+++
date = "2017-03-23T11:12:00+00:00"
discipline = "Tenor"
lastmod = "2017-03-23T11:22:00+00:00"
primary_image = "https://res.cloudinary.com/schmopera/image/upload/v1545409169/media/webhook-uploads/1490267535417/2017-03-23---Lawrence_Brownlee_pc_Larrynx_Photography.jpg.jpg"
primary_image_credit = "Larrynx Photography"
publishDate = "2017-03-23T11:12:00+00:00"
related_companies = ["scene/companies/the-metropolitan-opera.md","scene/companies/seattle-opera.md","scene/companies/salzburg-festival.md","scene/companies/los-angeles-opera.md","scene/companies/wiener-staatsoper.md","scene/companies/bayerische-staatsoper.md","scene/companies/royal-opera-house.md","scene/companies/the-santa-fe-opera.md","scene/companies/washington-national-opera.md"]
slug = "lawrence-brownlee"
title = "Lawrence Brownlee"
website = "http://www.lawrencebrownlee.com/"
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The most in-demand American tenor in the world in the bel canto repertoire, Lawrence Brownlee continues  to  astonish  audiences  with  the  elegance  and  agility  of  his  instrument.  From  firmly American  roots,  Mr.  Brownlee  has  become  a  star  on  the  international  scene,  lauded  for  the seemingly effortless beauty of his voice. 

The 2014-15 season begins with Mr. Brownlee returning to Seattle Opera for his role debut as Don Ottavio  in *Don  Giovanni*.  He  then  returns  to  the  Metropolitan  Opera  as  Count  Almaviva  in *Il Barbiere di  Siviglia*,  which  will  be  seen  in  cinemas  around  the  world  as  part  of  the Live in HD series.  Mr.  Brownlee  will  perform  with  Opernhaus  Zürich  as  Don  Ramiro  in *La  Cenerentola* opposite  Cecilia  Bartoli,  followed  by  his  role  debut  as  Ferrando  in *Così  fan  tutte* with  the Bayerische Staatsoper. He will also appear with Festspielhaus Baden-Baden as the Italian Tenor in  a  new  production  of *Der  Rosenkavalier* under  the  baton  of  Sir  Simon  Rattle.  Other  operatic highlights  of  Mr.  Brownlee’s  season  include  Tonio  in *Daughter of  the  Regiment* with  Pittsburgh Opera,  and  the  title  role  in  the  world  premiere  of  Daniel  Schnyder’s *Charlie  Parker’s  Yardbird*,  a work written specifically for him. 

Apart  from  his  busy  operatic  calendar,  Mr.  Brownlee  will  perform  recitals  with  the  Van  Cliburn Foundation  in  Fort  Worth,  the  Tuesday  Musical  Association  in  Akron,  and  the  Lied  Center  in Lawrence, KS. To round out the season, he will also perform with the Santo Domingo Festival and in  a  special  bel  canto  concert  curated  by  Joyce  DiDonato  with  the  Philadelphia  Orchestra  at Carnegie Hall. Mr.  Brownlee  began  his  2013-14  season  with  Seattle  Opera,  where  he  appeared  as Tonio  in *La fille du  régiment*.  He  then  made  his  Los  Angeles  Opera  debut  as  Tamino  in  a celebrated production  of *The  Magic  Flute* by  Barrie  Kosky,  conducted  by  James  Conlon.  In  Europe,  Mr. Brownlee  appeared  at  the  Wiener  Staatsoper  and  the  Bayerische Staatsoper  as  Nemorino  in *L’Elisir  d’amore*,  Narciso in *Il  turco in  Italia*,  and  Ramiro  in *La  Cenerentola*.  Other  highlights  of  Mr. Brownlee’s  recent  season  included  Arturo  in *I  Puritani* with  the  Metropolitan  Opera  and  at  the Tivoli  Festival,  Narciso  in *Il  turco in  Italia* with  the  Festival  d’Aix-en-Provence,  Rossini’s *Petite Messe Solennelle* and *Stabat Mater* at the Whitsun Festival, and the Concert de Paris on Bastille Day with the Orchestre National de France alongside Anna Netrebko, Natalie Dessay, Piotr Beczała,  and  Elīna  Garanča.  Mr.  Brownlee  also  performed  recitals  at the  Grand  Théâtre  de  Genève  in Switzerland and with the Vocal Arts Society in Washington, DC. 

A non-operatic highlight of Mr. Brownlee’s 2013-14 season was an appearance with his friend and collaborator Damien Sneed in “Spiritual Sketches” at Lincoln Center’s American Songbook series. The concert featured songs from the critically-acclaimed recording of spirituals that Brownlee and Sneed released last season. Mr.  Brownlee  has  been  featured  in  nearly  every  major  theater  in  the  world  and  enjoys  a relationship with many prominent conductors and symphony orchestras. 

