Calleja, Bolton delight the crowds
Joseph Calleja and Michael Bolton impressed thousands of people at the Luxol Grounds in what was rightly billed as the concert of the year.
The two delighted those present when they combined for favourites such as Nessun Dorma but the crowds were equally appreciative of their performances with Gillian Zammit, Chiara and Ivan Grech, the lead singer of Winter Moods.
Applause was also reserved for the choir of 270 children, particularly when they joined Calleja for Ave Maria. Calleja said this was his thanksgiving for the recovery of his mentor, tenor Paul Asciak, who was present in the crowd and who, Calleja said, he still needs.
The Malta Philharmonic Orchestra, which was under the baton of Mro Paul Bateman, also played a tribute to Mro Charles Camilleri, who passed away earlier this year. His widow, too, was present.
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Henry Jacobs
Jul 22nd 2009, 20:41
@Keith Micallef Are you sure you attended the concert cos the one I went to was superbly organized even when compared to numerous concerts I attended abroad including Bocelli in Tuscany and Madonna in Milan. Well done Joseph & Co. You made us proud. PS Mr Micallef : next time stay at home.
Keith Micallef
Jul 22nd 2009, 15:13
I loved Joseph without a shadow of a doubt the man is an artists and is excellent in his genre. The organisation was ok but nothing to write home about. well done to Gillian who must have had so much patience with all those kids! I have to agree with R. Vella though I was unimpressed when it came to the trio's performance which sounded rather dismal. Also even though I like Mariegold....Ivan now give us another track ...we've heard this one, one too many times now! Over all it was ok...I enjoyed the Laura Pausini concert yesterday far more though!!!
P.Mifsud
Jul 22nd 2009, 14:43
It was a good evening on the whole. Perhaps it needed a bit of a spark ! it seemed the concert never really took off. Too many people going on and off that stage, too many little intervals( not to mention the 45 min interval). Perhaps next time the local singers could fill in those empty gaps instead of sing with the two main artists !! After all it was meant to be a Calleja - Bolton concert.
C Camilleri
Jul 21st 2009, 15:27
The show was magnificent!!! Thanks Gilian for following our kids through this memorable evening. It was an honor having my twins perform with so much talentet people. Thank Antione for your unlimited patients!!! Could our children have a sovenir of this occasion to show to their grandchildren!! I cried throughout AVE MARIA. I felt really commovated. Thanks the Lord for our kids, they were excellent.
Clint Muscat
Jul 21st 2009, 14:30
Nahseb wiehed mil-ewwel kuncerti ta dan il-livell li esebixxa daqstant it-talent malti. Proset lill kull min ha sehem!
Marigold ta wintermoods imma kienet tal genn wisq!! Ma nixbax nismaghha!! :
Arawha fuq dan il video jekk tridu.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-h7Zu1QvAX0
Sylvia Briffa
Jul 21st 2009, 00:28
Yesterday it was a fantastic concert, why do people here have to moan all the time and what's wrong with international singers, same as Maltese there are different opinions so you to see them if you like their music, if not stay home! What I must say no more promotional tickets please as these are mostly the ones who just come cos it's for free!! Well done to all who took part you where great.
Kevin Zammit
Jul 20th 2009, 22:19
This was probably Callejja's attempt to bring opera to the masses. The man is just world class. Never has Malta had such a success performing in his peak ... and he's putting action to words.
Maybe that complainer who sits on his hands and thinks opera is for only 700 people gets the hint.
And hopefully we will get the opera house we deserve instead of a ... ehmm ... parliament building!?!
May the Good Lord protect you Mr. Callejja ...
Elly Grech
Jul 20th 2009, 21:47
My girls were both singing in the choir and as opposed to others who have commented before me I'm not expecting the organizers to give the kids anything for free, but would really appreciate if the filming was made available to buy at a reasonable price. Thank you NNG for giving our kids the opportunity and experience of such a concert.
