Lawrence Brownlee has proven to be one of the most internationally prominent tenors today in command of the Bel Canto repertoire. In response to a performance of King James V in La Donna del Lago The Washington Post acclaimed "Because there were a number of gifted and hardworking singers in the cast, it may seem ungracious to say that tenor Lawrence Brownlee stole the show. Sorry, but there's no way around it. After all, nobody but the most fervent opera cultist remembers who sang with soprano Montserrat Caballe when she dazzled Carnegie Hall with Donizetti's Lucrezia Borgia in 1965; it was one of those nights when a star was born and carried all before her. Without taking the comparison too far, it is distinctly possible that Brownlee's performance on Friday may someday be remembered with some of the same fondness."
The 2004-2005 season marks several important debuts for Mr. Brownlee including his debut at Covent Garden in Lorin Maazel's new opera 1984, Almaviva in Il barbiere di Siviglia with Teatro Real in Madrid and the Munich Radio Orchestra, and Messiah with the Detroit Symphony. This same season Mr. Brownlee returns to La Scala as Ramiro in La Cenerentola, Boston Lyric Opera as Lindoro in L'Italiana in Algeri and Arcadio in Florencia En El Amozonas with Seattle Opera. Mr. Brownlee sings Carmina Burana with the Berlin Philharmonic under the baton of Sir Simon Rattle which will be recorded by EMI Classics. With SONY Mr. Brownlee records Almaviva in Il barbiere di Siviglia with the Munich Radio Orchestra in a cast which includes Vasselina Kasarova and Simon Keenlyside.. In future seasons Mr. Brownlee will make important debuts with The Metropolitan Opera, The Vienna Staatsoper, Houston Grand Opera, San Diego Opera, La Monnaie in Brussels, Hamburgische Staatsoper, Opera Company of Philadelphia, Semperoper in Dresden, L'Opera Lirica a Trieste, and will sing various leading roles with Seattle Opera for several seasons to come
In the 2003-2004 season marked Mr. Brownlee debuts at the Carlo Felice in Genoa as Cavalier Belfiore in Il Viaggio a Reims, Opernhaus Zurich as Atar in Salieri's Axur, Re d'Ormus, Teatro Communale di Bologna in the title role of Le Comte Ory, Tonio in La Fille du Regiment with Cincinnati Opera, and with Washington Concert Opera as Rodrigo in La Donna del Lago. Mr. Brownlee also debuted with the Cleveland Orchestra singing Handel's Israel in Egypt, with the Charlotte Symphony in a special Martin Luther King celebratory concert, and with the Baltimore Symphony in Messiah.
In the 2002-2003 season, Mr. Brownlee made his immediate return appearance at Teatro alla Scala as Lindoro in L'Italiana in Algeri. Important operatic debuts this season included Ernesto in Don Pasquale with Seattle Opera and Michigan Opera Theatre, and Almaviva in Il barbiere di Siviglia with Boston Lyric Opera. On New Year's Eve 2002, Mr. Brownlee debuts with the New York Philharmonic singing selections from Porgy and Bess under the direction of Lorin Maazel, in a gala concert nationally televised on PBS. He also performed Bach's Magnificat with the Cincinnati Symphony, and a solo recital at the Musashino Cultural Society in Tokyo, Japan. Mr. Brownlee's engagements in the summer of 2003 included selections from Porgy and Bess with the New York Philharmonic in Cagliari, Italy; Mozart's Mass in C minor with Grant Park Music Festival; and a Gala Concert with Monadnock Music Festival. In 2001 Mr. Brownlee was the winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. During the 2001-2002 season, Lawrence Brownlee made his debut at Teatro alla Scala as Almaviva in Il barbiere di Siviglia, a role he also sang with Virginia Opera. Additional engagements in 2001-2002 included an appearance with Klassisch Television in Berlin, Germany, and a concert of arias with the Anderson Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Brownlee also performed solo recitals in New York City and Bermuda and sang a recital, under the auspices of the Marilyn Horne Foundation, in Huntsville, Alabama. Mr. Brownlee also performed on the Marilyn Horne Foundation Gala Concert in New York City.
Lawrence Brownlee is a winner of the 2003 ARIA Award and a 2003 Career Grant from the Richard Tucker Foundation and has recently been featured in both Opera News and Classical Singer Magazine. Mr. Brownlee received a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Anderson University and a Master of Music Degree from Indiana University. He was a participant in the young artist programs at both Seattle Opera and Wolf Trap Opera.
