tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6166918155946600787.post1210316506364525228..comments2024-03-05T22:44:45.962-05:00Comments on Great Opera Singers: Leo Slezak: The Giant With An Angel's VoiceUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6166918155946600787.post-78597765299960782432012-07-07T10:54:40.741-04:002012-07-07T10:54:40.741-04:00This is an intelligent and well written article, G...This is an intelligent and well written article, Great job. Thanks for sharing!!! Have a Beautiful evening! *GOD BLESS*Gerhard Santoshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03407517517439439662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6166918155946600787.post-81653612923659618902011-06-17T08:11:08.147-04:002011-06-17T08:11:08.147-04:00You are very kind, and I thank you! You are also a...You are very kind, and I thank you! You are also absolutely right! No composer has suffered more from this over-specialization than Wagner. It was never his intention to have enormous singers, with giant voices, blasting away throughout his operas. In fact, he wanted his tenors trained in Italy, because he, like others, recognized the superiority of Italian singing. It would have made a great difference to the fate of his operas.Edmund StAustellhttp://gmail.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6166918155946600787.post-87858426637632859262011-06-16T22:28:22.984-04:002011-06-16T22:28:22.984-04:00"In Slezak's time, the (often annoying) s..."In Slezak's time, the (often annoying) specializations of role and singer type did not exist. Essentially, a man was a tenor, baritone or bass, who sang opera, among other things. This was certainly Slezak's case, and he sang Mozart next to Wagner without giving it a thought."<br /><br />Sire, if you come ever to Italy, come to my house for me to bow and kiss your hand. Your insight is so very good for an American! <br /><br />This aforementioned is quote it is so true, in those times the singer took his Wagner with his Mozart, his Mascagni with his Donizetti, his Verdi and Puccini with his Pacini. <br /><br />But those days are gone... now it is all about the vocalism, nobody has understanding that characterization can spare and sustain the voice.Gioacchino Fiurezi-Maragiogliohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08962732548145492243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6166918155946600787.post-89509596971539013502011-01-08T08:04:24.412-05:002011-01-08T08:04:24.412-05:00And thank you, Nate for a great comment. I have a...And thank you, Nate for a great comment. I have a fair bit of Slezak, but I don't have the aria you mention. I wish I did. I think you just sparked the hunting instinct in me:-) I'll search around. And I totally agree--Slezak was wonderful indeed, and versatile is the word! Comedy, Lieder, opera, we can take our pick!Edmund St. Austellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14490721790447218365noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6166918155946600787.post-80797681919120524582011-01-08T00:11:41.479-05:002011-01-08T00:11:41.479-05:00With regard to Leo Slezak's huge physique, sur...With regard to Leo Slezak's huge physique, surpassing Melchior's, I guess one would have to go back to the legendary bass, Lablache, to find a man with comparable stature and rotundity combined, if we can believe reports about the latter's size. My personal favorite recording of Slezak's is his first version of the tenor aria from Queen of Sheba, which Caruso also recorded so beautifully, as well as Nicolai Gedda. That one used to be on youtube but I think the second version has replaced it. Thanks, Edmund, for the biographical sketch and accompanying recordings of this wonderful and versatile artist.Natenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6166918155946600787.post-7283434384189605242011-01-04T18:45:22.502-05:002011-01-04T18:45:22.502-05:00‘Sometimes people from humble backgrounds work and...‘Sometimes people from humble backgrounds work and study very hard because they know they have to adapt to a much more cultured standard in order to be successful.’<br />Yes, they are. Also it requires a huge talent.<br /><br />[And, by the way, Ваш английский настолько хорошо! Вы уже далеко впереди меня! Это не честно :-)<br /><br />:D Ваш русский достаточно хорош, к тому же вы недавно начали его учить. Вы - полиглот и даже на грузинском смогли написать понятную фразу с первого раза. Для меня это недосягаемо.<br /><br /><br />n.a.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6166918155946600787.post-77195989787495907442011-01-03T17:12:20.051-05:002011-01-03T17:12:20.051-05:00That's a wonderful comment. Thank you very mu...That's a wonderful comment. Thank you very much. Yes, he could do it all. His family went on to become very much involved in popular entertainment here in America. His son, Walter, was a character actor in the movies, and had a very good career. His grandaughter is a TV actress, and I think she is still working. And I find your observation about his cultured singing and humble background very interesting. I suppose we could say the same thing about Sergei Lemeshev and Mark Reizen. Lemeshev's family (as you know much better than I) were very humble people, and Reizen's family were coal miners. Sometimes people from humble backgrounds work and study very hard because they know they have to adapt to a much more cultured standard in order to be successful. Hope you are having a nice extended Russian New Year's! [And, by the way, Ваш английский настолько хорошо! Вы уже далеко впереди меня! Это не честно :-)Edmund St. Austellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14490721790447218365noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6166918155946600787.post-33181286019900248012011-01-03T16:14:56.369-05:002011-01-03T16:14:56.369-05:00Thanks for the great article; I imagined Slezac a...Thanks for the great article; I imagined Slezac as a very serious big man , but the article perfectly shows his extraordinary versatility. Now he seems very different. He was a brilliant and charming artist. I was very impressed with his Lieder recital (added it to favorites), and it seemed different enough in comparison to Wagnerian roles. But I didn’t know that he could perform pop songs or to be a film comedian. Great man. <br /><br />Another surprising thing about him is the contrast between his simple origin and his refined , romantic singing – a former miller/ gardener , who sings like an aristocrat. <br /><br />n.a.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6166918155946600787.post-77470874385226426542011-01-03T08:05:06.791-05:002011-01-03T08:05:06.791-05:00And thank YOU very much for your kind and thoughtf...And thank YOU very much for your kind and thoughtful comment. And please accept my best wishes for a happy and prosperous 2011!Edmund St. Austellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14490721790447218365noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6166918155946600787.post-34688134612126720262011-01-03T01:12:45.010-05:002011-01-03T01:12:45.010-05:00Dear Edmund, Happy New Year!
Thank You very much ...Dear Edmund, Happy New Year!<br /><br />Thank You very much for your educational mission.<br />All the best!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6166918155946600787.post-42050621240937899222011-01-02T13:26:13.724-05:002011-01-02T13:26:13.724-05:00Ha, ha. Yes, he certainly was! But what a juxtapo...Ha, ha. Yes, he certainly was! But what a juxtaposition; that lovely high head voice, so perfect for lieder, is just not something one instinctively attributes to so large a man. But it certainly served him well at the beginning, when he made such a striking appearance on the stage in heroic roles. And even later, when he was quite heavy, it still worked well for comic movie roles, such as Gasparone.Edmund St. Austellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14490721790447218365noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6166918155946600787.post-52836878758066444882011-01-02T12:44:02.776-05:002011-01-02T12:44:02.776-05:00Good grief. You are right. He was huge!Good grief. You are right. He was huge!JD Hobbeshttp://cinci.rr.comnoreply@blogger.com