F Borg
Jul 20th 2009, 18:56
It was a great show ! A great experience for all the children who participated. Thanks goes to Gillian Zammit who wih great talent and dedication led the 270 children to perform so well. Two disappointments I have to mention, firstly that the choir was not even mentioned in the souvenir programme and to add insult to injury, the children were not allowed to get a signature from the artists. I hope that a souvenir photo or a copy of the filming will be given to them free of charge as a momento. Otherwise well done to all!
saviour mifsud
Jul 20th 2009, 18:42
It was a wonderful concert, worth the money, something to be proud of , being Maltese, Why is it that certain people always grumble about Maltese showmen and sportsmen and praise foreigners??? According to our limitations our lads are producing their utmosts, Just a suggestion - wouldn't be a good gesture that a substantial sum of profits from this concert go to philantropic organisations???? I FINISH BY CONGRATULATing ALL ARTISTS AND TO SHOW THE CONCERT ON THE LOCAL MEDIA TO ENCOURAGE OUR TALENTS.......|
Grech Stephen
Jul 20th 2009, 18:22
Just to point out to Mr. L Attard that it is always protocol that when the president is in attendance, whatever the performance is, the national anthem is played - so no first there!
Allister Buhagiar
Jul 20th 2009, 17:55
This had to be like that, and that like this and so and so. Dejjem teqirdu!!!!! Well done Joseph, Ivan, Gillian and Chiara. Malta is proud of you.
K Spiteri
Jul 20th 2009, 16:49
@ Raphael Vella: You are right. It seems that in every event like this, we always have to listen to the Ivan Grech singing Mariegold (with all due respects to Ivan being one of the very few good rock singers Malta ever produced). Chiara, clearly was included in a bid to boost ticket sales thinking about the fact that she was included prior to her dismal performance in Moscow. The same goes to the children choir, as they are renowned of boosting ticket sales with there relatives attending. Very smart decisions from the organisers... But not all of them work out brilliantly.
c. camilleri
Jul 20th 2009, 15:48
I did not attend the concert at the Luxol Grounds but i enjoyed reading the comments below. What a relieve from the usual monotonous whining and groaning.
Raphael Vella
Jul 20th 2009, 15:25
I wasn't impressed by the show's repertoire. I'm just being honest. I call a spade a spade. IT seemed as though the songs were just thrown in to fill up the performance time! Also the song Gillian, Ivan and Callejja song seemed very unrehearsed, turning into a cacaphony. And why is it always the same local artists who are included in these shows? Wouldn't it have been wise to give a chance to some others? I thought it was going to be more magical. I'm sorry I've been to far better shows than last night, just giving my opinion!!!
Marouska Bugeja
Jul 20th 2009, 15:10
Well done Ivan!!! No matter how many times we listen to Marigold it will still be amazing. And whoever left comments related to TV direction, believe me you do not know what you are talking about since the visuals on screen were definitely important to the audience standing at the back. The crane shots were fantastic and so were the reaction shots.
sandra camilleri
Jul 20th 2009, 14:37
Well done Joseph - your concert last night was fantastic! thank you for a wonderful evening.
Perhaps a DVD of this wonderful concert will be available some time in the future.
Thanks also to Gillian and Chiara and all the other participants - well done!
R Zammit
Jul 20th 2009, 13:59
Gillian Zammit was awesome too!!! Well done to all
Elisabeth Farrugia
Jul 20th 2009, 13:06
It would be very silly of me to say that it wasn't an enjoyable concert yesterday and its a honour to see our Maltese Artists given an opportunity to be on stage with the extremely talented and unassuming Michael Bolton. This is my humble opinion, the show relatively was great BUT what I didn't like was that the concert was CALLEJA-BOLTON not just Calleja and Friends, I maybe wrong though in my opinion I thought that Bolton being so famous and finding the time to come again to Malta for the second time within less than a year wasn't given enough importance and was treated like all the rest, besides I was expecting that Michael Bolton would have had more space maybe having a little mini concert within and hearing such songs such as Georgia on my Mind and Steel Bars!!!! another thing I wonder why our Maltese Artists that is Ivan, Chiara and Gillian weren't in a normal grand finale where normally all the Artists sing a common song together I thought that was lacking and there was absoultely no encore why was NESSUN'DORMA sung twice a COMPETITION MAYBE!!!
George Tabone
Jul 20th 2009, 12:54
P Schembri, you do not deserve to go to these type of concerts, why complain if you enjoyed it? I suppose there always has to be a wise guy amongst a group... you paid GOOD MONEY, it was not even that much! "issa naghmlulek gabra!"