Operatic highlights of Mr. Brownlee’s  career include: *La  Cenerentola* in  Milan,  Houston,  Philadelphia,  and  the  Metropolitan Opera; *L’italiana in   Algeri* in   Milan,   Dresden,   Boston,   Houston,   and   Seattle; *I   Puritani* in Washington,  Seattle,  and  the  Metropolitan  Opera; *Mosé in  Egitto* in  Rome; *Il  turco in  Italia* in Toulouse and Berlin; *Tancredi* with the Detroit Symphony and on an eight-city European tour with the Orchestre des Champs-Élysées; *La donna del lago* in Santa Fe and Washington; *Semiramide* and *L’elisir d’amore*, both at the Caramoor Festival; *Armida* at the Metropolitan Opera; *La fille du régiment* in  Hamburg,  Cincinnati,  and  at  the  Metropolitan  Opera;  Salieri’s *Axur, re  d’Ormus* in  Zürich; *L’ape musicale* in Vienna; *Il Barbiere di Siviglia* in Geneva; *Le Comte Ory* in Vienna; and the world premiere of Lorin Maazel’s 1984 at Covent Garden. 

In the orchestral arena, he has been heard in Bach’s *Magnificat* in Cincinnati; Handel’s *Messiah* in Houston, San Francisco, Detroit, Baltimore, and Indianapolis; *Israel in Egypt* in Cleveland; Mozart’s  Mass  in  C  minor  in  Chicago  and  Baltimore; *Carmina  Burana* with  the  Boston  Symphony Orchestra  at  Tanglewood;  the  opening  performance  of  Lincoln  Center’s  Mostly  Mozart  Festival; and highlights from *Porgy and Bess* with the New York Philharmonic, including a Live From Lincoln Center  telecast.  Mr.  Brownlee  has  performed  recitals  at  Carnegie  Hall,  the  Kennedy  Center, Lincoln  Center’s  Avery  Fisher  Hall,  London’s  Wigmore  Hall  and  Rosenblatt  Recital  Series, Cincinnati’s  College-Conservatory  of  Music,  SUNY  Potsdam,  Cape  Town  Opera,  in  Atlanta  and Tokyo,  as  well  as  various  venues  around  the  United  States  under  the  auspices  of  the  Marilyn Horne Foundation. 

Mr. Brownlee’s discography/videography continues to grow impressively. In 2013, Delos released “Virtuoso Rossini Arias,” a collection of lesser known Rossini arias, after which Alex Ross of the New  Yorker asked, “Is  there  a  finer  Rossini  tenor  than  Lawrence  Brownlee?”  Mr.  Brownlee’s critically-acclaimed “Spiritual Sketches” album, which is both a re-imagining of and a love letter to a  musical tradition in which he was raised, features ten traditional spirituals arranged by Damien Sneed. In 2012, EMI released a recording of Rossini’s *Stabat Mater*, featuring Mr. Brownlee, Anna Netrebko,  Joyce  DiDonato,  and  Ildebrando  d’Arcangelo,  with  Antonio  Pappano  leading  the Accademia  Nazionale  di  Santa  Cecilia.  Mr.  Brownlee  was  also  featured  on  a  pair  of  DVDs:  the Metropolitan  Opera’s  2010 Live inHDrelay  of Armida on  Decca  and Carmina  Buranawith  Sir Simon  Rattle  leading  the  Berliner  Philharmoniker  on  EuroArts/Opus  Arte  (a  CD  version  of  this performance exists on EMI Classics). Other   releases   include   an   exploration   of   Rossini   songs   on   Opera   Rara; *L’italiana in Algeri* conducted by Alberto Zedda on Naxos; a live recording of Mayr’s *Medea in Corinto* from St. Gallen  released  by  Oehms  Classics;  a  DVD  of  the  Metropolitan  Opera’s  2009  production  of *La Cenerentola* released  by  Deutsche  Grammophon;  his  first  solo  disc  on  EMI  Classics  featuring Italian  songs  by  Schubert,  Verdi,  Donizetti,  Bellini,  and  Rossini, accompanied  by  Martin  Katz;  a live *Il barbiere di Siviglia* featuring Mr. Brownlee alongside Elīna Garanča, Giovanna Donadini, and Nathan Gunn on Sony; and a DVD of the world premiere of Lorin Maazel’s 1984 at Covent Garden on Decca. 

In  addition  to  being  a  winner  at  the  2001  Metropolitan  Opera  National  Council  Auditions,  Mr. Brownlee  was  named  Seattle  Opera’s  2008  Artist  of  the  Year,  received  the  Opera  Company  of Philadelphia’s  2007  Alter  Award  for  Artistic  Excellence,  and  was  the  winner  of  both  the  2006 Marian  Anderson  and  Richard  Tucker  Awards,  a  feat  never  before  achieved  by  any  artist  in  the same year. He participated in young artist programs at both the Seattle and Wolf Trap Operas. 

An Ohio  native,  Mr.  Brownlee  received  a  Bachelor  of  Arts  degree  from  Anderson  University  and  a Master  of  Music  degree  from  Indiana  University.  He  is  a  Life  Member of  Kappa  Alpha  Psi Fraternity Inc.
