Recognising a golden egg when they have
one, Decca have, not surprisingly, come
up with a sequel to last year’s successful
debut album for Joseph Calleja. The
title is "The Golden Voice"
and that’s exactly what the voice is.
Not only does it have the lustre, beauty
and splendour one associates with this
precious metal, but it also recalls
what is today commonly known as "The
Golden Age" of singing in his use
of it. In an appreciation in the booklet,
Calleja’s voice teacher Paul Asciak
mentions "Anselmi, Bonci, Schipa,
early Gigli and Tagliavini". One
could add De Lucia at the further end
of the list and Björling at the
nearest. In a way Calleja’s is an old-fashioned
voice. It ha s that slight rapid vibrato,
a flutter some would say but to me that
word implies something unsteady, something
nervous – and nervous it definitely
isn’t. Anyway it makes his voice immediately
recognizable. His use of it also belongs
to the old school, when the singer’s
personality depended more on his way
of phrasing than delivering steely top
notes. Make no mistake – the top notes
are there but they are not used to excess,
to show off. They are an integral part
of his total tonal palette, but what
impresses more in fact is his willingness
to soften the voice, to phrase naturally
according to the ebb and flow of the
music. He also knows how to use rubato
as a means of expression, the tempo
fluctuations that allow him to hold
back and expose an important phrase
and then speed up again. His pianissimos
are exquisite and he moves imperceptibly
from chest to head voice, making his
singing feel very much of a piece. Add
to this that he is fully aware of his
limits; he never forces and his choice
of repertoire shows that he is not intent
on singing his first Otello next week
– possibly never – but one never knows.
Calleja is still in the first blossoming
of his career and a couple of arias
here show that in due time he might
gradually venture into heavier parts.
Werther’s Pourquoi me reveiller is
probably the best example here with
full dramatic ring and power clearly
in reserve.
Repertoire-wise the
disc is divided into three categories.
Firstly there are parts he is already
singing. Then there are isolated arias
– like the aforementioned one from Werther
– which to date he has only sung in
concert. Then there are "Golden
Age" arias that became signature
items for Golden Age tenors. Do we hear
a difference? Well, in my case I listened
to the disc together with my wife the
same evening I had received it. In the
middle of the Favorita aria,
exquisitely sung, she said: "He
has never sung this on stage!"
The booklet confirmed that she was right.
"He doesn’t sound involved"
she continued "He sings the notes
better than I have ever heard them sung,
but he isn’t ... whatever the character’s
name is!" A harsh verdict maybe,
but there is more than one grain of
truth in it, for if there is any criticism
to be levelled against Calleja it is
a certain lack of characterisation.
Not that he doesn’t understand the predicament
of each character; every aria is masterfully
sung with the right inflections
and all that, but Fernando (that’s his
name, dear spouse!) in La favorita
and Nemorino in L’elisir d’amore
sound very much like the same person
walking in and out of two different
operas. But this is a problem that is
inherent in the format of the recital
disc, where we get only glimpses of
the characters in question and then
on to the next one, and the character
has to be delineated with vocal means
alone. A concert might give the same
impression but there at least we have
the facial expressions to add something
to the aural picture. I may well have
said this before but recital discs are
better the less you hear of them – in
one sitting – and this is not the singer’s
fault, it’s characteristic of the format.
Dear reader, don’t
let anything of what I have written
deter you from listening to this disc.
What’s in it is immensely more valuable
than what is not. Let me highlight just
a few things to prepare for my final
verdict: The Lombardi aria (no
recitative though) amply demonstrates
his use of expressive rubato; the Favorita
(by now we know that the tenor is Fernando)
is unforced and intelligently phrased;
Una furtiva lagrima has the most
magical ending; the long scene from
La sonnambula is full of lovely
Bellinian cantilena and is further enhanced
by the presence of Anna Netrebko who
colours her expressive voice almost
Callas-like; Roméo et Juliette
has secure top notes – and fine
identification (yes, it belongs to his
stage repertoire as do both Elisir
and Sonnambula); Pâris’s
song from La belle Hélène
is obviously modelled on Björling’s
legendary 1938 recording, but lacks
the last ounce of virility and the final
high C isn’t as free as Björling’s;
it’s still the best I’ve heard for ages.
The romance from Les pêcheurs
is full of light and shade but here
the vibrato becomes more prominent than
elsewhere on this recital and he sings
it a notch or two more strongly than
I would ideally like him to do. When
it comes to seamless half-voice legato
singing he can’t compete with the young
Nicolaï Gedda and – more recently
– Zoran Todorovich, but the end is truly
magical. Si j’étais roi (not
often heard today) finds him at his
most expressive and, yes, it also belongs
to his stage repertoire. The two Golden
Age arias by Donizetti and the Puritani
aria confirm what has already been said:
the intelligent phrasing, the legato
and the brilliant top notes. Finally
there’s the real rarity: Pietri’s Maristella,
an opera premiered at La Scala in April
1940 with Beniamino Gigli, no less,
taking the part of Giovanni Raida. I
can’t recall hearing this aria sung
by anyone else but Gigli, who recorded
it the same year. Without being an immortal
masterpiece it is good music and grateful
for a lyrical tenor voice, like Calleja’s.
The Academy of St Martin
in the Fields play like gods with wonderful
string tone. Carlo Rizzi assists unobtrusively
but flexibly. The sound quality is out
of Decca’s top drawer and the booklet
has full texts and translations but
no notes on the music. The ordering
of the music seems haphazard but with
the programming facilities of the CD
player one can easily arrange it according
to one’s own wishes.
There is so much beautiful
singing, such careful phrasing, such
musicality, so much to admire on this
disc. Yes, I believe Decca have come
up with another Golden Egg!
Göran Forsling
Joseph Calleja (tenor) 
