Paul Leyssac: actor - narrator, master of the spoken word

              Paul LEYSSAC

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ACTOR—NARRATOR
MASTER OF THE SPOKEN WORD



PAUL LEYSSAC
HE IS LIKE A BLITHE SPIRIT, this brilliant actor-narrator who has achieved a distinction that comes to few artists of his versatility.  The many facets of his amazing career have enabled him to bring to the diversified audiences of the theatre, motion pictures, radio, and the concert hall a most unique talent—a talent by which Leyssac comes quite naturally.

Born in Copenhagen of French-Danish parents, he was brought up on the fascinating tales of Hans Christian Andersen, told to him by his mother who heard the stories first hand from the famous author himself.  In Paris, at the age of five, Leyssac spent hours watching the boulevard Punch and Judy shows, and vowed to himself that he would become an actor.  After graduation from the University of Copenhagen and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in Denmark, he more than fulfilled this desire;—he made his debut in a prominent Parisian theatre.

After a few years of acting and teaching in London and Paris, Leyssac was hailed by the public and critics alike as an actor possessed of that rarity of rarities—excellent diction, and was summoned to America as leading man in Eva Le Gallienne's established Civic Repertory Theatre.  He played an astonishing variety of roles including Sorin in The Sea Gull, Tesman in Hedda Gabler, and Leonide in The Cherry Orchard.  A return to London in 1936 gave him an opportunity to play opposite Lillian Braithewaite and Dame Marie Tempest, two of Britain's most beloved and scintillating actresses.

Returning home to New York, Leyssac joined Miss Le Gallienne and Ethel Barrymore in a Broadway revival of L'Aiglon which met with tremendous success.  Then he went on to the Blue Network of NBC where his reputation as a raconteur earned for him a starring series of his own.

Cinema audiences have applauded him on two continents for his brilliant interpretations of rôles he portrayed in such British films as Victoria The Great, and in the United States, as featured player in Arise My Love, with Claudette Colbert; Two Faced Woman with Greta Garbo; So Ends Our Night with Margaret Sullavan; Paris Calling with Elizabeth Bergner.  The distinguished actor is rated also as one of the foremost narrators to appear with Symphony Orchestras throughout America.  Two countries have already decorated him for his translations and performances.

Equally at home with piano or orchestra, Leyssac has introduced to music audiences his own translations of classical works.  His complete mastery of wit and humor, his inimitable characterizations, and his refreshing manner and charm, so evident in his own translation of Peter and The Wolf, have won him thousands of admirers.



PAUL LEYSSAC HAS APPEARED BEFORE:

The Boston Symphony
Philadelphia Orchestra
New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony
Ann Arbor Festival
Evanston Festival
Ravinia Festival
Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra
University of Wisconsin Symphony
Cornell College, Mount Vernon, Iowa
Utah State College, Logan, Utah
Havergal Girls' College, Toronto, Canada
Northwestern University, Evanston, Ill.
Teachers' College, Columbia University, New York City
Crescent Hill Woman's Club, Louisville, Ky.
Women's Athletic Club, Chicago, Ill.
Cosmopolitan Club, Philadelphia, Pa.
Chilton Club, Boston, Mass.
Sunset Club, Seattle, Wash.
Friday Morning Club, Los Angeles, Calif.
Century Club, San Francisco, Calif.
Nineteenth Century Club, Rockford, Ill.
St. Paul's School, Concord, N. H.
Masters School, Dobbs Ferry, N. Y.




PRESS EXCERPTS AND COMMENTS
LONDON


No interpreter approximates so nearly to the creative artist as does Mr. Leyssac in his own particular line.—
Daily Telegraph

CHICAGO

(Peter and The Wolf)


The narrator, Paul Leyssac, was recalled again and again for his participation in a most amusing performance.—
Daily News


MADISON, WIS.

(Peter and The Wolf)


The gamut of characters in this symphonic story is the perfect medium for displaying the great versatility of Levssac, known internationally for his narrations.  Cries of joy from the audience indicated the avidity with which the artist's interpretations were received.—
The Capital Times

BOSTON

(Oedipus Rex)


Mr. Leyssac scarcely left a sentence uncolored, unaccented; nowhere did he miss the significant pause.—
Herald

CHICAGO

(King David)


The chief honors were easily taken by Mr. Leyssac, whose excellent articulation and histrionic gifts contributed much to the success of the performance.—
Evening Post

ALEXANDRIA, Egypt


So great was the applause that Mr. Leyssac was obliged to return and give several encores before he was allowed to retire.—
Egyptian Gazette

Present Day Club, Princeton, N. J.

Mr. Leyssac offers the ideal Club Program.

SANTA BARBARA, Calif.


A simple tale became an operetta, a narrative full of color and suspense through the art of Paul Leyssac.—
News-Press



WITH PIANO


Enoch Arden

by Alfred, Lord Tennyson



Music by Richard Strauss



Aase's Death from Peer Gynt

by Henrik Ibsen



Music by Edvard Grieg




The following selections are by American composers and may be used for a program devoted exclusively to American Works:



Barbara
/cell>
by Alexander Smith



Music by Arthur Hartmann



The Listeners

by Walter de la Mare



Music by Clarence Olmstead



Villanelle of Old Gardens

by Hesper Le Gallienne



Music by Dwight Fiske



The Old Piano Speaks

by Margaret Lee Ashley



Music by Dwight Fiske



A Caravan from China Comes By

by Richard Le Gallienne



Music by Nils Nelson



The Little Match Girl

by Hans C. Andersen



Music by Felix Borowski






WITH ORCHESTRA


Manfred

Text by Alfred, Lord Byron



Music by Robert Schumann



Oedipus Rex.

Text adapted by Jean Cocteau



Music by Igor Stravinsky



King David





Music by Arthur Honegger



The Little Match Girl

Text by Hans C. Andersen



Translated by Paul Leyssac—Music by Felix Borowski



Peter and The Wolf

Translated by Paul Leyssac



Music and Text by Serge Prokofieff






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WGN Concerts

441 No. Michigan Ave. Chicago, Ill.

AUSTIN WILDER, Managing Director

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