Lawrence Brownlee in Rossini's "The Barber of Seville" with Virginia Opera. Brownlee made his Metropolitan Opera debut in a new production of "Il Barbiere di Siviglia" in 2007. The role has since become one of his most recognizable and famous. He has subsequently appeared in "Il Barbiere" in Vienna, Milan, Berlin, Madrid, Dresden, Munich, Baden-Baden, Hamburg, Tokyo, New York, Washington, San Diego, Seattle, and Boston. Brownlee's career highlights include performances of "The Barber of Seville" at the Vienna State Opera, the Boston Lyric Opera and Madrid's Teatro Real. He has appeared in Rossini's "L'italiana in Algeri" and "La Cenerentola" at Milan's La
Samuel Barber typical athletic American boy. This meant, in particular, an interest in his playing football. However, Barber was in no way a typical boy, and at the age of nine he wrote to his mother: Barber attempted to write his first opera, entitled "The Rose Tree", at the age of 10. At the age of 12, he became an organist at a local church. When he was 14, he entered the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, where he studied piano with Isabelle Vengerova, composition with Rosario Scalero and George Frederick Boyle, and voice with Emilio de Gogorza. He began composing