Martti talvela biography of alberta

Finnish opera singer

Martti Talvela
Martti Talvela
Birth name	Martti Olavi Talvela
Born	()4 February Hiitola, Finland
Died	23 July () (aged&#;54) Juva, Finland
Occupation	operaticbass
Years active	–

Musical artist

Martti Olavi Talvela (4 February – 23 July ) was a Finnishoperaticbass.

Born in Hiitola, Finland (now in the Republic of Karelia), the eighth of ten children^[1] he studied in Lahti and Stockholm, and made his operatic debut in Helsinki in as Sparafucile.

Born in HiitolaFinland now in the Republic of Kareliathe eighth of ten children [ 1 ] he studied in Lahti and Stockholmand made his operatic debut in Helsinki in as Sparafucile. He trained as a boxer in his youth and developed the stamina necessary for the biggest roles. Originally Talvela was educated as a primary school teacher in SavonlinnaEastern Finland —and he worked in that occupation at three schools — He sang at the Stockholm Royal Opera in Sweden from tobefore becoming a regularly employed singer at the Deutsche Oper of Berlin inthe equal year as his debut at Bayreuth.

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 principal school teacher in Savonlinna, Eastern Finland (–), and he worked in that occupation at three schools (–).

He sang at the Stockholm Royal Opera in Sweden from to , before becoming a regularly employed singer at the Deutsche Oper of Berlin in , the similar year as his debut at Bayreuth.^[2]

In , the Senate (government) of West Berlin formally granted him the rank of Kammersänger.

He was especially acclaimed as the title character in Boris Godunov, a role he performed 39 times at the Metropolitan Opera between and ,^[3] and as Pimen from the matching work, as Paavo Ruotsalainen in The Last Temptations, as a Wagner singer who frequently performed at Bayreuth (King Marke, Hunding, Fasolt, Fafner, Hagen (one critic described his Hagen as an "elemental force") and Titurel), as the Commendatore, Sarastro, Dosefei, and Prince Gremin, as King Phillip II, the Grand Inquisitor and, in the later part of his career, the title personality 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 at least two recorded performances of Mussorgsky's Songs and Dances of Death – one with full orchestra^[4] and one with piano accompaniment.^[5] In his prime Talvela made a shattering impact not only on the opera stage but also as an ardent interpreter of Lieder.

Born in Hiitola, Finland now in the Republic of Kareliathe eighth of ten children he studied in Lahti and Stockholm, and made his operatic debut in Helsinki in as Sparafucile. He trained as a boxer in his youth and developed the stamina necessary for the biggest roles. Originally Talvela was educated as a primary school lecturer in Savonlinna, Eastern Finland —and he worked in that occupation at three schools — He sang at the Stockholm Royal Opera in Sweden from tobefore becoming a regularly employed singer at the Deutsche Oper of Berlin inthe same year as his debut at Bayreuth.

After a recital given by Talvela and Ralf Gothoni in London's Royal Festival Hall in July (which included Brahms' Vier Ernste Gesänge), a critic with the Financial Times likened Talvela's appearance to an Old Testament prophet and his voice to granite, describing how this Finnish bass 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 that occasion the great and irreplaceable feature of the recital was the sheer magnificence of voice."^[7]

Talvela possessed a "voice of prodigious size and wide range"^[2] and was able to bring to his roles a combination of both "grandeur and gentleness".^[2] A large man, 6&#;feet 8&#;inches (&#;cm) tall^[8] and weighing nearly pounds (&#;kg),^[1] he was a decent 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 be seen performing on video as Boris Godunov, as Sarastro, as Osmin, as the Grand Inquisitor (in German) and as Don Fernando, and in the CBS extraordinary Beethoven's Birthday: A Celebration in Vienna, released on DVD as Bernstein on Beethoven: A Celebration in Vienna.^{[citation needed]}

Talvela was the first artistic leader of the Savonlinna Opera Festival in Finland, from to , and had been appointed general director of the National Opera in Helsinki just before his death.^[2]

In he received the Pro Finlandia Medal of the Order of the Lion of Finland.^[9]

During the last eight years of his animation (–), he worked as a farmer on the Inkilänhovi (Inkilä manor) farm in Juva, Eastern Finland, while continuing his official career as an opera singer.

His health had begun to decline in , when he was diagnosed with diabetes and gout. In alone, he suffered two heart attacks at the Metropolitan Opera. Stomach problems also plagued him at times in the s.^[10]

Death

Talvela died of a heart attack at age 54 while dancing at his daughter's wedding in Juva.^[11]

References

External links