Lawrence Brownlee News

After many months of competitions at the district, regional, and national levels, five singers have been named as the winners of the nation's most prestigious vocal competition, the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. Each winner receives a $15,000 cash prize and the exposure that comes with winning the competition that launched the careers of many of opera's biggest stars.

On the surface, the two major works on Lawrence Brownlee's recital at Carnegie's Zankel Hall might seem not to have much in common. The first, Robert Schumann's “Dichterliebe (A Poet's Love),” was written around 1840; “CYCLES OF MY BEING,” by Tyshawn Sorey and Terrance Hayes, a couple of MacArthur geniuses, debuted in Philadelphia in February and had some subsequent changes before it arrived for its NY debut in Zankel on Tuesday, so it's safe to call it “brand new.”

When the radiant, intellectual soprano Julia Bullock stepped on stage Carnegie Hall's intimate venue, Weill Recital Hall (just 268 seats), to wild applause, I felt like I was the only one hearing her “live” for the first time. Everyone else there seemed to have a personal relationship with her and her artistry. I'd somehow missed her “live,” in previous recitals and in the title roles of CENDRILLON and CUNNING LITTLE VIXEN at Juilliard. My loss--and a significant one.

Following today's highly competitive semi-final competition, nine young singers will advance to the final phase of the Metropolitan Opera's 2018 National Council Auditions, America's most prestigious vocal competition. The selected finalists, chosen by a panel of experts from the classical music industry, will compete on the Met stage on Sunday, April 29 at 3 p.m. The winners will receive individual cash prizes of $15,000 and the prestigious—and potentially career-launching—title of National Council Auditions Winner. The Grand Finals Concert will be hosted by Joyce DiDonato, who will perform during the judges' deliberations. The finalists will sing two arias, with Bertrand de Billy conducting the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra.

When tenor Lawrence Brownlee--he of the sweet, cultured tones and ringing high Cs--was first asked to put a recital together by Carnegie Hall, he chose Robert Schumann's “Dichterliebe (A Poet's Love),” the song cycle about rapture, disillusionment and regret as the centerpiece. But in filling out the program, he turned to something very different--a work, in fact, that hadn't been written yet, reflecting his life as a black man in America: “Cycles of My Being” by composer Tyshawn Sorey and poet/lyricist Terrance Hayes.

The University Musical Society (UMS), under the leadership of President Matthew VanBesien, today announces its 140th season in 2018-19 with an initial slate of 40 performances and events. One of the country's most acclaimed performing arts presenters, UMS honors its past by showcasing respected ensembles and performers with whom it has enjoyed rich relationships, and fully embraces the future as initiator, incubator, and accelerator for innovative new works and projects. This potent combination infuses the anniversary season with dynamic and diverse voices and perspectives featuring artists at the top of their game - celebrating the canon, taking risks, moving genres in new directions, disrupting stereotypes, and surprising audiences.

The Richard Tucker Music Foundation announced today that Christian Van Horn – “one of those treasurable singers in whose presence one can entirely relax, assured that everything he does will be delivered with solid interpretive insight and unfailingly attractive tone” (Opera News) – has been named as the winner of the 2018 Richard Tucker Award.

The Robert and Margrit Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts, UC Davis announces its 17th season of performing arts, filled with the leading artists in music, dance and theater alongside a powerful group of speakers. The season begins on September 22, 2018, with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis and concludes June 2, 2019, with the Alexander String Quartet and pianist Joyce Yang debuting a new work by composer Samuel Carl Adams.

Twenty-five young opera singers who have won regional auditions around the United States will arrive at the Met this month to compete in the next phase of the country's leading vocal competition: the semi-final round of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.

The 2018 Schwabacher Recital Series concludes on April 4 with pianist Kevin Murphy and a quartet of current San Francisco Opera Adler Fellows-soprano Natalie Image, mezzo-soprano Ashley Dixon, tenor Amitai Pati and bass-baritone Christian Pursell-in a program celebrating the great American composer/conductor Leonard Bernstein and music of Aaron Copland, Charles Ives and Gustav Mahler.

On Tuesday, April 24 at 7:30 p.m. in Zankel Hall, acclaimed American tenor Lawrence Brownlee presents the New York premiere of Cycles of My Being, a new song cycle composed by Tyshawn Sorey with lyrics by Terrance Hayes that explores the realities of life as a black man in America. Brownlee—hailed as one of “the world's leading bel canto tenors” by the Associated Press—is conducted by composer Tyshawn Sorey and joined by violinist Randall Goosby, cellist Khari Joyner, clarinetist Alexander Laing, and pianist Kevin Miller for Cycles of My Being, which is co-commissioned by Carnegie Hall as part of the Hall's 125 Commissions Project. The program opens with Schumann's Dichterliebe, to be performed alongside pianist Myra Huang.

