Malta's own 'Pavarotti' just loves Metallica

When Joseph Calleja was headbanging and singing cover versions of Guns N' Roses or Metallica's latest hits in the 1980s, Luciano Pavarotti's arias were the last thing on his mind.

Now international music critics are predicting that the 26-year-old tenor from Attard has what it takes to step into the shoes of opera's living legend.

"It is a big honour to hear people say this. But there won't be a next Pavarotti and there is no way I am ready to fill his shoes at such a young age," Mr Calleja said in an interview.

"It is very presumptuous to say I will fill his shoes. The music world is looking for the next Pavarotti but this kind of talk is dangerous and puts a young singer under undue pressure," he said in his matter-of-fact voice.

Mr Calleja is one of Malta's best walking adverts, having last year signed an exclusive four-year contract with the prestigious record label Decca.

His name is now squeezed in between that of Montserrat Caballé and José Carreras on the list of Decca's world famous artists.

International critics describe his voice as "clean, easy, high-flying" while others were struck by his "lyric, Italianate sound of the voice and his impressive musical maturity".

Mr Calleja is now resting his voice in Malta where he arrived a few weeks ago for the birth of his first child, Clara Katarina, with his wife Tatiana Lisnic, an international soprano in her own right.

He had to cancel two Verdi requiems in Milan and another production with the Welsh National Opera to be with his wife at the special moment.

While here, the Maltese authorities have grabbed the opportunity and persuaded Mr Calleja to give a rare concert at the Manoel Theatre with conductor Brian Schembri on April 27.

"Brian, who is residing in France, is another wealthy ambassador for the island and I am looking forward to this concert with him conducting the national orchestra," he said.

Mr Calleja will also be singing with another of Malta's biggest exports, Miriam Gauci, at the Mediterranean Conference Centre, in Valletta on April 30, in a concert organised by WelcomEurope.

The concert, which starts at 9 p.m., will be finished in time for patrons to continue watching the celebration marking Malta's entry into the EU. It wasn't always arias, Rigolettos or orchestras for Mr Calleja, and his musical tastes as a teenager differed immensely.

"I remember singing cover versions of Metallica and Iron Maiden with my friend Konrad Pulé at the back of our school chapel.

I knew I had a voice then but didn't have any idea what kind of voice it was," he said.

His days of rock music were numbered when at 13 he saw Mario Lanza in The Great Caruso at his uncle's house.

He went through a period of trying to imitate him... "for three minutes - then I went hoarse for two weeks!"

His tastes for classical music were further nurtured when he was on a visit to relatives in the UK and the only CDs he could find to test his brand new Discman were Essential Pavarotti 2.

Soon after, he was secretly buying classical CDs and hiding them from his friends, who would have teased him ad nauseam had they discovered his latest choice of music.

Upon his aunt's insistence he joined the Amadeus Chamber Choir and was immediately contracted to do the choir part of the Rigoletto at the Manoel Theatre.

He started to take piano and theory lessons and was eventually recommended to study with the distinguished Maltese tenor Paul Asciak.

Mr Calleja has been under Mr Asciak's expert guidance ever since.

"Paul Asciak is my mentor. It was not always smooth because we both have passionate, fiery tempers, but it has been an amazing tandem for the past 10 years and I am still under his guidance," he said.

Being such a young artist from an island where opera is not exactly young people's cup of tea, Mr Calleja's hope is that local authorities will work to reverse this situation.

"I think the authorities should maybe start taking young students to opera rehearsals and get them interested in the subject," he said.

Mr Calleja is currently riding high with the release of his debut Decca recording, Tenor Arias with conductor Riccardo Chailly.

The young tenor is also lined up for a debut at the Metropolitan Opera in 2006 and his future plans include concerts in Salzburg, London and Vienna, among others.

But for the next few weeks Mr Calleja is relishing every special moment with his wife and newborn daughter.

And when he's driving around the island, his old passion for music resurfaces and he is usually listening to Lincoln Park, Eminem or Limp Bizkit on his car stereo.