BY ROBYN WATSON

Sun Valley Opera is presenting a Special Signature Salon starring internationally renowned tenor Lawrence Brownlee in concert at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, July 8, in a private garden near Sun Valley.

Brownlee will be accompanied by Sean Rogers on piano. A wine and hors d’oeuvres reception precedes the concert. The actual concert will begin at 6:15 p.m. with Sun Valley Opera–Thomas S. Perakos Family Cares Foundation Scholarship recipient, Raine Filbert performing a song.

 Brownlee’s introduction to music came through his family’s church in Hubbard, Ohio; where he learned to play bass, drums and piano and became initiated in the “free, melismatic” mode of Gospel singing, according to The New York Times in 2011.

After earning a master of music degree from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, he took part in young-artist programs at Seattle Opera and Wolf Trap before making his professional debut as Almaviva in 2002 Barbiere performances at Virginia Opera. 

Now in his late 40s, Brownlee fully inhabits the role of what Dean Martin would have called a “headliner,” while continuing to find his fullest operatic expression in the music of the bel canto composers. That said, he is a versatile singer who refuses to be defined by a niche. And the Salon program will showcase that versatility.

 In April 2021 Brownlee was presented with an Opera News Award alongside mezzo-sopranos Janet Baker and Cecilia Bartoli.

 To purchase tickets, visit www.sunvalleyopera.com or call 208-726-0991.