Leslie Chabay (Hungarian: Csabay László) (31 December 1907 – 16 March 1989) was a Hungarian-born tenor. He toured Germany, Belgium and Estonia from 1933 to 1935 as a member of the traveling

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

company, then joined the Deutsches Theater Brno from 1933 to 1935 and the Volksoper Budapest from 1935 to 1938. In 1937 he joined the Salzburg Opera Guild tour of North America, performing

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...

's ''

Così fan tutte (''All Women Do It, or The School for Lovers''), K. 588, is an opera buffa in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. It was first performed on 26 January 1790 at the Burgtheater in Vienna, Austria. The libretto was written by Lorenzo Da Ponte w ...

'' in more than 30 cities. He immigrated to the United States in 1946 to join the

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is operat ...

in New York City. He sang at the Met until the end of the 1950–51 season and then became a recitalist and concert soloist. He also served as professor of music at

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is r ...

from 1955 to 1977, and appeared regularly at the Aspen (Colorado) Music Festival.

References

Hungarian operatic tenors 1907 births 1989 deaths Washington University in St. Louis faculty 20th-century Hungarian male opera singers Hungarian emigrants to the United States {{US-opera-singer-stub