Acclaimed tenor Lawrence Brownlee, “an international star in the bel canto operatic repertory” (New York Times), will join pianist Kevin Miller at 7 p.m. March 23, for an intimate recital featuring music of the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries.
The concert is presented as part of WashU’s 2025 Great Artists Series, which welcomes some of the brightest stars on the contemporary concert stage to St. Louis.
The program will open with selections from Giuseppe Verdi’s “Seste Romanze II” (1845) and “Rigoletto” (1851). Next will be selections from Gaetano Donizetti’s “Soirées d’automne à l’Infrascata” (1837) and “Rita” (1841), as well as works by Gioachino Rossini and Vincenzo Bellini.
After intermission, the program will continue with Robert Owens’ “Desire, Op. 13” (1975) and Jeremiah Evans’ “April Rain Song” (1978), both based on poems by Langston Hughes. Next will be contemporary works by Jasmine Barnes, Brandon Spencer, Damien L. Sneed, Shawn E. Okpebholo and Carlos Simon. The program will conclude with Joel Thompson’s “My People,” also based on a text by Hughes.
Lawrence Brownlee
Brownlee has performed at many of the world’s most important opera houses, including the Metropolitan Opera, Teatro alla Scala and the Royal Opera House-Covent Garden. He has presented solo recitals at Carnegie Hall, Wigmore Hall and the Kennedy Center and has collaborated with, among many others, the Cleveland, Chicago and Philadelphia orchestras, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, and the festivals of Baden-Baden and Salzburg.
Currently artistic advisor for Opera Philadelphia, Brownlee learned to play bass, drums and piano at his family’s church in Hubbard, Ohio. His numerous honors include a grand prize in the 2001 Metropolitan Opera National Council auditions, Male Singer of the Year at the 2017 International Opera Awards and the Kennedy Center’s Marian Anderson Award.
Read a full biography here.
Great Artists Series
The annual Great Artists Series is presented by WashU’s Department of Music in Arts & Sciences. The 2025 season will conclude April 6 with Vân-Ánh Võ & the Blood Moon Quartet, a chamber ensemble featuring traditional Vietnamese instruments.
The 2026 season will be announced from the stage immediately prior to Brownlee’s performance. Subscriptions will go on sale May 7. Single ticket sales will open Sept. 8.
Tickets and related events
Brownlee’s performance will begin at 7 p.m. March 23, in WashU’s E. Desmond Lee Concert Hall. Tickets are $35-40, or $32-37 for WashU faculty and staff, and $15 for students and children. The E. Desmond Lee Concert Hall is located in the 560 Music Center, 560 Trinity Ave., at the intersection with Delmar Boulevard. Tickets are available through the Edison Theatre Box Office, 314-935-6543. For more information, visit music.wustl.edu.
In addition, Brownlee will lead a masterclass at 6 p.m. March 22, also in the E. Desmond Lee Concert Hall. Joining him will be students from WashU’s Department of Music and from Opera Theatre of St. Louis’s Artists-in-Training program. Read more on the music website.
The Great Artists Series is made possible with support from the Regional Arts Commission and from the Missouri Arts Council, a state agency.
