Martti Talvela Vinyl Records

Martti Talvela was a Finnish bass-baritone opera singer and actor who was active from the 1950s until his death in 1989. He was considered one of the world’s greatest singers of his time and his career was marked by a series of acclaimed performances in Europe and the United States.

Talvela’s best-known albums include “Verdi’s Requiem” (1962), “Verdi: Un Ballo in Maschera” (1970) and “Bizet: Carmen” (1971). His most famous songs include “O Heiland, reiß die Himmel auf” from Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, “L'amour est un oiseau rebelle” from Bizet’s Carmen and “Va, pensiero” from Verdi’s Nabucco.

An interesting fact about Talvela is that he was the first artist to record all of Wagner’s Ring Cycle in one session. The four operas were recorded over the course of two weeks in 1966, and the resulting recording won the Grand Prix du Disque.