LAWRENCE BROWNLEE | A profile Opera star from East Side enjoys life on grand scale

Despite his fame, Brownlee remains a Youngstowner at heart.
By GUY D'ASTOLFO
VINDICATOR ENTERTAINMENT WRITER
As a child growing up on Youngstown's East Side, Larry Brownlee hated singing at Sunday church services.
In fact, when he was told he was on the schedule, it just about ruined his whole week. But when your father is the choir director, you don't have much choice.
Brownlee still sings for people, but now no one has to force him.
He is a rising international opera star who regularly performs in the world's greatest halls and with the top symphonies.
Brownlee is the first to admit that his success story is an unlikely one.
"This is a lot different from what I thought I'd be doing," he said in a phone call from New York, where he lives. "It's a different culture. A very interesting life -- no day-to-day humdrum. My father worked at the Lordstown GM plant for 30 years. I couldn't imagine doing that."
Brownlee has two agents -- one in New York and one in Munich -- who book him into roles and performances worldwide. He spends nine to 10 months a year away from his home.
"As an example, there's a role in 'The Barber of Seville' that I frequently sing," said Brownlee. "I'll be in whatever city it's in for a month or two at a time."
Venues
Among other places, Brownlee has performed in the world's two most famous opera houses: La Scala in Milan, Italy, and the Metropolitan Opera House in New York. He has also performed at Madrid's Royal Theater, and has been a soloist with the New York and Berlin philharmonics and the Baltimore, Cleveland and Cincinnati Symphonies.
A tenor, he has also sung with the world-renowned Jose Carreras.
Brownlee said he is trying to work out an engagement to sing in Cleveland, Pittsburgh or even Youngstown.
Personal history
Brownlee, 33, was born in Youngstown in 1972, one of six children of his parents, Lawrence and Fran Brownlee. He attended Mary Haddow Elementary School, North Junior High and East High School, where he sang in the choir.
Music was always a part of his childhood. In addition to his father being choir director at Phillips Chapel, Church of God in Christ, in Hubbard, his mother was a soloist there.
"I used to hate to sing, but I changed my mind in junior high when I realized I could use it to get out of class," he said.
In high school, he became a member of Youngstown Connection, a 12-member song and dance troupe of students selected from city high schools. He still gives credit to Dr. Carol Baird, director of the troupe.
"She played a big role in what I am today," said Brownlee. "She was my mentor, director, thorn in my side ... she kicked my butt!"
Brownlee remembers some advice Baird gave him. "She said 'you will be limited by the way you speak.' She cleaned up my speech."
Classical music
It was after a recital in high school when Brownlee first got an inkling of what type of music his future would hold.
"I was in the Upward Link program, which pairs high school students with Youngstown State students, and I was linked with a classical music major," he said. "We gave a recital at the end of the program. I didn't know anything about classical music. I didn't even like it. I basically mocked what I thought a classical singer should sound like, but after the show I got many compliments."
But it wasn't enough to sway his dream of becoming a lawyer. After high school, Brownlee went to Youngstown State University with a goal of working toward a law degree.
After one year, he switched directions and joined two of his friends from Youngstown Connection in enrolling at Anderson University in Indiana.
"I had a very good voice teacher at Anderson," Brownlee said. "There were no other tenors there, so I got a lot of attention."
Brownlee first started to get serious about opera at Anderson. "Up until then, when I thought of opera, I thought of overweight Italians singing in another language," he said.
Getting noticed
Brownlee's momentum began to build. He received a full scholarship for a master's degree at Indiana University, where he landed leading roles in school performances.
In 2001, he entered the Metropolitan Opera's National Competition. Two-thousand applicants are accepted into the prestigious competition, but only five are selected as winners.
Brownlee was one of the five.
"This brought incredible exposure," he said. "Afterward, I got an agent and great opportunities opened up."
Pros and cons
Although Brownlee has been traveling the world as an opera star for four years, he said he remains a Youngstowner at heart -- and a Pittsburgh Steelers fan.
He loves the challenge of the opera world but admits that his demanding schedule has its drawbacks. "It's hard to maintain relationships with girls when you're never in one place for long," he said, "They don't understand the business."
And he has some advice for Youngstown school students and the current members of Youngstown Connection:
"Never let where you're at determine what you can or cannot do," he said. "Anything is possible, even for a Youngstowner. I'm living proof of that."