaited Boston recital debut with a program of songs and operatic favorites.
The tenor sings with radiant warmth with a rapid vibrato that gives his voice a vibrant touch.His resplendent vocal style even has some commentators comparing him to such luminary singers as Pavarotti and Gigli. His golden tone is especially suited for opera roles and listeners had the chance to catch a glimpse of his dramatic presence through several arias Friday night.
His singing was mesmerizing. With dark, penetrating tone, Calleja rendered a powerful and sensitive “Pourquois me réveiller” from Massenet’s Werther. The angst-filled aria provided ample opportunity for the tenor to deliver the expressive goods, singing his phrases with full-throated tone while still being capable of lofting the soft passages with the utmost delicacy.
The aria “Il était une fois à la cour d’Eisenach” from Offenbach’s Tales of Hoffmann showed the tenor at his most humorous. The singer drew out his lines, punctuating the melody to capture the quirky characteristics of the song’s main character, Kleinzach.
For the “Lamento di Federico” from Francesco Cilea’s L’arlesiana, Calleja captured the bucolic essence and spaciousness of the music. He gave his phrases in the song’s climactic points the sound of sweltering passion.
Also moving was the aria “Ah, la paterna mano” from Verdi’s Macbeth, which Calleja rendered with a tone that was equal parts stately and sweet. “E lucevan le stelle” from Puccini’s Tosca was given the ring of sadness, with Calleja capturing the nostalgia of the song’s lines through phrases of profound strength and yearning.
Calleja was an equally powerful and affecting presence in the songs performed Friday night. He mined the suffering and sadness from Tchaikovsky’s Net tol’ko tot, kto znal, Op. 6 No. 2, a piece awash in dark lyricism. The tenor’s voice rang to penetrating effect in Antonio Caldara’s Alma del core, the song’ passionate lines put across through both delicate phrases and bold statements. The grief-filled passages of Pergolesi’s Nina were aching in effect, with Calleja softening his lines to a haunting glow.
Other songs were just as dramatic. Stefano Donaudy’s Vaghissima sembianza sounded with passion while Francesco Paolo Tosti’s Ideale was astounding in its range of expression.
Throughout, pianist Kevin Miller proved a sensitive accompanist, mining the darkness from the Tchaikovsky and Pergolesi songs and adding a pearly-toned accompaniment for the Caldara. Some of his most brilliant playing came in the Massenet, where his heavier touch captured the dark sonorities of the original orchestral accompaniment. His handling of the sprightly accompaniment to the Offenbach aria was light and dexterous.
The short program, which lasted about an hour with intermission, left plenty of room for encores, and Calleja and Miller delivered five.
The first, “No puede ser” from Pablo Sorozábal’s La Tabernera del Puerto, was rich in tone and expression. The lines of the second, Tosti’s “A Vucchella,” sounded with radiant energy.
For Edith Piaf’s “La vie en rose,” Calleja proved to be a true showman as he wandered into the aisles of Jordan Hall to sing the charming lines in the midst of the audience.
Leoncavallo’s Mattinata sounded with the same powerful expression that characterized the arias heard previously, and the final encore, a stirring rendition of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” sent the audience home with a spring in their step, all the richer for the experience.
The next Celebrity Series concert will feature Trio Jean Paul in music of Beethoven, Rihm, and Dvořák 8 p.m. Wednesday at Pickman Hall. celebrityseries.org; 617-482-2595.
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3 Responses to “Calleja provides a grand night of singing in Celebrity Series recital”
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Posted Apr 18, 2015 at 1:27 pm by Marilyn
An extraordinary night of meteoric talent!
Posted Apr 19, 2015 at 3:05 am by Leda Lebedkina
The whole concert was magic. We could not remember when we heard such a glorious tenor in Boston. Words are short of expressing the ecstasy we felt, seemingly together with the audience.
This was a similarly awe-inspiring witnessing of an extraordinary genius with Daniil Trifonov’s concert earlier this season. Considering a much rarer talent of a tenor voice, Joseph Callaja concert was probably the most amazing in many years. It was also astonishing how he seemed to give all of himself to this recital, not only singing splendidly his official program, but also giving five encores. Such generosity speaks for itself. I only remember Evgeny Kissin doing the same in Boston.
Bravissimo, Joseph!
Posted Apr 21, 2015 at 1:58 am by Ellen Hayes
I was fortunate enough to be treated to this extraordinary concert by
by my most wonderful friend. We learned about him months ago on
a beautiful trip to Malta. I’ve been longing for a tenor
who could reach my heart the way that Joseph does, in the absence of
my former idol, Alfredo Kraus. Also, a hearty “Bravo” to pianist
Kevin Miller.