Joseph Calleja on the genius of Puccini

Joseph Calleja

Adrianne Pieczonka (Tosca) and Joseph Calleja (Cavaradossi) in Tosca

Joseph Calleja (Cavaradossi) and Anja Harteros (Tosca) in Tosca at Bayerische Staatsoper

Ekaterina Metlova (Tosca) and Joseph Calleja (Cavaradossi) in Tosca at Grange Park Opera

Joseph Calleja (Rodolfo) and Anna Netrebko (Mimì) in La bohème

Kristine Opolais (Cio-Cio-San) and Joseph Calleja (Pinkerton) in Madama Butterfly

By Mark Pullinger, 26 January 2018

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“With Puccini, if you don’t sing well, you’re dead within minutes”

Jessica Duchen, 6th April

The Royal College of Music offers an enviable nurturing ground for the next generation of operatic talent. Audrey Hyland, head of the Vocal and Opera faculty, talks about what makes the department special.

Opera in the blood: Speranza Scappucci

Mark Pullinger, 17th March

The Royal Opera’s Principal Guest Conductor explains her passion for opera, her journey into the pit and how good conductors share the attributes of football managers.

Pure agilità: Aya Wakizono returns to Tokyo

Nahoko Gotoh, 13th March

The Japanese mezzo soprano is returning to the New National Theatre, Tokyo for her role debut in Massenet’s Werther. We talk about her love for Rossini, and expansions into later Romantic opera.

Bleeding and dancing: Mark Ravenhill gets his teeth into Salome

Kevin W Ng, 5th February

The trailblaizing playwright makes a return to the operatic stage to direct a new production of Strauss’ Salome with Regents Opera – held in an old boxing venue, an apt location given the opera’s bloody subject...

Back in the spotlight: Bru Zane gives women composers chance to shine

Elodie Olson-Coons, 2nd February

With significant works by Louise Farrenc, Augusta Holmès and Clémence de Grandval – including two grand operas – Palazzetto Bru Zane is pioneering rediscovery of French music of the 19th century.

Altinoglu & Scheppelmann at La Monnaie

David Karlin, 8th January

We sit down with two of the opera world’s leading figures, and masterminds of Brussels’ La Monnaie (De Munt) – how do they balance the competing challenges and thrills of running an opera house?

Mark Pullinger

Mark has been a Bachtrack editor since 2014. He is also an experienced critic, writing hundreds of reviews for the site, as well as a freelancer writing for other magazines and newspapers. He also writes programme notes and blogs on Substack. Mark has a particular passion for the operas of Verdi as well as Russian and French repertoire. Outside the concert hall and opera house, Mark enjoys cooking and travel and is probably at his happiest let loose in a French patisserie or a Viennese coffee house.

“Tosca is like a movie”: Joseph Calleja on the genius of Puccini