Lawrence Brownlee

Tenor Lawrence Brownlee makes a one-night only appearance at the McPherson Playhouse with music from his GRAMMY nominated album "Rising", named one of The New York Times' "Best Classical Music Albums of 2024". Brownlee has commissioned six of today’s leading African-American composers – Damien Sneed, Brandon Spencer, Jasmine Barnes, Joel Thompson, and Shawn E. Okpebholo – to set poetry from the Harlem Renaissance to song, including poems by Alice Dunbar Nelson, Claude McKay, Langston Hughes, James Weldon Johnson, and more. The songs revolve around themes of joy, empowerment, faith, love, and strength in the face of challenge. Brownlee has also collaborated closely with Dr. Louise Toppin, soprano and vocal professor at the University of Michigan, to revive select works from famed composers Margaret Bonds and Robert Owen; in addition to including works from composer Jeremiah Evans. "This beautifully curated album has the sound of an artist who went into the recording studio with something urgent and personal to say...Captivating in his commitment, he doesn’t waste a note." - Oussama Zahr, The New York Times (Subscribers to Pacific Opera Victoria will receive a special invitation to a post-show Artist Meet & Greet) Lawrence Brownlee 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. He has been hailed as “an international star in the bel canto operatic repertory” (The New York Times), “one of the world’s leading bel canto stars” (The Guardian), and “one of the most in-demand opera singers in the world today” (NPR). Brownlee’s 23-24 season includes Opera Rara’s Donizetti Song Project, where he joined pianist Carlos Rizzi at Wigmore Hall for a recital and recording of Donizetti’s rarely-performed repertoire, in addition to a gala concert at the 2023 George Enescu International Festival and duo recital with Levy Sekgapane at Grand Théâtre Genève. Brownlee also travels to Wiener Staatsoper to perform as Count Almaviva in Il Barbiere di Siviglia ahead of his role as Tonio in the Lyric Opera of Chicago’s La Fille Du Regiment in November. In December, Brownlee joins the Wiener Konzerthaus for their 2023 Christmas in Vienna Gala before reuniting with Michael Spyres for the Game of Tenors – concert in Bratislava. Brownlee kicks off 2024 with recital engagements at the Dallas Opera and the La Jolla Music Society, before bringing his acclaimed Rising program to San Francisco Performances in February 2024 and the Concertgebouw in June 2024. Brownlee will also return to Teatro alla Scala as Ernesto in Don Pasquale before ending his season as Don Ramiro in Rossini’s La Cenerentola at the Bayerische Staatsoper. *Ticket prices are subject to change.