• one of the most successful opera singers, who comes from Malta
• winner of the Caruso Competition in Milan and Domingo’s Operalia
• he performed in the film The Immigrant, in which he played the famous Caruso
• as a young man he competed in athletics – javelin and shot put

Programme:
G. Verdi:  Ballet music from Macbeth
G. Verdi: »Ah, la paterna mano«, Macduff’s aria from Macbeth
C. Saint-Saëns: Bacchanale from Samson and Delilah
J. Massenet: »Pourquoi me réveiller«, Werther’s aria from Werther
G. Bizet: Prelude to Act 3 from Carmen
G. Bizet: »La fleur que tu m’avais jetée«, Don José’s aria form Carmen
G. Puccini: Intermezzo from Madama Butterfly
G. Puccini: »E lucevan le stelle«, Cavaradossi’s aria from Tosca
***
F. Cilea: Intermezzo from Adriana Lecouvreur
F. Cilea: »La dolcissima effigie«, Maurizio’s aria from Adriana Lecouvreur
A. Ponchielli: Dance of the Hours from La Gioconda
A. Ponchielli: »Cielo e mar«, Enzo Grimaldi’s aria from La Gioconda
R. Leoncavallo: Intermezzo from I Pagliacci
F. Cilea: »La solita storia del pastore«, Federico’s aria from L’Arlesiana
A. Lara: Granada

Maltese operatic tenor Joseph Calleja is one of the most successful concert artists of the twenty-first century. Thanks to a honeyed tone that inspires comparisons to legendary Italian opera singers, his performances have earned him the moniker “the new Pavarotti”. Following his debut in Malta in 1997 (as Macduff in Macbeth), he went on to win the Caruso Competition in Milan and Plácido Domingo’s Operalia. Since then, his career has taken him to opera houses around the world, including the Royal Opera House in London, the Vienna State Opera, the Deutsche Oper in Berlin, the Metropolitan Opera in New York, the Opéra de Strasbourg and the Washington National Opera. He has worked with many renowned artists, among them Anna Netrebko, Elīna Garanca, Plácido Domingo, Rolando Villazón, Bryn Terfel, Sir Antonio Pappano and Riccardo Chailly. His operatic repertoire extends from French opera to the great lyric tenor and verismo roles. At the 5th Winter Festival we have the opportunity to hear him with the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra under the Italian conductor Gianluca Marcianò.