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Leo Slezak sings Arias by Wagner, Verdi and Meyerbeer Recorded 1905, 1907, 1909, 1912-13, 1923, 1928 Download ID: 265035 (Duration 65'54") Restoration by HTS Studio for Hänssler Classic COMES WITH ENGLISH NOTES & COVERS

Ach, wie so trügerisch (La donne é mobile) Verdi - Rigoletto

The opera world relies to this day on its anecdotes and practical jokes. One line well known among singers is »I don't know what people really want, but anyway, I thought you were great!« This of course was coined by Leo Slezak.

As so often with his little jibes, the recipient was Slezak's rival at the Vienna Hofoper, the Dane Erik Schmedes, whose daughter Dagmar is said to have once characterized the two tenors in this way: »Slezak is just a singer, my father is an artist!« Slezak is said to have replied: »If Schmedes could hit a high C, then he would choose to be a singer.«

In his heyday as a heroic tenor with the Vienna Hofoper, Slezak was usually only able to play the clown behind the scenes or during rehearsals: in the days when Gustav Mahler was director, »Lohengrin« was not set in a school class-room, nor was »Otello« played in the company director's suite, and so the share of comedy in such works was kept to a minimum.

On the occasions that Slezak's Wagner recordings (especially the late »Meistersinger« songs, which are to be heard at the beginning of this present collection) do bring a smile to the lips of aficionados, it will be due to his enunciation of vowels (»e« and »i«): here we hear the tenor in the same vein as the wonderful Slezak parody (also availableon CD) by Heinz Holecek (»Leise leise«).Should there be room for any misunderstanding: for a singer who had sung the lyric-dramatic roles for thirty years, these recordings are sensational, especially the Rome story from »Tannhauser«.

Who, with the exception of Lauritz Melchior, could produce such a voice at that age, who was still capable of singing Wagner with so much mezzo voce and legato?

The other recordings are proof of Slezak at his best. What never fails to fascinate is the apparent ease of the vocal projection at all levels and the dynamic gradation. The softest piano still has enough body for it not to sound »whispered«, while the most powerful forte still retains enough head register for it not to become too coarse.

In his account of the Vienna Opera, the contemporary witness Mareel Prawy reports: »Hardly any other singer has ever managed such a brilliant fortissimo and such a tender pianissimo. His high C was not to be compared with that of any of his contemporaries.«

Excerpted from enclosed sleevenotes, Thomas Voigt © 2004

Track Listing:

1. Am stillen Herd - Wagner - Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
2. Morgendlich leuchtend - Wagner - Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
3. Inbrunst im Herzen - Wagner - Tannhäuser
4. Nun sei bedankt, mein lieber Schwan - Wagner - Lohengrin
5. Höchstes Vertraun - Wagner - Lohengrin
6. In fernem Land - Wagner - Lohengrin
7. Mein lieber Schwan - Wagner - Lohengrin
8. Ora e sempre addio - Verdi - Otello
9. Nun mi tema - Verdi - Otello
10. Holde Aida (Celeste Aida) - Verdi - Aida
11. Dass nur für mich dein Herz erbebt (Ah si ben mio) - Verdi - Il Trovatore
12. Ach, wie so trügerisch (La donne é mobile) - Verdi - Rigoletto
13. Wer bist du, himmlisch schönes Wesen? (Beauté divine enchanteresse) - Meyerbeer - Les Hugenots
14. Ach, welch ein reizendes Bild (Plus blanche) - Meyerbeer - Les Hugenots
15. Herr, dich in den Sternenkreisen (O Roi des cieux) - Meyerbeer - Le Prophete
16. Land so wunderbar (Oh paradis) - Meyerbeer - L'Africaine

Please note: This is not a Pristine Audio historic restoration.

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