Youngstown native makes Met debut

NEW YORK — Lawrence Brownlee, a Youngstown native and East High School graduate, reached another milestone in his rise to the top levels of the opera world Thursday, making his debut at the Metropolitan Opera.

More than 100 of his family and friends were in the audience to hear the tenor perform the role of Count Almaviva in Rossini’s “Il Barbiere di Siviglia” (“The Barber of Seville”).

Mom and dad drove in from Youngstown. Then there were four sisters and a brother, and all their spouses. Add in an aunt, three cousins, two high school choir directors, three voice teachers, his first piano instructor, the dean of Indiana University’s music school and the former dean of Anderson University (Brownlee is a graduate of both schools).

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