In Conversation: Lawrence Brownlee Interviews Denyce Graves

As part of his online interview series, Sit Down With LB, tenor Lawrence Brownlee has a Facebook LIVE conversation with the legendary mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves. From their homes in Florida and New York, the discussion covers the gamut from hearing Leontyne Price the first time and knowing she wanted to become an opera singer to when she gave Samuel Ramey his wake-up call as a clerk working at the Omni Parker House! We also get to hear about her experience singing with Zubin Mehta and Riccardo Muti; learning to become a better cook; being friends with Ruth Bader-Ginsburg; admiring singers like Kathleen Battle and Elly Ameling; coping during quarantine life with a family; nurturing her life outside opera by spending time on the farm with horses, dogs and alpacas; and how teaching young singers has brought her a renewed sense of appreciation for the art form. You can see the full interview here.  Watch Denyce Graves sing the "L'amour est un oiseau rebelle" (Carmen) and "Mon cœur s'ouvre à ta voix" (Samson et Dalila) after the jump.

Tenors Anyone? Opera Singers That Love The Game Of Tennis

Love All: Grigolo (left) and Flórez go head-to-head on the court during some time off from the MET.

Tenors Juan Diego Flórez and Vittorio Grigolo took a break from their current performing schedule at the Metropolitan Opera to hit the courts for a friendly game of tennis. Mr. Flórez, a Rossini specialist who starred in the MET's first performances of the composer's La Donna del Lago, posted the image of the two men on his Facebook page. This isn't the first time that the worlds of tennis and opera have come together. Two instances are here and here. And tenor Lawrence Brownlee has proclaimed his enthusiasm for tennis; soprano Amelia Farrugia keeps stamina up for the stage by playing tennis in downtime; baritone Michael Chioldi has been known to pick up the racket to stay in shape;  soprano Julianna Di Giacomo grew up playing tennis; tenor Enrico Caruso didn't fair so well lasting through one set; soprano Kiri Te Kanawa keeps busy with a myriad of sports that includes tennis; bass-baritone Teddy Tahu Rhodes built his physique on the game of tennis; soprano Mary Garden had advice for her friend and tennis player Bill Tilden; and tenor Ivan Kozlovsky kept his health up with the sport. It's not the only sport that cross-pollinates opera with athletics, click here for more. See more photos of opera singers with tennis champions after the jump.

Tennis champions Rafael Nadal (left) and David Ferrer on the stage of the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, Spain.

Barrie Kosky Magic Flute Makes Big Splash At LA Opera

"A celebration of true love conquering all, The Magic Flute transports us into an enchanted world where good faces the forces of darkness. Under the masterful baton of James Conlon, LA Opera presents the U.S. Production Premiere of a highly inventive staging that originated at the Komische Oper Berlin, created by director Barrie Kosky in combination with the British theater group '1927,' whose humorous shows have thrilled audiences all over the world with their interaction between film animation and live-performing actors: 'A perfect mixture of all the things worth loving: silent films, the cabaret of the Weimar Republic, David Lynch, and the brothers Grimm (The Guardian, UK).' Packed with exquisite singing and stage wizardry, Mozart's delightful blend of high comedy and serious drama enchants young and old alike." This is a co-production with Minnesota Opera, where it will be performed in April. Read the New York Times review by clicking here and check out a large photo gallery of the production here. The complete LA Opera cast list is after the jump.

Risë Stevens Among NEA Opera Honorees For 2011

Risë Stevens as Dalila from the Saint-Saëns
opera of Samson et Dalila.

"Stage designer John Conklin and singer Risë Stevens, along with general director Speight Jenkins, and composer Robert Ward will receive NEA Opera Honors at a ceremony to be held on Thursday, October 27 at 7:30pm in Washington, DC. The event will be broadcast through a live webcast and also archived online for viewing after the event concludes. The ceremony, which will include performances by Lawrence Brownlee and Heather Johnson, along with an onstage conversation with the honorees, launches National Opera Week." [Source] Ticket information for the event and complete biographies of the honorees can be found here.

Lawrence Brownlee Takes a Moment to Thank the Choir

Tenor Brownlee now sings solo.
(Photo: Marty Umans)

"Brownlee, who has performed with Cincinnati Opera and the Cincinnati Symphony, will make his May Festival debut in Mendelssohn's "Elijah" on Saturday in Music Hall. None of this could have happened, said the 38-year-old Ohio native, without his high school show choir at Youngstown East High School. 'I'm a very proud Buckeye,' said the tenor by phone from Toronto, where he was singing the role of the Prince in Rossini's bubbly opera, La Cenerentola (Cinderella). 'We had a very good high school music program. Because of my exposure to classical music, it opened up so many experiences to me.' The high school show choir made him realize there was a world outside of Youngstown." [Source]

Fit Opera Singers Are Featured in New York Times

Mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard's workout
(Photo: Suzanne DeChillo/The New York Times)

The New York Times features young opera singers that are bucking the stereotype of being overweight in order to do their jobs. The profile includes five artists and the workout routines that keep them fit. Click here to see the photo gallery that focuses on Isabel Leonard, Lawrence Brownlee, Joseph Kaiser, Tamara Mumford and Julie Boulianne. [Source]

Five Winners Chosen in MET National Council Auditions

Finalists pre-concert (left to right): Joseph Lim, Joseph Barron, Deanna Breiwick, Ryan Speedo
Green, Philippe Sly, Sasha Djihanian, Michelle Johnson and Nicholas Masters (Photo: Gothamist)

Of the eight singers selected from 1,500 that participated in the Metropolitan Opera's National Council Auditions, five were each named winners of a $15,000 prize yesterday. Curiously no mezzo-soprano or tenor voices were represented, except the emcee Joyce DiDonato and the entertainment for the day Lawrence Brownlee. The winners included Michelle Johnson, Joseph Barron, Ryan Speedo Green, Joseph Lim, Philippe Sly. The Sunday concert was conducted by Patrick Summers and the audience nearly filled the cavernous Metropolitan Opera.

How ever you want to describe it, not politically correct, tasteless or even uncouth, the writer Mike Silverman of the Associate Press ends his review thusly: "Brownlee is probably the closest thing there is to a black American superstar in opera these days, so it was especially heartening that two of the winners, Johnson and Green, also are black." [Source, Source]

MET Sirius XM Radio Tonight: "Iphigénie en Tauride"

Listen to the Metropolitan Opera perform Gluck's Iphigénie en Tauride live tonight at 8:00 PM EST on Sirius XM radio. Intermission guest: Lawrence Brownlee.

Seattle Opera Promotion Could Get Bloody

(Photo: Warner Bros.)

Hopefully the barbers taking part in this promotion will incorporate their skills when matched with speed, otherwise there may be a nick (or two).

"Things may get hairy at McCaw Hall on Saturday, when Seattle Opera hosts "The Barber of Seattle" competitions — a riff on its upcoming production of Rossini's The Barber of Seville. In one of the afternoon's contests baritone David Adam Moore, who will sing the role of Figaro in the Sunday & Friday performances of Barber, will sing while real