Leo Slezak (tenor) - Komm, o holde Dame ('Die Weisse Dame' - Boieldieu) (1905)

Leo Slezak sings 'Komm, o holde Dame,' recorded in Vienna in 1905 and transferred by me from HMV VA 3. Leo Slezak (1873-1946) was a Moravian tenor. He made his debut in 1896. In 1901, he joined the Vienna State Opera, soon achieving star status. According to Wikipedia,'A tall barrel-chested man, Slezak possessed a large and attractive lyric-dramatic voice which enabled him to undertake all but the very heaviest Wagnerian parts such as Siegfried or Tristan. He had a distinctive tonal quality, too, which became markedly darker after his studies with [Jean] de Reszke in 1908. Slezak was a master of mezza-voce singing and he could also deliver haunting head notes. Unfortunately, with time and hard use, his top register developed a strained and unsteady quality when used at full volume, as can be heard on some of his recordings.'