Leo Slezak: Hand-signed b/w photo plus hand written letter (2 pages) and signed by Leo Slezak.

The photo is 13 x 18 cm (5.1 x 7.1 inches), the letter is 28 x 21,8 cm (11.4 x 8.8 inches), minor aging.
They are from 1918.

Leo Slezak (1873 – 1946) was a world-famous Moravian tenor. He was associated in particular with German opera as well as the title role in Verdi's Otello.

Slezak's international career commenced in London at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, where he sang Siegfried and Lohengrin in 1900.
Slezak secured a three-year contract with the New York Metropolitan Opera in 1909. Met audiences acclaimed him in performances of works by Wagner and Verdi. Along with Italy's Giovanni Zenatello, he became the most famous Otello of his generation, famously performing the role at the Met with Arturo Toscanini conducting.

He was a convivial person, and many anecdotes reveal his amiable sense of humour. 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 and became an idol of audiences.