James Mifsud
Jul 20th 2009, 12:45
Here we go again!!!!! Maltese being Maltese....so Michael Bolton sells millions of records ... but all of a sudden for a few excited by the inclusion of some local pop singers, he's not comaprable to them in talent. Jospeh Callejja shone as usual although I didn't like the pop songs he was clearly 'made' to sing yesterday! 'The Prayer'??? no comaprison to Celine Dion sorry Chiara! and 'Marigold' for the thousandth time!!! Ivan please come up with another song now. whilst wishing these local singers the best I don't think they made the show any better. Joseph callejja alone would've done the trick!
R Agiu
Jul 20th 2009, 12:36
@Mark Spiteri
When you go to a concert and purchase standing tickets - as most do when they go to concerts overseas - you cannot possibly go have a relaxed drink after the first 45 minutes as you will lose your vantage point. We paid good money like everyone else but if you felt that the production - not the singing/music - was up to scratch then you must have been at a very different concert. The term 'slick' never crossed my mind!
Joseph Borg
Jul 20th 2009, 12:30
just amazing!
David Saliba
Jul 20th 2009, 11:58
La Traviata at the Royal Opera House in which Joseph starred had two intermissions of 30 minutes' each. A bit long? No. It makes for a wonderful evening. He was stunning there and fantastic last night. What a talent!
Angela Demarco
Jul 20th 2009, 11:56
Joseph Calleja was truly exceptional. Michael Bolton - amazing. Gillian Zammit - brilliant. Ivan Grech - fantastic. But I truly thought that Chiara showed her true colours - she was the ideal singer to match Joseph Calleja in their duet. She came out trumps. Well done to all! Us Maltese have so much to be proud of.
Mark Spiteri
Jul 20th 2009, 11:17
It seems people choose to go to these concerts to find something to complain or moan about. Do these people know that in the past years we were given the opportunity to see such calibre of singers thanks to companies like NNG, we would never dream of of having such stars perform in Malta. Someone even compared it with a programme of covent garden. Well all I can say if it was good for Joseph Calleja to sing and honour us with his presence, it obviously was good for the crowd as well. Why was a 45 min break excessive, sit relax and enjoy or go and have a drink , what was the hurry ????
Joseph Camilleri
Jul 20th 2009, 11:16
Anyone who grumbles about last night's concert has obviously never been to a concert abroad. There are people that travel a day and a night to see a concert, they get soaked in the rain and go home raving about it. The Maltese complain because the intermission was a bit long. Stop moaning and try and appreciate what a wonderful experience yesterday was. And what an absolute star Joseph Calleja has become. It was out of this world.
C. Anastasi
Jul 20th 2009, 10:57
The show was absolutely amazing and all the performers were absolutely fantastic... i can't understand why Maltese people always have something to complain about when they post comments of timesofmalta.com
Just consider yourselves lucky to have been given the opportunity to witness such talent at such a low price!
g. scerri
Jul 20th 2009, 10:23
When Joseph was being Joseph it was wonderful. When Bolton was being Bolton it was acceptable. The two combined were neither fish nor fowl. I know Covent Garden Opera House quite well. For La Traviata, in which Joseph played the tenor lead, the highest price would probably have been around 200 sterling, and for that you sat in a magnificent theatre, comfortable seats, and enjoyed a fully professional production. The prices for this concert were outrageous especially when you consider that the programme (no printed version it seems was available) consisted of the most sugary of classical lollipops.
Jennifer Martinelli
Jul 20th 2009, 10:14
The concert was amazing, the Maltese singers did Malta proud. Gillian Zammit you were INCREDIBLE.
A Cassar
Jul 20th 2009, 09:59
Joseph Calleja was excellent! Briliant voice and performance, made us Maltese proud (same goes for the other Local performers) Michael Bolton was far from impressive. I cant understand why he kept trying to sing arias and not his own songs! He was there just as a crowd puller. Why did he sing Nessun Dorma, then a few minutes later the same aria was sung by Joseph Calleja? It felt as if the letter was showing Michael Bolton how he should sing the song. It was hilarious! Then in the end just as the crowd wanted more.... what would the finale be? Nessun Dorma!!!!! Again!
a 45minute break was in my opinion excessive!
