- Angela Brown
Angela M. Brown (born 1964) is an African-American
dramatic soprano particularly admired for her portrayal ofVerdi heroines.Early life and Education
Angela Brown was born in 1964 in
Indianapolis ,Indiana . Her mother, Freddie Mae Brown, was a painter, and her father, Walter Clyde Brown, was an autoworker at aChrysler plant in Indianapolis for 41 years. [ [http://www.wthr.com/Global/story.asp?S=7868083&nav=menu188_9_7 WTHR - Indianapolis News and Weather - Hoosier makes big splash on opera stage ] ] Along with older brother George and younger brother Aaron, Brown was raised in a deeply spiritual Baptist household. Her grandfather was aBaptist minister in the city and Brown started singing at his church when she was 5 years old. Brown credits her musical experiences at church as instilling in her a love for singing. [ [http://www.indy.com/videos/show/7 Q&A with Angela Brown] ]As a teenager, Brown started performing in
R&B bands around Indianapolis and was highly active in the vocal music program atCrispus Attucks High School . Her highschool choir director, Robert Fleck, taught Brown her first classical arias and entered her in several local music competitions, all of which Brown won. Brown also participated in her highschool's musicals, playing Adelaide in "Guys and Dolls " among other roles. [http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=427543&format=print JS Online: Working princess: Soprano Brown took Met by storm to capture Aida ] ]After highschool, Brown attended a community college in Indianapolis part time while working a day job as a dietary aide at a Methodist Hospital. She also acted in several musicals at the pro-am Civic Theater where she got to work with several notable performers including
Ginger Rogers . Brown also worked as a singing waitress for a time.When Brown was 20, her younger brother tragically died of a viral infection. Searching for answers, she became a
Seventh Day Adventist and decided she wanted to be a singing evangelist. [ [http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/entertainment/homepage/article_1104588.php Entertainment: Opera Pacific: These two are Verdi good - OCRegister.com ] ]In the fall of 1986, at the age of 21, Brown enrolled at
Oakwood College with the intention of majoring in biblical studies. She studied music initially only as a minor but was eventually convinced by her voice teacher,Ginger Beazley , that her real calling was to be anopera singer. Brown switched her major to music and graduated with a bachelors degree in the Spring of 1991. [http://www.answers.com/topic/angela-brown?cat=entertainment Angela Brown: Biography and Much More from Answers.com ] ]From 1992 to 1997, Brown continued her studies at the
Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University with noted voice teacherVirginia Zeani . Brown had worked frequently with Zeani while at Oakwood College, as Ginger Beazley took Brown and her other students up to IU to participate in Zeani's master classes. [http://www.phila-tribune.com/channel/entertainment/020207/angelabrown.asp The Philadelphia Tribune - Entertainment Story ] ]While in graduate school, Brown began competing in several notable music competitions. In 1994 Brown tried out for the National Council Auditions of New York's
Metropolitan Opera . She made it as far as the regional finals but proceedd no further. She tried out two more years in a row, only to twice more be stopped at the regional level. She tried one more last time in 1997. "I had nothing to lose," she told the New York Times. Instead, she won everything, not only the regionals, but also the semi-finals and then the finals. The win bought her entry into the world of professional opera.Brown has since gone on to win the 2000 Richard Tucker Career Grant, a 1998 Sullivan Foundation Grant, the 1998 G.B. Viotti Verdi Vocal Competition, and the 1998 Opera Carolina Competition.
