Leo Slezak

Leo Slezak (German pronunciation: [ˌleːo ˈslɛzak]; 18 August 1873 – 1 June 1946) was a Moravian dramatic tenor. He was associated in particular with Austrian opera as well as the title role in Verdi's Otello. He is the father of actors Walter Slezak and Margarete Slezak and grandfather of the actress Erika Slezak. Slezak's autobiography, published in 1938 in English as Song of Motley: Being the Reminiscences of a Hungry Tenor, contains pen-portraits of many of the musicians and artists with whom he worked, including Gustav Mahler, Arturo Toscanini and Cosima Wagner. It describes his tours of America, Russia and the Balkans and recalls his doomed audition for Frau Wagner at Bayreuth, when he foolishly chose to sing music from Pagliacci.

Later in life, he published several very humorous, semi-autobiographical books, notably:

Meine sämtlichen Werke ("All of my works"), his first book

Der Wortbruch ("The broken promise")

Der Rückfall ("The relapse")

Leo Slezak by Dr. Christopher Norton-Welsh, with discography by Alex Weggen in "Étude" n° 27, July–August–September 2004 (Association internationale de chant lyrique TITTA RUFFO).