Joseph Calleja Recording New Verdi Album; Angela Gheorghiu Attends Session
By David SalazarJoseph Calleja has revealed that he is recording a new Verdi album for Decca.
The tenor revealed that a Verdi album was in the works via his Twitter account on Wednesday. “Recording today our Verdi Album in Valencia with #vittoriovitelli #ramontebar,” he wrote.
On Thursday, he put a picture on Instagram alongside famed Romanian soprano Angela Gheorghiu stating “Today recording a new Verdi album” and then later updated his followers when the session had “wrapped.”
Representatives from Decca confirmed that the album will in fact be released in 2017, though there was no comment on whether Gheorghiu would be included.
What repertoire should we expect?
It should be interesting to see what kind of repertoire Calleja includes in the new album, given that his very first album “Tenor Arias (2004)” featured selections from Verdi’s “La Traviata,” “Macbeth” and “Rigoletto.” Given the tenor’s repertoire expansion in the last 12 years, it would not be surprising to see moments from “Simon Boccanegra” and “Un Ballo in Maschera” show up on the new CD. Calleja is slated to perform “I Due Foscari” in Salzburg in 2017, so that may also make an appearance on the album.
Despite having an extensive recording library, this is the first album that Calleja is releasing since 2013 when he was part of a recording of Verdi’s “Simon Boccanegra” alongside Thomas Hampson and Christine Opolais that hit stores on Sept. 16, 2013. His last solo album “Amore” came a week earlier on Sept. 9, 2013. Other albums from the Maltese tenor include his 2012 Tribute to Mario Lanza, “Be My Love,” 2011’s “The Maltese Tenor,” his 2005 Decca debut “The Golden Voice” and his solo album Debut “Tenor Arias” from 2004 with Riccardo Chailly. He has also appeared on recording of “I Capuletti e I Montecchi” for Deutsche Grammophon among others.
Categories
News