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A regular performer at the biggest opera houses from the Metropolitan Opera to La Scala, Lawrence Brownlee has become a much sought-after tenor. Lauded for his technique and the beauty of his voice, Lawrence Brownlee returns to Rosenblatt Recitals for a new era as we move to our new home at Wigmore Hall.
This recital will be recorded for broadcast by Sky Arts in 2013
Ohio-born Lawrence Brownlee received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Anderson University and a Master of Music degree from Indiana University. He was recognised early on for his excellence and has been made the recipient of major awards and grants from the beginning of his career, among them, a 2001 winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, a 2003 ARIA Award and a 2003 Richard Tucker Music Foundation Career Grant.
His professional stage debut took place in 2002 as Almaviva in The Baber of Seville with Virginia Opera, a role he subsequently performed in Vienna, Milan, Madrid, Munich, Tokyo, New York, San Diego and Boston. Other roles have included La Cenerentola in Milan, Dresden, Trieste, Houston and Philadelphia, L’italiana in Algeri in Milan, Dresden, Boston and Seattle, I puritani in Washington and Seattle, Mosé in Egitto in Rome, Il turco in Italia in Toulouse and Berlin, Tancredi with the Detroit Symphony and an eight city European tour with the Orchestre des Champs-Élysées, as Cavaliere Belfiore in Il viaggio a Reims in Genoa and in Brussels as Conte di Libenskof, Le Comte Ory in Bologna and Reggio Emilia, La donna del lago in Washington, Don Pasquale in Detroit, La fille du régiment in Hamburg and Cincinnati, Salieri’s Axur, re d’Ormus in Zurich, the da Ponte pasticcio L’ape musicale in Vienna, Daniel Catán’s Florencia en el Amazonas in Seattle and the world premiere of Lorin Maazel’s 1984 at Covent Garden.
Known as one of the most sought-after bel canto tenors, his repertoire also include Rossini’s La gazza ladra, Semiramide, Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore, Carl Off’s Carmina Burana, Armida (which he sung with Renée Fleming at the Metropolitan Opera). In recent seasons he has performed in La fille du regiment and has appeared in Russia, South Africa and Slovakia for the first time.
Lawrence Brownlee has extensive discography, among his CD releases is a live EMI recording of Carmina Burana with Sir Simon Rattle leading the Berliner Philharmoniker, his first solo disc featuring Italian songs by Schubert, Verdi, Donizetti, Bellini and Rossini, and a live Barber of Seville co-starring Elīna Garanča with Miguel Gómez-Martínez leading the Münchner Rundfunkorchester. In 2008 Decca released a DVD of a performance from the Covent Garden world premiere of Lorin Maazel’s 1984. During the 2009-10 season a CD of Rossini songs was released on Opera Rara and on Naxos, a performance of L’italiana in Algeri conducted by Alberto Zedda, taken from live performances at the Rossini in Wildbad Festival in July 2008. Additionally, Deutsche Grammophon released a DVD of the Metropolitan Opera’s May 2009 production of La Cenerentola with Elīna Garanča as Angelina.
This will be Lawrence Brownlee’ second appearance at Rosenblatt Recitals following am acclaimed debut in 2010.
Iain Burnside enjoys a unique reputation as pianist and broadcaster, forged through his commitment to the song repertoire and his collaborations with leading international singers. In recent seasons such artists have included Galina Gorchakova, Ailish Tynan, Lisa Milne, Rebecca Evans; Susan Bickley, Ann Murray and Sarah Connolly; John Mark Ainsley, Mark Padmore and Andrew Kennedy; Roderick Williams and Bryn Terfel. Through his strong association with the Rosenblatt Recitals, Iain has appeared with outstanding artists such as Ekaterina Siurina, Ailyn Pérez, Lawrence Brownlee, Stephen Costello and Matthew Rose.
Acclaimed as a programmer, Iain has devised a number of innovative recitals combining music and poetry presented with huge success in Brussels and Barcelona with the collaboration of actors such as Fiona Shaw and Simon Russell Beale. At the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, he is a Research Associate, staging specially conceived programmes with student singers and pianists. He has given Masterclasses throughout Europe, at New York’s Juilliard School and the Banff Centre, Canada. Iain’s broadcasting career covers both Radio and TV and he has been honoured with a Sony Radio Award.