Tenor Joseph Calleja Portrays Enrico Caruso in Film The Immigrant, Starring Oscar Winner Marion Cotillard and Opening May 16, in New York and Los Angeles

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Maltese tenor Joseph Calleja “magnificently impersonates” his idol Enrico Caruso in the feature film The Immigrant, which opens today, May 16, in New York City and Los Angeles. The Immigrant stars Academy Award-winner Marion Cotillard as Ewa Cybulska, a young Polish woman struggling to realize the American dream in a 1920s New York filled with lures and snares; directed by James Gray, the film also stars Joaquin Phoenix as Bruno Weiss, a nightclub Svengali who introduces Ewa to the New World, and Jeremy Renner as Bruno’s rival, Orlando the Magician. Calleja portrays Caruso in a scene on Ellis Island, where the legendary Italian tenor sings an aria from Puccini’s La Rondine for an audience of new immigrants. In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Gray revealed that the scene is based on an actual concert Caruso gave on Ellis Island; the director, an opera fan, laced other references to Puccini throughout the movie, as well as to Gounod and Wagner. Premiered last spring at the Cannes Film Festival, The Immigrant was called a “rich, beautifully rendered film” by Variety and listed by IndieWire as one of “21 Best Films of 2014 We’ve Already Seen.” You can see a clip from the film and another Q&A with Gray here. 

Calleja’s Decca album Amorewas released in the U.S. this past fall. The tenor took his inspiration for the recording from his hero Caruso, as well as such iconic tenors as Beniamino Gigli and Tito Schipa. In its five-star review, the UK’s Daily Mail urged: “Do get his new album of popular favorites, Amore. He sounds especially joyous throughout.”

Spring and summer engagements for Calleja include Verdi’s Requiem with conductor Antonio Pappano and the Santa Cecilia Orchestra and Chorus in England (Birmingham, May 16; London, May 18). The tenor plays the Earl of Leicester in Donizetti’s Maria Stuarda alongside Joyce DiDonato in the title role at the Deutsche Oper-Berlin (June 4, 7), and in a string of performances at the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, he plays Pinkerton in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly (June 12, 14, 19), Macduff in Verdi’s Macbeth alongside Anna Netrebko (June 27, July 1) and Alfredo in Verdi’s La Traviata (July 4, 7, 10). On July 18, Calleja returns to his native Malta for his annual open-air concert at the Granaries in Floriana. 

Next Season in the U.S.

On September 24, Calleja kicks off his 2014-15 season in the U.S. at the Metropolitan Opera, starring as Macduff in Verdi’s Macbeth, in a run of seven performances through October 18. A live broadcast of the production on October 11 will open the ninth season of the The Met: Live in HD, which is the world’s leading alternative cinema content series and reaches more than 2,000 theaters in 65 countries.  The tenor will again be performing alongside Anna Netrebko as Lady Macbeth, with Zeljko Lucić as Macbeth and René Pape as Banquo in Adrian Noble’s chilling production, conducted by Fabio Luisi. Along with more high-profile performances in London, Berlin and Munich next season, Calleja will be returning for another run at the Met as Edgardo in Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor from March 1 to April 11, 2015.

Joseph Calleja: upcoming engagements

May 16

Birmingham, England

Symphony Hall

Santa Cecilia Orchestra & Chorus / Antonio Pappano

Verdi: Requiem

May 18

London, England

Southbank Centre

Santa Cecilia Orchestra & Chorus / Antonio Pappano

Verdi: Requiem

June 4, 7

Berlin, Germany

Deutsche Oper-Berlin

Donizetti: Maria Stuarda (Earl of Leicester)

June 12, 14, 19

Munich Germany 

Bavarian State Opera

Puccini: Madama Butterfly (Pinkerton)

June 27, July 1

Munich Germany

Bavarian State Opera

Verdi: Macbeth (Macduff)

July 4, 7, 10

Munich Germany

Bavarian State Opera

Verdi: La Traviata (Alfredo)

July 18

Floriana, Malta

The Granaries

Open-air concert 

Aug 15

Copenhagen, Denmark

Tivoli Gardens

Gala Concert

Aug 17

Aalborg, Denmark

Tivoli Gardens

Gala Concert

Aug 22

Gstaad, Switzerland

Tivoli Gardens

Gala Concert with Diana Damrau and Thomas Hampson

Sep 3

Moscow, Russia

Tchaikovsky Hall

Gala Concert

Sep 24-Oct 18

New York, NY

Metropolitan Opera

Verdi: Macbeth (Macduff)