The most beautiful bass voice I ever heard and a marvellous actor too. I had the great privilege to sing 2nd Squire in Parsifal and stand beside him for ages as he sang Gurnemanz. He was very tall and when seated he was still taller than the squires who were standing up.
I saw him sing Boris at the Met in the 70s. It was one of the greatest experiences of my life. I will never forget it. I also remember how delightful he was in interviews during Met broadcasts. A great, great singer and a great man.
...unbelievable intensity and vocal artistry. MT will be remembered in many reference recordings. I first listened to him when I was a child and I still do. A vocal, velvet monument. RIP
I have seen him as Fasolt in Das Rheingold in 1965 and 1967 in Wieland Wagners second Ring in Bayreuth. And also as Marke in (Wielands) Tristan und Isolde in 1968. He was always great through his dramatic voice and his posture. I shall never forget him.
Genau diese Szene war eine Art Initialzündung für mein inzwischen großes Interesse an klassischer Musik und Oper. Die habe ich nämlich (allerdings an der Hamburgischen Staatsoper) mit 17 Jahren in der zweiten Reihe Parkett sitzend (völlig ahnungslos bezüglich klassischer Musik, Mussorgsky, Boris Godunov, Oper im allgemeinen) mit Martti Talvela gesehen, gehört und bis ins Mark erschüttert, gespürt. Seither der Oper und klassischen Musik verfallen. Die intensivste Rollengestaltung, die ich je gesehen habe. Der beste Bass bisher in meiner Lebenszeit.
I wishnyou all can understand finnis lamguage... Martti was phenomenom in any language, but in finnish: Greatest!!! You can sense it while you are listening his singing, living every word, just magnifficent!
As a Finn, I feel I have to inform that Finnish is totally different phonetically from Russian - and not even distantly related to Russian (while even English is) - so "to my Finnish ears", it also sounds surprisingly close to the more familiar Russian version - the translator has been doing a great job!
Certainement,avec constance et fidélité! Mais attends-toi peut-être à quelques désaccords de ma part qui ne devraient pas,je l'espère,entamer cette amitié nouvelle.J'ai des convictions nées de l'expérience.Je ne suis pas buté,mais difficile à satisfaire en matière de chant,car j'en connais les difficultés.Ceux qui les évitent en donnant le change n'ont pas mon estime.Ceux qui n'ont pas la fibre m'importent peu.Le don me touche:Celui que l'on possède et que l'on veut partager. A bientôt! Mitia.
Ne t'excuse pas pour tes mots durs,j'en ai eu d'aussi féroces envers toi. Je vois que ta gentillesse est incapable de rancune.Belle âme que la tienne! Je te souhaite pareillement un bon week-end,ainsi que pour ceux à venir..! Amicalement. Mitia.
It is one of my favourite singers from all times. Could anybody tell me, why he died so early? I know the circumstances (while dancing at his daughter's wedding), I know, that he lost about 50kg, but why? Cancer?
@Mäkirannantörmä Thanks. I learned from him a lot of things. He came to Graz twice or more, and every concert was a great event. He gave me the idea to sing the "Pesnya o blokhe" from Musorgsky, and some other songs. I think, he had also a very good heart and liked to live.
Tenía el alma para cantar esto último vale más incluso que la técnica me van a perdonar ustedes pero Renata Tebaldi nunca me gustó me parecía muy técnica pero al mismo tiempo muy fría . No es ese el caso de Marti Talvela
Sometimes people just gotta go. Talvela had always been fairly overweight, so it's not surprising he had heart issues. I'm sad for all the potential great performances lost...
J'ai appris le chant sur un seul critère:Est-ce que je crois à ce que j'entends? Et là,je n'y crois guère... Certains chanteurs peuvent me rendre envieux:Il n'en fait pas partie. Mes oreilles savent ce qu'elles entendent;ta langue ne sait pas de quoi elle parle.
