Joseph Calleja is singing Gabriele, the tenor role to Plácido Domingo’s baritone Doge in Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra at the Royal Opera House. Eleven years ago Calleja, 32, won at Domingo’s Operalia competition for new, young talent (Rolando Villazón and Erwin Schrott are other past winners) and Domingo has been a force in his career ever since.
“The Three Tenors was one of the first CDs I bought, so Plácido was an inspiration when I started singing at home in Malta, aged 16,” Calleja says. “I first met him at his Operalia competition and I was overwhelmed. I started almost stuttering ... I sensed his charisma, which has now become legendary on stage. His deportment is very classy and authoritative and, as a younger man, it was something to be reckoned with. He and his wife, Marta, called me ‘the baby tenor’ because I was the youngest singer in the competition.
“Plácido likes the fact that I began my career under his wing. He gave me the first push; winning Operalia garnered the attention of opera companies around the world, and when he immediately hired me for his own company [Washington National Opera, to sing Count Almaviva in Rossini’s Barber of Seville] that was a great show of faith.
“Now when I see him it’s like seeing an old mentor; not a father figure exactly but as if you’re in a big company and you’re the up and coming, hot-shot lawyer meeting the CEO. We talk about my development and the way my voice is evolving.
“This will be the first time I’ve sung with Plácido in an opera and my role in Simon Boccanegra — Gabriele Adorno — was one of his best Verdi roles. When I’m singing in rehearsals I can see him swaying with the phrases and reminiscing about when he sang the part himself. His greatness is that he doesn’t allow his baggage to get in the way. His attitude is not, ‘I’m Plácido, I’ve done everything, let’s get this over with.’ He doesn’t ‘phone in’ the role. He still accepts criticisms from [the conductor] Maestro Pappano, and he wants to give a new interpretation, to improve. After 45 years that’s extraordinary.
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“We joke that he’s a superhero; his schedule would kill many people. For the first rehearsal Plácido flew in from America and he was rehearsing three hours later. His concentration and recovery powers are incredible. But he’s smart in rehearsals; he doesn’t sing all out all the time. He doesn’t try to sing anyone under the table. He’s encouraging and he has given me pointers for how to sing phrases with more pathos.
“There is one expression he has used a lot here, ‘Don’t tell me the score!’ We were rehearsing during Spain’s first World Cup game; we are all on Twitter but Plácido was recording the game to watch later.
“Before the curtain goes up on Simon Boccanegra I will say to Plácido what I say to everyone, ‘In bocca al lupo’. It means literally ‘In the wolf’s mouth’ and he will say, ‘Crepi il lupo’, which means ‘The wolf dies’. It’s like saying, ‘Break a leg’.
“And in 20 or 30 years’ time I can say that I’ve sung Boccanegra with Plácido Domingo. That’s something to be proud of.”