Martti Wallén
Martti Wallén (born 20 November 1948) is a Finnish operatic
Life and career
Wallén was born in Helsinki and initially studied in an
In 1975 Wallén joined the Royal Swedish Opera in Stockholm, where he was a soloist until his retirement in 2000. His last Royal Opera performance was in 2004. In 1980 – 1982 he was a soloist at the opera in Gelsenkirchen, Germany.
Wallén has appeared as a soloist internationally, including Moscow (
Both of his children, Herman Wallén (tenor), and Ida Wallén (mezzosoprano) work as professional singers in Germany.[4]
Repertoire
Among Wallén's most important roles were:
- Mozart: Sarastro (The Magic Flute), Leporello (Don Giovanni)
- Beethoven: Rocco (Fidelio)
- Musorgsky: Pimen (Boris Godunov)
- Rossini: Basilio (The Barber of Seville)
- Strauss: Ochs (Der Rosenkavalier)
- Tchaikovsky: Gremin (Eugene Onegin)
- Verdi: Sparafucile (Rigoletto), Philip II (Don Carlos)
- Wagner: Daland (Die Valkyrie), Landgraf (Tannhäuser)
- Kokkonen: Paavo Ruotsalainen (The Last Temptations)
Wallén has sung several other roles in Finnish contemporary operas.
Recordings
In addition to several recordings of Finnish Christmas songs and Orthodox church music, Wallén has recorded
- Sallinen: Finlandia
- Bergman: The Singing Tree (as the Peddler) – Tapiola Chamber Choir, Dominante Choir, Finnish National Opera Orchestra conducted by Ulf Söderblom. Label: Ondine
- Verdi: Naxos.
References
- ISBN 0313277281
- ^ a b Stiftelsen Kungliga Teaterns Solister (Foundation of Soloists of the Royal Swedish Opera). "Martti Wallén" Archived 2014-02-22 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 4 February 2014 (in Swedish).
- ^ Calland, Deborah. "Sallinen: The Horseman". BBC Music Magazine
- ^ Dahlström, Fabian. "Wallén, Martti" Archived 2014-03-08 at the Wayback Machine. Uppslagsverket Finland. Retrieved 4 February 2014 (in Swedish).