LAWRENCE BROWNLEE

UNITED STATES

Tenor and Founder, Giving Voice

Lawrence Brownlee is a leading figure in opera, both as a singer on the world's top stages, and as a voice for activism and diversity in the industry. In addition to creating and performing in HGO’s Giving Voice concert series, Brownlee has performed lead roles in HGO’s La favorite (2020), The Pearl Fishers (2019), The Abduction from the Seraglio (2017), The Italian Girl in Algiers (2012), The Barber of Seville (2011), and La Cenerentola (2007). During the 2022-23 season, Brownlee’s engagements include a program with fellow Rossini expert Michael Spyres, “Amici e Rivali” at the Theatre des Champs-Élysées, in addition to the premiere of “Rising,” which will feature Brownlee and pianist Kevin J. Miller performing newly commissioned songs by composers Shawn Okpebholo, Damien Sneed, Joel Thompson, and others, with texts drawn from James Weldon Johnson and other great Black writers of the Harlem Renaissance. “Rising” will be performed at venues across the U.S. including Carnegie Hall. Other roles this season include Rodrigo in Otello as part of Opera Philadelphia’s Festival O22; the title role of Le comte Ory at Lyric Opera of Chicago; Elvino in La Sonnambula at Teatro Real in Madrid; Count Almaviva in The Barber of Seville at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden; and Tamino in a new production of The Magic Flute at the Metropolitan Opera. Brownlee is a Distinguished Visiting Faculty Member at The Juilliard School and the artistic advisor for Opera Philadelphia. He is a winner of numerous awards and distinctions including “Male Singer of the Year” (2017 International Opera Awards), the Kennedy Center’s Marian Anderson Award, and the OPERA NEWS Award (2021).