Joseph Calleja Joins MPO To Present Evening of Maltese Talent at InClassica

InClassica 2021 is the biggest and most ambitious music festival to ever take place in the Middle East, welcoming a staggering 37 world-renowned soloists, 7 celebrated orchestras and 12 leading conductors to Dubai for a 30-day celebration of sublime musicianship, world-class performance and international collaboration. InClassica is pleased to present the biggest names in classical music today, featuring performers from Europe, the Middle East, Asia and the Americas, for an unrivalled programme of phenomenal concerts taking place at the Dubai Opera and Coca-Cola Arena. The festival features a range of music from distinguished historical European composers, as well as works from the event’s Composer-in-Residence, Alexey Shor. 

Last night at InClassica

Operatic Gala: From Malta With Love 
Coca-Cola Arena

Internationally acclaimed for his vocal brilliance, elegant style, persuasive acting and impeccable taste, Joseph Calleja has become one of Malta’s most important musical ambassadors. For this spectacular gala concert, the renowned Maltese tenor and famed Metropolitan Opera star performed some of the most hauntingly beautiful arias in the French and Italian repertoire, including Ah! lève-toi, soleil! from Charles Gounod's Roméo et Juliette, La fleur que tu m'avais jetée from Bizet's Carmen and Verdi’s Quando le sere al placido from Luisa Miller. A versatile and diverse performer, Calleja also performed a work from Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story, an operatic musical containing elements of jazz, classical and Latin American music, as well as the hugely famous You’ll Never Walk Alone from Carousel. In addition to the appearance of Joseph Calleja, this performance also featured Charles Camilleri’s Overture and Celebration from The Knights of Malta Ballet Suite, in a further celebration of the unique contributions to classical music by Maltese artists.

Joseph Calleja (tenor)
 - “It’s a big pleasure to be singing again with the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra, the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra that, under the stewardship of CEO Sigmund Mifsud and Chairman Catherine Tabone, is being exposed to one world-class artist after another. This is how an orchestra grows, and growing it is indeed. To be again back on the stage with my friend Maestro Sergey Smbatyan, to have my brothers and sisters of the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra, it was an incredible pleasure, and to sing for an audience, it is something that I’m sure not just myself but many of my fellow artists will never take for granted again. Thank you to all the audiences in Dubai and those people around the world who are slowly filling up theatres, it seems the public miss opera, and the whole gamut of classical music. Thank you for having the courage and the love for music. Without music we are nothing so it’s good that we are now restarting. Last but not least, the European Foundation and SAMIT, the two companies presenting InClassica, thank you so much for first of all finding the inspiration in this climate, for finding the energy and for having the will to discover and to bring all these artists from their different genres together. Thank you so much.”

Sergey Smbatyan
- “It was a pleasure to perform with Joseph Calleja and I think the orchestra performed very well. This repertoire has an incredibly rich world of sound and colours, and, of course even more so when brought to life by Joseph. It was a fantastic experience and I am very proud to have conducted the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra for this truly magical event.”

Quotes From Those in Attendance: 

“It was really, really amazing. I’ve always loved opera and to see Joseph Calleja here in Dubai was a genuine treat.” — audience member

“A really great concert, I loved it. Thanks to everyone for making this event happen.” — audience member

“My first experience of opera and what an experience!”  — audience member 

Tonight at InClassica*

Tchaikovsky – Melodious Inventor
Coca-Cola Arena

Mischa Maisky is considered to be one of the most important cellists of our time. Playing on an instrument by famous Venetian luthier Domenico Montagna, he has shown his dedication to the works of Russian composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky, on several occasions. The Variations on a Rococo Theme show influences by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart whom Tchaikovsky deeply admired. The Nocturne for cello and orchestra is a beautiful example of Tchaikovsky's melodious invention. Sergey Smbatyan, a renowned expert in the Russian repertoire, sets up a dialogue between these works, the sumptuous harmonies, endless melodic lines and magnificent colours of Sergei Rachmaninoff's Symphony No. 2 and Rih by the young Maltese composer Alex Vella Gregory.

 - Mischa Maisky

 - Sergey Smbatyan

 - Malta Philharmonic Orchestra

*Full details (including quotes from performers and attendees) will be available tomorrow. For any enquiries regarding tonight’s performance, please contact us.

Organised by the European Foundation for Support of Culture and SAMIT Event Group, the 2021 Edition of the InClassica International Music Festival is currently underway, with daily concerts taking place until the 26th of September. For more information or to book tickets, please visit the official website at inclassica.com.