Joseph Calleja, Malta's top international export, is jet-setting around the globe receiving one accolade after another. Ariadne Massa corners him at the airport and talks family, fears and football.

Joseph Calleja dashes into the airport's departures lounge, perspiration beading on his forehead. Instead of getting in line he rushes over to excuse himself for the 30-minute delay and then joins his wife, Tatiana Lisnic, in the slow-moving queue, impatiently looking at his watch, and turning back with a helpless look.

Fifteen minutes later he shows up at the cafeteria, orders a Kinnie and sits down. His presence dwarfs everything around him; it's as if a friendly giant has set foot in a doll's house.

His voice, which garners rapturous applause from operatic audiences around the world, commands attention and passers-by discreetly look on in awe.

Placing his haversack by his feet, Calleja sighs and admits that the constant travelling zaps his energy. The hardest bit is leaving behind his four-year-old daughter and two-year-old son. Before he left for the airport, Clara clung on to him and made a vain appeal: "Papa don't go again, I'm tired you go all the time."

The 30-year-old tenor and his wife, a renowned soprano in her own right, were booked on a flight to Germany for a gala performance of Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor. Returning to Malta two days later, he will be flying to Spain this week for two back-to-back performances of Verdi's Messa Da Requiem in Mallorca and Menorca.

"This year involved a lot of flying - from Italy to Germany, Washington, Japan, New York and Tokyo. The jet lag was really bad," he sighs.

As his career soars, Calleja is literally spending more time in the clouds than on the ground, and in one year he has notched up nearly 130,000 air miles on Lufthansa alone.

As the air miles pile up, so do the rave reviews: "Calleja was certainly the uncrowned king of the evening," wrote the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung; "Calleja is emerging as a significant tenor," announced The New York Times; "Calleja not only stood out in timbre and good looks, but also through the musicality with which he used his limber, agile and cleanly produced, voluminous voice," enthused Die Presse; and finally The Unamplified Voice predicted that, "if the next Björling or Pavarotti is already out there, it can be no one but the 30-year-old Calleja".

Filling the void of Luciano Pavarotti is something which has haunted the young tenor since he first stepped on to the world stage, especially now that the Italian legend has passed away. Does he see himself stepping into the grand man's shoes?

"It won't happen... In the last century there was only one guy who reached such a plateau and that was Pavarotti himself. Nobody has achieved that kind of stardom. Even little kids in Africa, running around with just a loin cloth, know who he is. It would be highly presumptuous to expect that," he says, shrugging off the idea.

"I have achieved so much in life already... I don't even entertain such thoughts. Pavarotti became Pavarotti for the masses when he was in his 40s. Now we're searching for Pavarotti in a 30-year-old, which is impossible. It has to be gradual, but unfortunately we're living in a disposable era."

Is he worried about becoming disposable?

"I'm working not to become disposable by retaining my vocal health. My career was going so fast, that I had to make a choice. My voice is now improving and maturing, as opposed to deteriorating. You cannot skip that process," he says, rubbing his beard, which disguises his young looks.

Calleja admits that, at times, it was tempting to jump on the bandwagon and race into the fold, becoming more well known and financially better off in the process.

"But my aim is to sing and have a long career. I don't plan to stop until I'm at least 60, but you cannot achieve this if you go too fast. I'm doing 55 performances a year, which allows me to be in Malta for 12 weeks a year. There are a couple of my colleagues who fit in 85 to 90 performances, so you can imagine the pressure they're under and sadly it reflects in their vocal health," he adds.

He compares protecting his voice to boxing.

If you had a budding boxer of 19, you would not put him in the ring to challenge the world champion. You pace him for a series of fights.

"Singing is the same, except it takes longer. I am very careful to keep this in mind," he says, adding that he tries hard to steer clear of smoky environments and alcohol.

The night before he bent the rules, because he threw a barbecue and, being an avid Italy fan, invited a few close friends over to watch the Italy vs Spain match.

He had four glasses of wine that night, and since he had not drank for so long he was now nursing a headache, which he joked "must be bigger than Donadoni's" (the Italy coach who was sacked after his team were booted out at the quarter final phase).

He took his favourite team's loss in his stride, but he laughs when he remembers how he would cry with rage whenever Italy lost in his younger days.

Speaking about his childhood, Calleja recognises that while his friends were going out, dating and experimenting, he was rehearsing operatic arias. However, he has no regrets.

"I did miss out on my teenage years, but it's a small price to pay. What I did was special and unique and it brings a great level of satisfaction. Sometimes it feels like it's a bigger price to pay, but if I had to turn back the years I wouldn't do anything differently," he says.