Ian Galea
Jul 20th 2009, 09:37
Yesterday's concert was one of those events that make you wish to become a grandfather so you can recount that amazing experience to your grandkids. I am not really a fan of classical music but Joseph Calleja makes me really proud to be Maltese, while I cannot not mention Ivan Grech for rising to such an enormous occasion and Chiara and Gillian Zammit for their wonderful voices. They were definitely on a par on stage with such a world-class act as Michael Bolton.
Gerald Fenech
Jul 20th 2009, 09:11
From the video it is apparent that Bolton's voice is not what it once was and he wobbled substantially in 'Ridi Pagliaccio'. Calleja as expected was faultless, incredible range, power and a quality of timbre which was spellbinding. The crowd did not look too engaged though and the excerpt is not too clear either.
Anthony Magri
Jul 20th 2009, 09:10
I hope a photo souvenir will be given to each child that participated in this concert.
I. Galea
Jul 20th 2009, 09:08
i didn't attend the concert, but that short clip just gave me goosebumps. especially Calleja and Chiara singing together.
Raymond Jones
Jul 20th 2009, 09:03
Joseph you were suberb. Michael Bolton's performance was stupendous. Gilian, Ivan and Chiara all made us proud. The children's choir was also exceptional. Thanks to all the performers it was an unforgetable wonderful experience.
Congratulations to all involved in the organisation, truly unforgetable.
P Schembri
Jul 20th 2009, 09:02
I thought the voices were quite brilliant - especially the Maltese ones. It seemed to me like Michael was 'Bolted On' - and was there as the crowd puller. Interaction with the audience was limited; the repertoire was inept in parts (case in point - why on earth did they play the sleepy Nocturne just as the pace was picking up? It needed to be in the first half); the show badly needed a compere - the changeovers needed something to keep the audience's attention; we barely realized the show was over; the camera direction was poor - just as the songs came to an end they would switch the screens to the promo logo! Oh, and THAT break - what was that all about after 45 minutes?
I'm sorry folks - I do not want to take anything away from the brilliance of the voices but as a show/spectacle for which I paid good money it just did not live up to expectation ......
Ramona Mifsud
Jul 20th 2009, 09:01
This concert was BREATH TAKING. Welll done to both Joseph Calleja and Michael Bolton. Children Choir was wonderful. At one point I literally was crying. It was so beautiful. Couldn't have asked for more. Well done once again and may we have many many more concerts by BOTH these WONDERFUL VOICES. May the Lord keep them in his care so that can make more people happy with the singing.
Lawrence Attard
Jul 20th 2009, 08:56
This was the best concert I ever attended. Joseph Calleja outshone and outperformed Michael Bolton. This was Maltese talent at its best. We should be so proud that we such talented performers.
I would also like to thank Mro. Bateman for starting with the Maltese National Anthem. Whoever is in charge of organising such venues should make sure to follow this Patriotic initiative.
D.Farrugia
Jul 20th 2009, 08:52
It's true that it's the concert of the year.WELL DONE.By chance anybody knows if there's going to be a dvd on sale?
evelyn vella brincat
Jul 20th 2009, 08:45
has this been filmed and if so, will they be selling the dvd?
P. Bonello
Jul 20th 2009, 08:43
What a concert! What a performance! We have enough talent to conquer the world.
Will it be on CD/DVD? Can we buy it??
Stephanie Caruana
Jul 20th 2009, 08:41
Great Show! Great Perfomance! I hope that TVM will make us relive this moment by showing this show on TV perhaps during Chirstmas Time.
P.Scicluna
Jul 20th 2009, 08:41
Fantastic....what a talent we have !!!!!!!, well organised, well appropriated, beautiful setting under the stars..............I was imagining how it will be under the new roofless theatre.Shame.
thanks to Joseph and all for giving us a wonderfull time.
Anson D. Aqulin
Jul 20th 2009, 08:37
Calleja ingeniously presented to the public a selection of local talent that is not always appreciated. We needed him to come back home and tell us how good we can be. Let us hope that Calleja (and Friends) will become a staple event in our cultural programme.
On a less positive note, I would like to 'congratulate' the Swieqi local council for sporting its mobile cash registers (yes, Wardens) on such an event! We are all aware of the parking limitations in the area, but instead of collaborating for a feasible solution, the Council preferred to tax the public. Sometimes i wonder which rope are such people pulling!!!
L Vella
Jul 20th 2009, 07:56
this show was amazing! well done! J.Calleja you are the next Pavarotti! I wish to relive the moment again!