On Wednesday, March 28, WQXR will present the latest installment of its “Classical Up Close” series at The Jerome L. Greene Performance Space with special guest, acclaimed tenor Lawrence Brownlee.

A lullaby is a simple expression of the most universal human condition, the bond between parent and child. One of the earliest lullabies in recorded history was written in 2000 BC, and 2018 marks the 150th anniversary of Brahms' Lullaby, so this precious musical tradition has deep cultural and emotional roots. These personal songs bring people together, span generations, and tell stories about where we come from, who we are now, and our hopes for the future.

Audible Inc., the world's largest producer and provider of downloadable audiobooks and other spoken-word entertainment, today announced the first class of theater commissions selected to receive support from its fund dedicated to the commission and development of innovative English-language works from playwrights around the globe. Announced earlier this year, the $5 million fund will enable the creation of one- and two-person audio plays driven by language and voice, in keeping with Audible's core commitment to elevating listening experiences through powerful performances of brilliantly composed words.

Lyric Opera of Chicago presents Bellini's classic I Puritani. Similar to Romeo and Juliet but with a happy ending, this bel-canto gem features the high-flying, thrilling vocals that give bel-canto singing its name.

San Francisco Opera Center and Merola Opera Program present the 35th anniversary season of the Schwabacher Recital Series, opening on February 21 and continuing through April 4. The four-recital series offers music lovers an opportunity to hear opera's next generation of stars in the intimate and state-of-the-art Taube Atrium Theater in San Francisco. New this season, the recital series moves to Wednesday evenings at 7:30 p.m.

The International Opera Awards are pleased to announce the finalists for this year's Awards. These were selected by an international jury chaired by John Allison, editor of Opera magazine and classical music critic with The Daily Telegraph: 'It's gratifying to see how the International Opera Awards just keep growing. With a record number of nominations to consider, and our biggest and most international jury yet, I'm delighted to say that our exciting shortlists-covering six continents and around 30 countries-reflect the truly cosmopolitan nature of the art form. Despite the challenges faced by opera companies almost everywhere, opera is vibrantly alive.'

The International Opera Awards are pleased to announce the finalists for this year's Awards. These were selected by an international jury chaired by John Allison, editor of Opera magazine and classical music critic with The Daily Telegraph: 'It's gratifying to see how the International Opera Awards just keep growing. With a record number of nominations to consider, and our biggest and most international jury yet, I'm delighted to say that our exciting shortlists-covering six continents and around 30 countries-reflect the truly cosmopolitan nature of the art form. Despite the challenges faced by opera companies almost everywhere, opera is vibrantly alive.'

Clive Gillinson, Executive and Artistic Director, today announced Carnegie Hall's 2018 2019 season featuring approximately 170 performances by many of the world's leading artists and ensembles in classical, pop, jazz, and world music, plus a broad range of innovative education and social impact programs created by Carnegie Hall's Weill Music Institute, serving audiences in New York City and beyond.

Houston Grand Opera (HGO) will present its 2018-19 season in its creative home at Houston's Wortham Theater Center after a year of displacement due to damage to the building from Hurricane Harvey. The 64th season will open October 19, 2018, with HGO's first performances in 20 years of Wagner's romantic ghost story The Flying Dutchman, in a new production featuring baritoneAndrzej Dobber as the Dutchman and the role debut of award-winning American soprano and HGO Studio alumna Rachel Willis-S rensen as Senta. To close the season, the new Kasper Holten production of Mozart's Don Giovanni featuring the HGO debut of baritone Philippe Sly in the title role and the role debut of soprano Ailyn P rez as Donna Anna will be presented in repertory with The Phoenix, a world premiere about the colorful life of Lorenzo da Ponte, Mozart's librettist for the masterful Don Giovanni, The Marriage of Figaro, and Cos fan tutte. The new work, written by composer Tarik O'Regan and librettist John Caird, will star renowned baritone Thomas Hampson as Lorenzo da Ponte in a belated HGO debut and bass-baritone Luca Pisaroni as Da Ponte's son, Lorenzo. HGO will also present a revival of Daniel Cat n's ethereal Florencia en el Amazonas with internationally acclaimed soprano and HGO Studio alumna Ana Mar a Mart nez in the title role; the first HGO presentation of Bizet's The Pearl Fishers with the stellar tenor and baritone pairing of Lawrence Brownlee and Mariusz Kwiecien in the title roles along with soprano Andrea Carroll; and the return of HGO's 2012 production of Puccini's perennial classic La boh me, featuring the role debut of soprano and HGO Studio alumna Nicole Heaston as Mim .