Leo Slezak (1873-1946)

Note by Alan Bilgora











Anyone who has had the pleasure of reading Slezak’s autobiography entitled ‘Song of Motley’ a translation and distillation of two of the three volumes originally written in German, will come to realise that here was an artist whose giant physique, (he was six feet four inches tall) and extraordinary vocal talent were matched by an equally enormous, unbridled and sometimes outrageous sense of humour. The book contains some of the very funniest anecdotes about the ‘opera’ and opera singers that have ever been published, and would entertain any reader whether interested in Vocal Art or not. What becomes very apparent and is far more important however, is that the range of roles undertaken in his career is something that would be difficult, probably impossible, to be matched by any one tenor in the present era.

Slezak possessed a large, dramatic voice with a naturally high placement which was capable of sustaining the most testing roles in the great German Romantic, French and Italian repertoire. He also successfully sang in a number of Verismo operas, creating Calaf in Puccini’s Turandot at the Vienna première in 1926, alternating with the charismatic young Polish tenor Jan Kiepura. Slezak was an admired Mozart singer and later became a consummate recitalist, as in spite of the size of his voice he was able to invest his concert repertoire with delicate nuance and musical refinement.

Leo Slezak was born on 18 August 1873 in Märisch-Schönberg in Moravia then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. His father, a miller whose business unfortunately failed, moved the family to Brünn, where Leo attended junior school and then High School. The intention was that on graduation he would enter the Army as a professional, but his undisciplined behaviour resulted in his dismissal, so for a time, in order to help the family finances, he became an apprentice gardener. His love of flowers was to last him his lifetime. He then became an apprentice engineer passing his examinations as a lock-smith, and at the same time his natural talent as a singer tempted him to join an amateur choir, appearing with them in the local opera house chorus. One day he was overheard singing in the dressing room by Adolf Robinson (1834-1920) an eminent baritone who had enjoyed enormous success in Europe and America at the Metropolitan Opera, and who was appearing as Tonio in a local production of Pagliacci. Nearing retirement Robinson had set up a singing school in Brünn and offered Slezak a future as a professional singer, providing he studied voice production and worked hard.

Working in engineering and studying singing was not thought ideal so Slezak enlisted in a local infantry regiment, becoming a non-commissioned officer finally transferring to the reserve. During this time he studied with Robinson, and as initially he was unable to read music, he was always very grateful to Frau Robinson, herself a former successful singer, who would tap out the notes for him on the piano so that he could learn his roles. He was offered a contract at Brünn and made his debut in Lohengrin in 1896. Other roles followed but in order to gain experience he accepted a contract with the Berlin State Opera in 1898 where he was in the company of some of the finest singers of the day. He was not offered leading roles, so obtained leave to join the Opera in Breslau where he was given the chance to shine, making his début there also as Lohengrin on 16 September 1899.

This saw the beginning of his real career, and not only did he gain experience, but also gained a wife, as Elsa Wertheim the Viennese actress gave up her own career to devote herself to Slezak and their children. Margherite his daughter, born in 1901, made a fine career in Operetta, and their son Walter born in 1902, became a much admired character actor in Hollywood: referring to the time his father had been singing Lohengrin, and the stage hands had pulled the Magic Swan off the set without Slezak on board, Walter published an auto-biography entitled ‘What time is the next Swan?’, words the irrepressible Leo had called out in a rather loud ‘stage whisper’. As a member of the large Berlin Company under the direction of Loewe, Slezak came to Covent Garden, and made his debut there in Lohengrin on 18 May 1900 with Milka Ternina as Elsa. Any impact he might have made was somewhat wrecked by the audience’s reaction to the announcement, during the performance, that Mafeking had been relieved. Deputising for Jean de Reszke on a couple of occasions during that season, he gave a Command Performance at Windsor castle for Queen Victoria, joining Melba, Homer and Edouard de Reszke. He returned to Breslau and was then invited as a guest to Vienna where the resident favourite tenors such as Van Dyck, Winkelmann, Schrödter and Schmedes were starred in the popular roles, so in 1901 he was first heard as Arnold in William Tell, also singing Radames in Aida and the title role in Masssenet’s Werther . Mahler was very impressed, but Leo had to return to Berlin to see out his contract. However Mahler soon managed to get it cancelled and Slezak became a member of the Vienna Opera which was to be his spiritual home and where he remained a much loved and leading tenor until 1926.

On 18 January 1905 Slezak made his La Scala Milan debut in Tannhäuser with Giannina Russ, Adamo Didur and Giuseppe de Luca. In 1908, now a star in his own right he decided to take leave of absence from Vienna and study his non-German roles in Paris with Jean de Reszke, who had become a distinguished coach and to whom many other great singers were ‘beating a path to his door’. There Slezak spent a happy time singing in De Reszke’s private theatre with the ageing Adelina Patti and was given the opportunity to study songs with the composer Reynaldo Hahn. On 2 June 1909 he made his re-entry at Covent Garden as Otello, where this time he was well received, and this was the role in which he also made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera New York on 17 November that same year. Vocally his portrayal was favourably compared to Francesco Tamagno, (1850-1905) the creator of the role, and certainly ranked with Giovanni Zenatello (1876-1949) another much admired dramatic tenor who specialised in this most testing of operatic roles Slezak spent four seasons with the Metropolitan where he appeared in Il Trovotore, Aida, Tannhäuser, Allesandro Stradella, Pique Dame in its Metropolitan première on 5 March 1910, Die Meistersinger, Lohengrin, Die Zauberflöte and Faust. They were very sorry to part with him when he decided to return to Europe. He spent considerable time singing in the capitals of the Balkan States and Scandinavia, was appointed Kämmersanger to five Courts and a Knight of the Order of the Crown of Italy. Following World War I with the Austrian currency at a low value he undertook to sing in Revue and also took on more concert work, particularly after he had left the permanent staff of the Vienna Opera in 1926. However he did make a final appearance there in Pagliacci on 26 September 1933.

He planned to retire to his house on the Tegernsee, but had made such an impression in his first film, which had featured Maritza Jeritza, with Slezak getting the better notices that subsequently he was asked to make a number of films where an elderly jovial and loveable character was required His last film was released in 1943 where he can been seen as a Turkish Pasha in ‘Baron Münchausen’ with many of his cinema audiences not realising that he had been once been one of Germany’s greatest operatic tenors. His final years were difficult as World War II prevented him from seeing his children, and the stringent food rationing often left him hungry and rather weak. Nevertheless he did manage to make a broadcast on his 73rd birthday reading extracts from his books. Leo Slezak died on l June 1946 and is buried alongside his beloved Elsa in the little churchyard near his ‘Wooden Castle’ as he called his house on the Tergensee.

The recordings selected for this CD compilation show Slezak’s individual vocal timbre, considered by many, and this of course has to be subjective, to be of a beautiful quality. It is very free, with a bright head-orientated penetrating resonance. His high notes are well covered and uncomplicated and demonstrate a timbre that although not Italianate, does contain that element of morbidezza (tenderness) usually associated with Latin voices. An extended range and seemingly limitless power resemble traits associated with Tamagno, a number of whose heroic roles Slezak also successfully sang. It is not necessary to comment on every excerpt transferred, but to highlight perhaps, that when required, he could produce superb control over his pianissimo head tones, in a voce-mista (mixed voice) which can be heard in his singing of Viens gentille Dame from La Dame Blanche. Those essential thrilling high notes in the duet Ah! Mathilde from William Tell and the invocation Roi du ciel from Le Prophète are contrasted by a lightness of touch in Belmonte’s Hier soll ich denn sehen from Die Entführung aus dem Serail. There is tremendous gravitas and feeling displayed in his rendering of the two arias from La Juive, and his singing of the Meistersinger and Lohengrin excerpts demonstrate why his compelling tone made him an admired Wagnerian helden-tenor. He shows an admirable understanding of the French ‘style’ required for both Lakmé, Manon and Romeo et Juliette and his declamatory singing of Otello’s Ora e per sempre (the only excerpt sung in Italian all other arias are sung in German ) underline his ability to characterise the passionate Moor’s feelings. This is an emotion echoed in his version of Vesti la giubba, Canio’s lament from Pagliacci. Perhaps there is nothing new in his versions of the popular arias from Rigoletto, other than to mention he eschews the unwritten but now traditional top B natural in La donna e mobile singing it as Verdi wrote it, and so ending rather tamely. The rising final phrases in the demanding aria from Goldmark’s Die Königin von Saba are exemplary, and altogether this is a satisfactory tribute to one of the very greatest heroic tenors of his time.


© 2003 Alan Bilgora

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