Given the question: Facts:   - years active: 1978 -- present      - birth date: 22 january 1978    - name: joseph calleja    - nationality: maltese    - image: maltese tenor joseph calleja.jpg    - birth place: attard , malta    - occupation: tenor   Based on these bullet points, write a short biography describing the life of joseph calleja .
The answer is:
joseph calleja , -lrb- born 22 january 1978 in attard -rrb- , is a maltese tenor .he began singing at the age of 16 , having been discovered by tenor brian cefai and continued his studies with paul asciak .at 19 , he made his operatic debut as macduff in verdi 's `` macbeth '' at the astra theatre in gozo and went on to become a prize winner at the belvedere hans gabor competition the same year .in 1998 , he won the caruso competition in milan and was a prize winner in plácido domingo 's operalia international opera competition in 1999 .he has since been considered one of the most promising young tenors of the 21st century .`` joseph calleja -- the tenor who is malta 's national treasure '' by imogen tilden , `` the guardian '' , 6 september 2012 -rrb- on 2 november 2012 , the university of malta presented calleja with a doctor of literature honoris causa in acknowledgment of his achievements as an internationally renowned tenor .