Career
In 1997, Brown moved to
New York City and began performing in a steady stream of small roles with larger opera companies and larger roles with smaller opera companies over the next several years. She also appeared in concerts with good regional orchestras and gave many recitals.In the 2000-2001 season, Brown performed with the
San Antonio Symphony ,Teatro La Fenice , as Serena in "Porgy and Bess " withOpera Company of Philadelphia [http://frankhamilton.org/ph/ph4.pdf] , and gave several recitals. She also began working for theMetropolitan Opera as a cover artist for the title roles ofVerdi 's "Aida " and Strauss' "Ariadne auf Naxos ". This was followed by cover work for the company for the next three seasons. [https://www.depauw.edu/news/index.asp?id=11330 Soprano Angela Brown to Perform at DePauw ] ]In the 2001-2002 season, Brown appeared as the Fourth Maid in
Cincinnati Opera 's production of Strauss' "Elektra". [ [http://www.margaretgarner.org/castingrelease.html Margaret Garner: Casting News ] ] In the 2002-2003 season, Brown performed at theKimmel Center with thePhiladelphia Orchestra for the September 11 Memorial Concert, return trips to theMetropolitan Opera to cover the roles of Aida and Ariadne, covering Leonora in "Il Trovatore " forSan Francisco Opera , performances ofRichard Strauss ’ "Four Last Songs" with theEl Paso Symphony andMuncie Symphony Orchestras , andBeethoven ’s "Ninth Symphony" withRoanoke Symphony Orchestra . [http://www.angelambrown.com/Short%20Bio.doc]In the 2003-2004 season, Brown performed the roles of Elisabetta in
Verdi 's "Don Carlo " and Leonora inVerdi 's "Il Trovatore " for theOpera Company of Philadelphia , the title role inVerdi 's "Aida " forShaker Mountain Opera , and the role of Cassandra inTaneyev 's "Agamemnon " with theManhattan Philharmonic and theAquila Theater Company which touredPoland and was performed at herCarnegie Hall debut . She also performed a concert ofStrauss andWagner arias with theAuckland Philharmonia , was a soloist inVerdi 's "Requiem " with theLouisville Orchestra , and a soloist with theGibraltar Philharmonic . In addition, Brown made an unexpected appearance with theOpera Company of Philadelphia when she filled in at the last minute in the title roll ofStrauss ' "Ariadne auf Naxos ". Brown also filled in for an ailing singer for an orchestra rehearsal of "Aida " at theMetropolitan Opera . The company was so impressed with her work, they immediately called Brown's agent and booked her for two performances of "Aida" and 12 cover performances for the next season. [ [http://www.gmhc.org/calendar/mfl_05_bios/mfl05bio_brown.html GMHC: Music for Life ] ]In the 2004-2005 season, Brown made her critically acclaimed debut at the
Metropolitan Opera in the title role ofVerdi 's "Aida ". Her performance was so well received that an article about her appeared on the front page of the "New York Times " onNovember 8 ,2004 . Originally she was not scheduled that night to sing, as she had already sung two performances in the scheduled run of Aida and covering the role for the remainder of the run, but she was called to replace the ailing lead that night. Opera News stated of her performance "one of America’s most promising Verdi sopranos". [ [http://www.operatoday.com/content/2004/11/albany_records.php Opera Today : Albany Records Announces New Recording by Angela Brown ] ] In addition, Brown sang the role of Aida forOpera Company of Philadelphia and followed that with the world premiere ofMargaret Garner , a new opera byRichard Danielpour andToni Morrison , in the role of Cilla forMichigan Opera Theatre andCincinnati Opera . She also appeared as a guest soloist in a concert of opera arias forAuckland Philharmonia (New Zealand) andDayton Opera . [http://www.dvercity.com/drumbeats_angela_brown.html Angela M. Brown news, articles, and pics - Celebrated Soprano Angela M. Brown Returns to the Met as Aida this September 29 through November 8, 2007 ] ]In the 2005-2006 season, Brown performed the role of Amelia in
Verdi 's "Un Ballo in Maschera " and the role of Cilla in "Margaret Garner " for theOpera Company of Philadelphia , the title role inVerdi 's "Aida " forOpera Pacific andFlorentine Opera ,Verdi 's "Requiem " for theFestival of Saint Denis inFrance , concerts with theIndianapolis Symphony andBrevard Festival Orchestra , and recitals throughout the United States.In the 2006-2007 season, Brown made her debut with
