Monday, April 20, 2015
YOUNGSTOWN
Lawrence Brownlee came home Sunday, but not to fill a large, hushed hall with his mesmerizing bel canto tenor that swells and ebbs with drama and emotion kept locked in precision and control.
No, not this time.
Brownlee, a renowned opera singer who grew up in Youngstown on the East Side and graduated from East High School in 1991, was singing at a small venue — the Ford Family Recital Hall of the Eleanor Beecher Flad Pavilion in The DeYor Performing Arts Center.
Bringing him there were the Youngstown Alumni chapters of Delta Sigma Theta sorority and Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity — his performance would be a scholarship fundraiser.
His fans gathering in anticipation of seeing one of Youngstown’s most-famous sons included family and friends, people who’ve supported him along the way, and people who did and didn’t knA5
ow much about opera.
Carol Fountaine and her daughter Alex, of Boardman, said they were having a mother-daughter night out.
They had seen Brownlee when he sang Count Almaviva in “The Barber of Seville” at Stambaugh Auditorium in 2012, Carol said, and they wanted to see him again.
They aren’t really opera fans, she said.
“Just singing fans,” she said. “He’s fantastic,” she added. “He’s world-renowned. We have this treasure here in Youngstown, and we feel like we should support it.”
Other fans waiting for the call to be seated for the 6 p.m. concert knew plenty about opera.
Letha Bell of Youngstown said she missed “The Barber of Seville.”
“I wasn’t able to go, and I said, ‘Now, I’m not going to miss him,’” she said. “His voice — it’s bigger than he is,” she added.
Cheryl Levy of Youngstown said “The Barber of Seville” is one of Brownlee’s main operas. Levy graduated from Youngstown State University’s Dana School of Music and sang with the Youngstown Symphony Orchestra.
“We’re excited,” she said. “Any time we can hear anyone from this area who has produced classical music and done exceptionally well.”
Even though dad Larry Brownlee, on his way in to the concert with mom Frances, has seen his son perform many times, it was still a thrill.
“It feels wonderful!” he said. “This is home!”
Brownlee agreed.
“It’s very humbling to be back in front of so many friends and supporters,” he said after he came onstage for a performance with pianist Damien Sneed.
Throughout the performance, which lasted a little longer than an hour, he would point out old friends and teachers and guidance counselors he recognized in the audience.
He also cited the strong encouragement he got at home as “the reason I’m standing here,” insisting that his parents have better voices than him.
He also encouraged the audience to relax — he would not be singing opera after all, so there was no need to be so reserved.
He would be singing Sneed’s classical- and jazz-inspired arrangements of Negro spirituals from the critically acclaimed CD, “Spiritual Sketches.”
They were songs close to his heart, he said.
“As an African-American, I thought it was a good thing to sing the Negro traditionals,” he explained. “Damien is a jazz guy, a classical guy — these are sketches, so they aren’t as people know them.”
The interpretations were well-received by the audience, with two of the songs, “Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child” and “Down by the Riverside” still managing to sound like a traditional spiritual.
The audience clapped along to what Sneed and Brownlee agreed was the “take me to church” feel of “Riverside.”
Brownlee did sing one aria for his audience.
“There’s a lot of support I feel from this area, and I hope you claim me as your son,” Brownlee said to much applause as the concert concluded.