Talvela, Martti(Olavi)
Talvela, Martti(Olavi)
Talvela, Martti (Olavi), remarkable Finnish bass; b. Hiitola, Feb. 4, 1935; d. Juva, July 22, 1989. He received training at the Lahti Academy of Music (1958-60). After winning the Finnish Heder competition in I960, he studied voice with Carl Martin Ohmann in Stockholm. He made his operatic debut there at the Royal Theater as Sparafucile in Rigoletto in 1961. He made his first appearance at the Bayreuth Festival in 1962 as Titurel; that same year, joined the Deutsche Oper in Berlin, where he sang leading bass roles. In 1968 he made his U.S. debut in a recital at Hunter Coll. in N.Y. He made his Metropolitan Opera debut in N.Y. as the Grand Inquisitor in Don Carlos on Oct. 7, 1968; appeared there in succeeding years with increasing success, being especially acclaimed for his dramatic portrayal of Boris Godunov. From 1972 to 1980 he served as artistic director of the Savonlinna Festival. He was to have assumed the post of artistic director of the Finnish National Opera in Helsinki in 1992, but death intervened. In 1973 he received the Pro Finlandia Award and the Finnish State Prize. A man of towering dimensions (6′7”), his command of the great bass roles was awesome. Among his outstanding portrayals, in addition to Boris Godunov, were Hagen, Hunding, Gurnemanz, the Commendatore, and Sarastro. He also was effective in contemporary roles.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire