...

1946 in Rottach-Egern/Bavaria/Germany) was a world-famous tenor. He was associated in particular with German opera as well as the title role in Verdi's Otello. He was a convivial person, and many anecdotes reveal his sense of humour. The best-known example is as follows: during a performance of Wagner's Lohengrin, a stage hand sent the swan out too early, before the tenor could hop aboard. Seeing his feathered transportation disappear into the wings, Slezak ad-libbed to the audience: "Wann fährt der nächste Schwan?" ("When does the next swan leave?"). Slezak had a versatile repertory which embraced 66 roles. He sang 44 roles in Vienna alone, where he chalked up 936 appearances in 1901-12 and 1917-27. A tall man, he possessed a large and attractive lyric-dramatic voice which enabled him to undertake all but the very heaviest Wagnerian parts. He had a distinctive tonal quality, too, which became markedly darker after his studies with de Reszke in 1908. Slezak was a master of mezza-voce singing and could also deliver haunting head notes. Unfortunately, with time, his top register developed a strained and unsteady quality when used at full volume, as can be heard on some of his recordings. Leo Slezak died in Rottach-Egern in 1946, shortly after the loss of his beloved wife. Source: Wikipedia NO COPYRIGHT!