Becoming a parent at 26 has also changed his perspective on life and has added to the responsibilities. Returning to Malta from his commitments abroad has become increasingly high on his agenda.

He speaks admiringly of other parents who manage to make ends meet in the current economic situation, being faced by people in Europe with "incredible bills to pay for water and electricity".

Speaking about family and his children makes him go all emotional and he confides: "Do you want to know a secret? I've become a cry-baby just thinking of my kids."

"The other day I was in New York for a few weeks on my own. On the way back, on the plane, I was watching the film Dan In Real Life, where the mother had died and the father was raising the children on his own.

"I was exhausted and stressed, so when I saw the girls hug their father I couldn't hold back the tears. The stewardess asked how I was and I replied, 'I'm perfectly fine' then bawled my eyes out."

Seeing his children grow up is very important to Calleja, but he recognises that he also cannot live without singing. It's my life. For me it's not just a means to an end or a way of life, it's me. I see, I smell, I hear, I sing."

One of his biggest fears is damaging or losing his voice, but luckily his best friend happens to be ENT specialist Alec Lapira, who has been monitoring his vocal cords for 15 years.

"At the first sign that something could go wrong he advises me to cancel or take particular action. I always follow his advice. Part of the fact that I'm healthy is because he made me so conscious of how the body works. Now I know when I can sing with a cold, and when I can't," he says, stressing he is not a hypochondriac.

His caution has led to a "velvety" voice that has reverberated through theatres worldwide.

In a matter of two years he made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera of New York, Chicago, and Tokyo.

The Met was so impressed with his performances that it booked him for three events next year: a star-studded gala performance on March 15; the Duca in Verdi's Rigoletto, and Nemorino in Donizetti's Elisir d'Amore.

The only theatre he has not yet conquered - even though he feels the word 'conquer' sounds "too military" - is La Scala in Milan, because of circumstances he had not control over.

"It's only a matter of time. And oh well, I'm 30 and I've sung everywhere of note, so I cannot complain. There's plenty of time," he says.

Next year's calendar is already full until July, but while many may find this daunting, Calleja welcomes the bookings, even though he concedes that when he has too much work, he complains, and when the offers fail to pour in, he also complains.

But 2009 is too far ahead to stay pondering on. For the time being he is looking forward to his upcoming Pavarotti Tribute Concert in Valletta on July 12.

Organised by NnG Promotions, the concert will see the participation of the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra (which replaced the Janecek Philharmonic Orchestra at the last minute due to technical hitches) under the baton of Maestro Brian Schembri.

Calleja takes performing in his hometown very seriously.

He is so keen to ensure everything runs smoothly that he gets into the organisational details, and jokes that if something went wrong his poor family and friends would have to face the music.

"I have no control over the price of tickets, seating, etc... but I try to put myself in the position of the audience to establish if there are any pitfalls.

I moved to NnG because they have a history of putting the audience's needs first. It's only my fault if I sing badly," he says, with a hearty guffaw.

Once the details are finalised, he just goes on stage and bathes in the admiration of his fellow countrymen.

"I'm lucky to be loved where it matters most - in Malta. Sometimes, artists find it difficult because they're not accepted in their own country. I take this privilege to heart," he enthuses.

When in Malta, Calleja is on a quest for normality; a time where he can go for a fenkata with friends, go to the beach with his family, relish his new boat, or listen to his varied CD collection that includes music by the German metal band Rammstein, and the American nu metal band Limp Bizkit.

"There is nothing really extravagant about my life except the travelling, which takes a lot out of you," he says, adding that overall, despite being a recognisable face, people respect his privacy.

"They smile politely, but they don't mob me - I'm not a pop star. I'm just a normal guy and I like that. OK, I do admit what I'm doing is unprecedented, but I don't see those two things as justification to be treated differently than anyone else.

"I was lucky to be born with this talent," he admits.

Once his summer break is over, it's back to work, and apart from his engagements across the globe, Calleja is planning to release a new CD early next year.

Calleja, together with other top international artists, has also recently been signed up by Universal Music Classical Artists Management and Productions, a new line of business of Universal Classics.

Looking at his watch, he realises he has to leave to catch the plane. He gets up and lugs his "beast" hand luggage on his back. He never carries an extra change of clothes, but inside he has everything he needs to keep in touch with his loved ones - his computer, and other electronic toys.

Tickets for Calleja's Pavarotti Tribute Concert are available at €80 (Lm34.34), €110 (Lm47.22) and €140 (Lm60.10) and may be bought online at www.nngpromotions.com or from Vodafone, Exotique and Agenda outlets.