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| '''Martti Talvela''' (born in |
'''Martti Talvela''' (born in Hiitola, Finland ], ] – died in ], Finland ], ]) was a ] ]tic ]. He studied in ] and ], and began to sing on stage in ] in ] as ]. At 6' 7" tall, he was the physically greatest singer of his century. He was especially brilliant as '']'' and as ''Pimen'' from the same work and as ] in ], but also as a ] singer ('']'', '']'', '']'', '']'' and '']''), as '']'' and as '']''. His last recording is also the most moving: terribly thinned out by illness, he left a memorable version of ]'s ''Die Winterreise''. | ||
| He had one of the most remarkable bass voices in opera history: for the combination of depth and timbre few have ever matched him, and his bass seemed to extend effortlessly without the "break" that most basses have to resort to to hit their low notes, and without the unmusical quality often found with those basses capable of the lowest notes. | He had one of the most remarkable bass voices in opera history: for the combination of depth and timbre few have ever matched him, and his bass seemed to extend effortlessly without the "break" that most basses have to resort to to hit their low notes, and without the unmusical quality often found with those basses capable of the lowest notes. | ||
Revision as of 09:33, 19 August 2006
Martti Talvela (born in Hiitola, Finland February 4, 1935 – died in Juva, Finland July 22, 1989) was a Finnish operatic bass. He studied in Lahti and Stockholm, and began to sing on stage in Helsinki in 1960 as Sparafucile. At 6' 7" tall, he was the physically greatest singer of his century. He was especially brilliant as Boris Godunov and as Pimen from the same work and as Paavo Ruotsalainen in Viimeiset Kiusaukset, but also as a Wagner singer (King Marke, Hunding, Fasolt, Fafner and Titurel), as Sarastro and as Prince Gremin. His last recording is also the most moving: terribly thinned out by illness, he left a memorable version of Schubert's Die Winterreise.
He had one of the most remarkable bass voices in opera history: for the combination of depth and timbre few have ever matched him, and his bass seemed to extend effortlessly without the "break" that most basses have to resort to to hit their low notes, and without the unmusical quality often found with those basses capable of the lowest notes.