Washington National Opera presents Rossini’s comic opera “The Barber of Seville.”
Where: Kennedy Center Opera House, 2700 F St. NW
When: 7 p.m. Sept. 12, 14 and 19; 7:30 p.m. Sept. 15-17; 2 p.m. Sept. 13 and 20
Info: $25 to $300; 202-295-2400
“Target Free Opera in the Outfield,” free opening night simulcast live to Nationals Park, 7 p.m. Sept. 12. Pre-opera activities begin at 5:30 p.m.
Tenor Lawrence Brownlee makes his Washington National Opera debut as Conte Almaviva in the season opener, Rossini’s “The Barber of Seville.” Two years after his Metropolitan Opera debut in this, his signature role, he is enthusiastic about WNO’s fresh new production that plays down the character’s background.
“We’ve been given the liberty to create as we go along,” he says. “David Gately, the director, wants me to play the count as a youth impassioned by love, not as an aristocrat. Even though he is spoiled and used to getting his own way, Almaviva is always driven by love. I’m excited by my growth in the role over the past seven years. I try to throw myself into what the director wants and adapt the character to my own personality. When I go back to playing him as an aristocrat, I’ll be able to make him more human.”
Already a favorite in Washington, Brownlee was a member of the 2001 Wolf Trap Opera Company and has performed several times recently to great acclaim for Washington Concert Opera. Since starting his meteoric career in a La Scala production of “The Barber of Seville,” the Youngstown, Ohio, native has amassed prestigious awards and standing ovations at major opera houses abroad and at home. Along the way, he has toppled racial barriers and prejudices by proving that a short black man can succeed as a romantic lead in the exclusive world of opera.
Fresh from singing bel canto in two operas at the Caramoor Festival to critical raves, Brownlee is eager to wow the WNO audience with the first of four appearances this season as Count Almaviva. Debuts at Deutsche Opera Berlin and the Casals Festival in San Juan, Puerto Rico, are followed by a performance at La Scala in Milan.
The first of two role debuts on his agenda is Egeo in Mayr’s “Medea in Corinto” at Theater St. Gallen in Switzerland. The melodramatic opera based on the Greek myth will be presented in both October and December. The centerpiece of his spring schedule is Rinaldo in Rossini’s “Armida” with Renee Fleming at the Met.
Scattered in between are recitals and Deutsche Opera Berlin’s gala concert. In January, he reprises the countertenor part in Orff’s “Carmina Burana,” which he recorded with Berliner Philharmoniker under Sir Simon Rattle for EMI and sang at Tanglewood this past summer.
“The Orff is always a challenge because you sit for 40 minutes then start out cold with those unforgivable high notes,” he says.
No matter the challenge, he welcomes the opportunity whenever something new looms on the horizon. Now that he and the girl he discovered on eharmony.com are happily married, he is eager for her to learn salsa dancing, his big passion. The moment may arise in Washington where a friend is planning a Generation O event in which Brownlee will be the salsa DJ. But first comes opening night and the live simulcast at Nationals Park.
“It’s wonderful that people who otherwise would not be able to attend will discover that people in opera are human, not far from those they see in sitcoms, movies and everyday life,” he says. “When I do master classes, I tell youngsters to listen to the music and they’ll hear some of the melodies from Mozart and Haydn in the songs they like today. They’ll make the connection and realize that opera is not a far-fetched art but something they might want to attend.”