Opéra National de Paris as Amelia inVerdi 's "Un Ballo in Maschera ", sang the title role ofVerdi 's "Aida " withFlorida Grand Opera for the opening the newCarnival Performing Arts Center , and sang the role of Bess in Gershwin's "Porgy and Bess " for bothOpera Pacific to open the newOrange County Performing Arts Center and theOpera Company of Philadelphia to mark the 150th Anniversary of theAcademy of Music .In the 2007-2008 season, Brown sang the title role of "
Aida " and the role of Amelia inVerdi 's "Un Ballo in Maschera " at theMetropolitan Opera . She was also chosen byThe Library of Congress as the featured soloist for the 2008-2009 National Celebration of the Bicentennial ofAbraham Lincoln in February. In addition, Brown sang in concert atDayton Opera , performed with theIndianapolis Symphony , sang "Aida" withOpera de la ABAO , the title role inPuccini 's "Tosca " withFlorida Grand Opera , and gave her first appearance in the role of Leonora in a concert version of "La Forza del Destino " withJames Conlon for theCincinnati May Festival . This summer Brown will performVerdi 's "Requiem" with theNational Symphony of Spain inMadrid , give a concert of sacred repertoire atSt. Patrick’s Cathedral inAuckland, New Zealand , and will be the featured performer at theNAACP 's national conference in July 2008. [ [http://www.cinstages.com/article.asp?CinStageNewsID=1389 Press Release: Dayton Opera Star Gala ] ]In the 2008-2009 season, Brown is scheduled to sing Aida for
Cape Town Opera inSouth Africa and for theLatvian National Symphony inRiga . She will also celebrate Christmas with theBirmingham Symphony Orchestra inAlabama and theSouthwest Michigan Symphony . In addition, she sings Aida at her debut with theDeutsche Oper Berlin , Leonora in "Il Trovatore " for her debut withAtlanta Opera , Amelia in "Un Ballo in Maschera " forNational Opera of Paris , Elisabetta in "Don Carlo " forCincinnati Opera , and will performVerdi 's "Requiem" inBarcelona . [ [http://www.angelambrown.com/bio.html Soprano - Angela M. Brown Biography ] ]Brown has also performed roles with the
Indianapolis Opera .She has performed in concert with the
San Antonio Symphony ,Tulsa Philharmonic ,Indianapolis Symphony ,Cincinnati Pops ,Brevard Festival Orchestra ,Knoxville Symphony ,Long Island Philharmonic ,Hendersonville Symphony ,Chautauqua Institution , theKennedy Center 's 25th Anniversary Celebration,Chicago Sinfonietta ,The Joy of Music Television Series and tours throughout United States, Canada, New Zealand, Italy, and Africa. [^ http://www.gmhc.org/calendar/mfl_05_bios/mfl05bio_brown.html]She has given recitals in such places as
Alice Tully Hall andCarnegie Hall .Educator and humanitarian
Angela M. Brown is a spokesperson for the
United Negro College Fund and uses her voice to bring awareness ofopera to minority audiences, communities and diverse young audiences. Since 2002, she has frequently given free concerts entitled "Opera...from A Sistah's Point of View" with fellow opera singerKishna Davis to help every day people connect with opera. [ [http://www.prweb.com/releases/2004/11/prweb177881.htm Ethiopian Princess Brings Opera to the Urban Community in an Exciting New Way ] ]Discography
* 2004 Mosaic - recording of African-American spirituals with pianist Joseph Joubert on the Albany Records label (www.albanyrecords.com)
* 1997 recording and performances with the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra - Erich Kunzel, conductor (Serena selections from Porgy and Bess and world-premier recording of "Lonely Boy" from the original score) release TelArc May 1998
* 1997 Guest Artist on The Joy of Music Television Series - on location in Heidelberg, Germany
* 1997 Guest Artist on the Hour of Power International Television Program (Crystal Cathedral, California)
* 1995 solo compact disc recording with Charles Webb pianist and Dean Emeritus of Indiana University School of Music
Watch and listen
* To hear Angela Brown sing the role of Amelia in
Verdi 's "Un Ballo in Maschera " click on this link: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBzbp2GMq2I Watch Here]References
External links
* [http://www.jejartists.com JEJ Artists Official Site]
* [http://www.angelambrown.com/index.html Angela M. Brown Official Site]
* [http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/08/arts/music/08oper.html "For a Fill-in-Aida, A Triumph Long in Coming"] , "New York Times ",November 8 2004 .
* [http://www.spectrummagazine.org/library/columns2005/050831lecourt.html Article: A "Sistah's" Guide to Opera"]
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