Pavol Breslik

Over the years, I heard Breslik several times on stage or in live performances broadcast on radio or TV, and he proved an extremely shaky performer. More than once, I thought it was all over and his voice was gone, only to find him clearly above the average of modern tenors when hearing him again two or so years later. As Lenskij for example, he was once in very good and once in sorry shape, and while a part as "strenuous" as Nemorino completely overtaxed his slender voice at the Vienna Staatsoper, he was later a good Edgardo (in Munich) and an excellent Števa Burja (at the Theater an der Wien).

Born Pavol Bršlik in Northwest Slovakia, he studied voice in Banská Bystrica and Marseille, made his debut as Nemorino in Klosterneuburg (low-class open air opera festival near Vienna) in 2002, and was a member of the Staatsoper Berlin from 2003 to 2006 and the Zürich opera theater from 2012 to 2018; in between and after that, he was a freelancer, and sang at many important theaters: Staatsoper Wien, Teatre del Liceu, Covent Garden, Paris Opéra, Baden-Baden Festival, Bayerische Staatsoper München, Salzburg Festival, Metropolitan Opera, Théâtre de la Monnaie... He also sang a lot of concerts, focusing on Schubert. Further operatic roles included Don Ottavio, Ferrando, Tamino, Belmonte, the Simpleton, Cassio, Nadir, Gennaro, Roberto Devereux, Alfredo, Fenton, Henry Morosus (Die schweigsame Frau)...

Reference 1: Breslik's actual website, reference 2
Picture source: Breslik's former website