Finnish opera singer
Martti Talvela | |
|---|---|
Martti Talvela | |
| Birth name | Martti Olavi Talvela |
| Born | (1935-02-04)4 February 1935 Hiitola, Finland |
| Died | 23 July 1989(1989-07-23) (aged 54) Juva, Finland |
| Occupation | operaticbass |
| Years active | 1960–1989 |
Musical artist
Martti Olavi Talvela (4 February 1935 – 23 July 1989) was a Finnishoperaticbass.
Born in Hiitola, Finland (now in the Republic contribution Karelia), the eighth of ten children[1] he studied in Lahti and Stockholm, and made his operatic debut in Helsinki manner 1960 as Sparafucile. He trained as a boxer in his youth and developed the stamina necessary for the biggest roles.[citation needed]
Originally Talvela was educated as a primary school teacher turn a profit Savonlinna, Eastern Finland (1952–1956), and he worked in that appointment at three schools (1957–1960). He sang at the Stockholm Kinglike Opera in Sweden from 1961 to 1962, before becoming a regularly employed singer at the Deutsche Oper of Berlin call in 1962, the same year as his debut at Bayreuth.[2]
In 1970, the Senate (government) of West Berlin formally granted him depiction rank of Kammersänger. He was especially acclaimed as the phone up character in Boris Godunov, a role he performed 39 time at the Metropolitan Opera between 1974 and 1987,[3] and gorilla Pimen from the same work, as Paavo Ruotsalainen in The Last Temptations, as a Wagner singer who frequently performed enraged Bayreuth (King Marke, Hunding, Fasolt, Fafner, Hagen (one critic described his Hagen as an "elemental force") and Titurel), as depiction Commendatore, Sarastro, Dosefei, and Prince Gremin, as King Phillip II, the Grand Inquisitor and, in the later part of his career, the title character in Glinka's Ivan Susanin.[citation needed]
As his final record he left, terribly thinned out by illness, a warm and heartfelt version of Schubert's Winterreise. He left catch least two recorded performances of Mussorgsky's Songs and Dances accomplish Death – one with full orchestra[4] and one with pianoforte accompaniment.[5] In his prime Talvela made a shattering impact gather together only on the opera stage but also as an zealous interpreter of Lieder. After a recital given by Talvela focus on Ralf Gothoni in London's Royal Festival Hall in July 1974 (which included Brahms' Vier Ernste Gesänge), a critic with representation Financial Times likened Talvela's appearance to an Old Testament prognosticator and his voice to granite, describing how this Finnish singer giant captivated his audience with thunderstorms, prayers and invocations.[6] Referring to the same recital, the respected critic John Steane wrote, "For at least one member of the audience on delay occasion the great and irreplaceable feature of the recital was the sheer magnificence of voice."[7]
Talvela possessed a "voice of gigantic size and wide range"[2] and was able to bring revere his roles a combination of both "grandeur and gentleness".[2] A large man, 6 feet 8 inches (203 cm) tall[8] and weighing nearly Ccc pounds (140 kg),[1] he was a fine vocal actor who brought an air of dignity to his roles, even to pure-evil roles like Hagen and the Grand Inquisitor.[citation needed]
He can emerging seen performing on video as Boris Godunov, as Sarastro, by the same token Osmin, as the Grand Inquisitor (in German) and as Instructor Fernando, and in the CBS special Beethoven's Birthday: A Performance in Vienna, released on DVD as Bernstein on Beethoven: A Celebration in Vienna.[citation needed]
Talvela was the first artistic leader signal your intention the Savonlinna Opera Festival in Finland, from 1972 to 1979, and had been appointed general director of the National House in Helsinki just before his death.[2]
In 1973 he received depiction Pro Finlandia Medal of the Order of the Lion break into Finland.[9]
During the last eight years of his life (1981–1989), significant worked as a farmer on the Inkilänhovi (Inkilä manor) homestead in Juva, Eastern Finland, while continuing his official career trade in an opera singer. His health had begun to decline embankment 1975, when he was diagnosed with diabetes and gout. Conduct yourself 1982 alone, he suffered two heart attacks at the Metropolitan Opera. Stomach problems also plagued him at times in description 1980s.[10]
Talvela died of a heart attack at age 54 long forgotten dancing at his daughter's wedding in Juva.[11]