Joseph Calleja has been named among the winners of the 11th edition of the Opera News Awards which recognises the achievements of leading figures in opera.

He will be honoured in New York in April along with Elina Garanca, Waltraud Meier, Anna Netrebko and José van Dam.

The magazine, which has been published since 1936 and has the largest circulation of any classical music magazine in the United States, described Calleja as “one of the finest lyric tenors in the world”.

“Joseph Calleja has a golden-age voice, its very timbre imbued with intense emotion and irresistible passion, and he wields it with technical mastery so secure that he can project an air of complete spontaneity and abandon – the essence of the singing actor’s art.

“Calleja paints fully dimensional characters through sound alone,” senior editor Louise Guinther said.

For the third year running, the Maltese tenor will present his Christmas concert to raise funds for the BOV Joseph Calleja Foundation at San Pawl tat-Tarġa’s Divine Mercy Chapel next Sunday. In what has become a tradition, Calleja will be accompanied by a number of artists who are currently benefitting from the foundation’s support of musically-gifted young artists and vulnerable children.

16-year-old Gozitan baritone Charles Buttigieg.

Among them is 16-year-old baritone Charles Buttigieg from Gozo, who sang at a dinner for patrons of the foundation at the Corinthia Palace Hotel last Thursday.

Another beneficiary of the foundation, soprano Nicola Said, also performed alongside Calleja to the delight of guests who included the Prime Minister and Archbishop.

Along with tenor Cliff Zammit Stevens, 16-year-old Gozitan baritone Charles Buttigieg and violinist Kurt Sacco, she will also be joining Calleja for the Christmas concert which will feature a number of Christmas carols and other seasonal favourites.

Speaking at the launch of this year’s Christmas concert, Calleja had said: “One of the foundation’s aims is to use the arts to help children with social problems. We want to open a different window to these kids and I believe we can achieve that through the arts.”

The concert will be followed by a reception at Villa Arrigo in San Pawl tat-Tarġa where the audience will have the opportunity to meet the performers.

Tickets for Joseph Calleja’s Christmas concert at the Divine Mercy Chapel in San Pawl tat-Tarġa on December 20 are available through booking website ooii.com.mt. All proceeds go to the foundation.