Lawrence Brownlee, Tenor
Donald Lee III, Piano
Sunday, March 9, 2025
5 pm (Please note new time & "Spring Forward" for Daylight Savings Time)
Memorial Hall, OTR
Tenor Lawrence Brownlee is a leading figure in opera, both as a singer who has graced the world's leading stages, and as a voice for activism and diversity in the industry. Captivating audiences and critics around the globe, 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).
Named “Male Singer of the Year” by both the International Opera Awards (2017) and Bachtrack, he has been featured on PBS, NPR, Sirius Radio, American Public Media and other national outlets. Included among his other numerous awards and distinctions are the Kennedy Center’s Marian Anderson Award, the Opera News Award (2021) and Grand Prize winner at the 2001 Metropolitan Opera National Council auditions.
Highlights of Brownlee’s past seasons include his role debut, to great acclaim, in the title role of Rameau’s Platèe with Opéra National de Paris; role debut as Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor at New National Theatre Tokyo; and he added Fernand to his repertoire in a new production of Donizetti’s La Favorite with Houston Grand Opera. His signature Rossini roles include Rodrigo in Otello, the title role of Le comte Ory, and Tamino in Die Zauberflöte.
Brownlee’s acclaimed recording career includes Donizetti’s rarely- performed song repertoire and the album Rising, which was nominated for a Grammy in 2023. In 2021, Brownlee joined The Juilliard School as a
Distinguished Visiting Faculty Member. He serves as artistic advisor for Opera Philadelphia, Ambassador for Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Lyric Unlimited, and Ambassador for Opera for Peace.
Lawrence Brownlee's GRAMMY nominated album "Rising" is named one of The New York Times' "Best Classical Music Albums of 2024".
VIDEOS
Donald Lee III, Piano
American Conductor and Pianist Donald Lee III is quickly becoming known for his versatility and charisma both on the podium and at the keyboard. Lee has appeared in concert with the Des Moines Metro Opera Orchestra, Lyric Opera of Chicago Orchestra, and members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Lee has been engaged as a cover conductor with the Gateways Festival Orchestra and Des Moines Metro Opera. Recent productions include Salome, Carmen, Champion, and the world premiere of American Apollo. Recent highlights as a pianist include appearing as soloist with the University of Maryland Symphony Orchestra, and recital performances with tenor Lawrence Brownlee, baritone WIll Liverman, and countertenor Key’mon Murrah.
Donald Allen Lee III is a Virginia native and current member of The Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center emerging artist training program at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. Since the start of his tenure in 2021, Lee has conducted the prestigious Lyric Opera of Chicago Orchestra for numerous performances including The Magic Victrola, Rising Stars in Concert, and Sunday in the Park with Lyric. Most recently, Lee was Assistant Conductor and played piano in the orchestra pit for the world premiere of The Factotum in collaboration with Lyric Unlimited and the Harris Theater of Chicago.
Lee has enjoyed great accomplishments at some of the nation’s leading opera companies. In 2022, he joined Des Moines Metro Opera as Associate Conductor for their productions of Porgy and Bess, American Apollo, and their Stars of Tomorrow concert. Lee also joined Opera Theatre of St. Louis’ Opera on the GO! filmed production of The Magic Flute, which included both conducting and playing piano.
During his residency at Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Lee successfully produced a workshop entirely in Spanish for kindergarten through high school students. Other career highlights include a collaboration with the Chicago City-Wide Symphony Orchestra for their 2022 Holiday Concert and a return to Opera Theatre of St. Louis for their New Works Collective – an initiative to push the boundaries of opera by combining music and storytelling. Lee also shadowed Maestro Enrique Mazzola at the Deutsche Oper Berlin for a production of Les vêpres siciliennes and worked with Opera NexGen for their 2021 production of Night Trip, a new one-act opera from composer Carlos Simon and librettist Sandra Seaton.
Lee is dedicated to new works and has showcased his ability to improvise across multiple genres of music. In addition to conducting, Lee is an avid pianist and coach. He has appeared as a soloist with the James Madison University Symphony Orchestra and Eastern Music Festival Student Orchestra. He was also the first pianist to record Francis Johnson’s A Collection of New Cotillons, the oldest surviving composition published by a Black America composer.
An alumnus of James Madison University and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, Lee also served as Assistant Professor of piano at Kentucky State University. Future appearances include conducting the Lyric Opera Orchestra and members of the Ryan Opera Center for Rising Stars in Concert and returning to Des Moines Metro Opera for their 2023 production of Carmen as Associate Conductor.
PROGRAM
For the project, Brownlee has commissioned six of today's leading African-American composers - Damien Sneed, Brandon Spencer, Jasmine Barnes, Joel Thompson, and Shawn E. Okpebholo - ot set poetry from the Harlem Renaissance ot 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 ni 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. The project features accompaniment from pianist and collaborator Kevin J. Miller.
-Nocturne .................. Joseph Marx (1882-1964)
-Selige Nacht
-Die Elfe
-Christbaum
-Hat dich die Liebe berührt
-Peace .................................... Jasmine Barnes
-I know my soul ................... Brandon Spencer
-Vocalise III .......................... Carlos Simon
-Beauty that is never old ..... Damien L. Sneed
-The Gift to Sing
-Romance ............................ Shawn E. Okpebholo
-My People .......................... Joel Thompson
INTERMISSION
-Ad una stella .................... Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901)
-Aria from Rigoletto: La donna mobile
-Me voglio fan a casa ......... Gaetano Donizetti (1797-1848)
-Aria from Rita: Allegro io son
-La lontanaza .................... Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868)
-Aria from L'occasione fa il ladro: D'ogni piu sacro
-La ricordanza ................... Vincenzo Bellini (1801-1835)
-Aria from Il pirata: Nel furor delle tempeste
