Joseph Calleja

Joseph Calleja – one of the most outstanding tenors in the world, ranked in line with Luciano Pavarotti and Plácido Domingo, and even with the legendary Enrico Caruso.

Born in Malta in 1978, Joseph Calleja began singing lessons at the age of 16 and made his debut at the age of 19 in Macduff in Verdi's Macbeth at the Astra Theater in Malta. Shortly afterwards, in 1998, Calleja won the prestigious Enrico Caruso Competition in Milan, and in 1999 also the famous Operalia Plácido Domingo. From then on, his career took an extraordinary momentum.

Joseph Calleja sings in the best opera houses in the world, e.g. Opéra National de Paris (as Caravadossi in Puccini's Tosca and Don José in Bizet's Carmen), Bayerische Staatsoper (as Alfredo in Verdi's Traviata) as well as at the Deutsche Staatsoper in Berlin, the Metropolitan Opera in New York and the Royal Opera House in London. In addition, Calleja often performs as a soloist in recitals. He toured Australia, including concerts in Sydney, Adelaide, Melbourne, Perth and Auckland, New Zealand.

The artist can also boast a dozen or so albums, which he records for the very prestigious Decca label. Many of them became international bestsellers. He also made his successful acting debut in 2013 in James Gray's The Immigrant, in which he played the role of the legendary tenor Enric Caruso opposite Marion Cotillard and Joaquin Phoenix. A year earlier, he won the Artist of the Year plebiscite of the prestigious British music magazine “Gramophone”.

In addition to his intense artistic activity, Calleja is also known as a great philanthropist. He founded two foundations: Drake Calleja Trust and BOV Joseph Calleja Foundation. The first of them supports young talented musicians, the second deals with equal opportunities in access to health care among children.