Lawrence Brownlee: Bel canto to Bebop

Lawrence Brownlee | Photo Credit: Derek Blanks

By Linda Fairtile

Bel canto and Bebop might seem to be musical worlds apart.  One grew out of the Italian tradition of beautiful, florid singing, while the other originated in smoky New York jazz clubs.  And yet tenor Lawrence Brownlee is identified with both.  As one of today’s leading opera singers, Brownlee specializes in the music of Gioachino Rossini, which requires an unusually high voice of exceptional beauty and flexibility.  The tenor made his professional stage debut – at the Virginia Opera! – as Count Almaviva in Rossini’s The Barber of Seville, which has now become his signature role. 

Brownlee is also identified with another role, that of jazz musician Charlie Parker.  Last year, he portrayed the iconic saxophonist to wide acclaim in the world premiere of Daniel Schnyder’s opera Yardbird.  Perhaps surprisingly, the jazz riffs and scat singing required for this part serve a similar musical purpose as the ornate runs and improvised embellishments of bel canto opera.  In fact, The New York Times likened Brownlee’s performance as Parker to “jazzy Rossini.”

Growing up in Youngstown, Ohio, Brownlee played the bass, drums, trumpet, and piano.  He discovered classical singing almost accidentally, after receiving a few voice lessons in junior high school.  As an African-American operatic tenor, Brownlee has had few role models.  While sopranos Leontyne Price and Jessye Norman achieved international success in the 1960s and 70s, until recently, romantic lead roles were seldom assigned to male singers of color.  In addition, the bel canto repertoire, which ideally suits Brownlee’s voice, had largely fallen out of fashion due to a shortage of singers capable of performing it.  But thanks to Lawrence Brownlee, and fellow tenors Juan Diego Flórez and Javier Camarena, we are now enjoying what critic Zachary Woolfe has called “a new golden age in high male voices.”  

Lawrence Brownlee will perform at the Modlin Center Saturday, March 19 at 7:30pm in Camp Concert Hall. Tickets and information can be found at modlin.richmond.edu, the Modlin Center box office, or by phone at (804) 289-8980.

More about Linda Fairtile
Linda Fairtile is the University of Richmond's liaison librarian for music, theatre, dance, and Italian studies, as well as a musicologist who specializes in Italian opera. She is the co-director of the American Institute for Verdi Studies at New York University and has appeared as a panelist on the Texaco Metropolitan Opera Quiz radio broadcasts.