Composer: Francesco Cilea, Gaetano Donizetti, Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Verdi
Performer: Joseph Calleja, Lydia Easley, Giovanni Battista Parodi
Orchestra: Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi
Conductor: Riccardo Chailly
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Decca
Catalogue: E4752502
Release: 2004
Size: 220 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: cover
Verdi: La traviata / Act 2
01. “Lunge da lei” – “De’ miei bollenti spiriti”
02. “O mio rimorso!”
Verdi: Macbeth / Act 4
03. “O figli miei…Ah, la paterna mano”
Verdi: Rigoletto – Revised Martin Chusid / Act 2
04. Questa o quella
05. Ella mi fu rapita!…Parmi veder le lagrime!
06. Duca, Duca
07. Possente amor mi chiama
Verdi: Rigoletto: Act 3
08. La donna è mobile
Donizetti: L’elisir d’amore / Act 1
09. “Quanto è bella, quanto è cara!”
Donizetti: Lucia di Lammermoor / Act 3
10. “Tombe degl’avi miei” – “Fra poco a me ricovero”
11. “Oh meschina!”
12. “Tu che a Dio spiegasti l’ali”
Cilea: Adriana Lecouvreur / Act 1
13. La dolcissima effigie sorridente
Cilea: L’arlesiana / Act 2
14. E la solita storia (Lamento di Federico)
Puccini: Madama Butterfly / Act 2
15. “Addio fiorito asil”
Calleja is said to have an interest in the great tenors of the past and that must be what inspires the bel canto elegance of his singing… inflecting the music with light and shade, catching the joy of the recitative, the intimacy at ‘Qui presso a lei’, the tenderness of the pianissimi…A consistently impressive début that adds richness and lustre to the tenor gene pool.
Calleja is a rare discovery, evoking memories from Caruso to Domingo with the suppleness of his tone and the expressive, highly individual lyricism he brings to even the most familiar material.