Joseph Calleja – tenor i verdensklasse at Den Norske Opera & Ballett

His voice has been compared to that of both Jussi Björling and Luciano Pavarotti, and now Maltese star Joseph Calleja will perform at the Oslo Opera House for the first time, accompanied by pianist Frédéric Chaslin.

In 2o12 Gramophone magazine awarded Calleja the title of Artist of the Year, with the jury describing him as “... a tenor of uncommon distinction, whose elegance and sense of style are second to none on the operatic stage today.”

At the age of 19, Calleja debuted in the role of Macduff in Verdi’s opera Macbeth at the Astra theatre in Malta. Shortly afterwards, he was an award winner at the international Belvedere competition, winner of the Caruso competition in Milan in 1998, and a medal winner in Plácido Domingo’s Operalia in 1999. Since then, Calleja has performed on most of the world’s largest opera stages, including the Metropolitan Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Royal Opera House Covent Garden and Wiener Staatsoper.

Alongside his career as a pianist, French musician Frédéric Chaslin is also a composer and conductor. He has held the role of assistant conductor at the Orchestre de Paris under Daniel Barenboim, and at the Ensemble Intercontemporain under Pierre Boulez, among others.