Bringing Flavor to the Opera
An opera singer doesn’t sound like the most interesting person to meet. But when an opera singer walks in with a lively and an outrageous personality, one is safe to say that she is not the typical Viking lady holding a spear. Angela Brown, a lady with a rare voice and an even rarer sense of humor, came to speak to Baruch’s Arts in New York City classes. Professor Bernstein somehow lured Ms. Brown into our domain. She flew in to New York just to meet our class and certainly made it worthwhile. Ms. Brown spoke about her life, her work, and, most importantly, her vision. But no matter how serious it became, she always found a way to make her audience burst in laughter.
Angela Brown’s biography was filled with twists, turns, and surprises. Through out her story, she stressed the idea of catching up to the vision she didn’t know she had. She was born in Indianapolis, Indiana. Her father was a minister and her mother was an artist, nurse, and singer. Ever since Ms. Brown was a little girl, she loved to sing. She sang in grandfather’s church when she was five and won many competitions in musical theater. It is clear to see that Angela Brown was destined for great things. The only problem was that she had to catch up to her vision.
Ms. Brown attended Oakwood College, a black religious institution, in Hunt Wood, Alabama. Because she was taking a BA in music and BA in arts, she found out that she had to study classical music. Ms. Brown soon had the revelation that when she sang classical, she stood above everyone else. “Opera took to me, I didn’t take to opera.” She was slowly catching up to the vision that she didn’t know she had.
Angela Brown was a person with a great amount of will power and was determined to win the Metropolitan Opera National Council audition. This was a competition to become part of the opera program in the Metropolitan. She couldn’t quite do it in her first few attempts but finally won the regional audition in her 4th year. Brown moved to New York and slept at the basement of her friend’s apartment. When she wasn’t sleeping, she was going to auditions at the Met. Ms. Brown was inching closer and closer to the vision she didn’t know she had.
The most exciting part of her story was when she finally caught up to her vision - that she didn’t know she had! After endless days of hard work, Brown was shocked to find out that her coach hired her. She was hired for twelve covers and two performances in the ‘04-‘05 season. This offer was a dream come true for Angela and she immediately agreed. Angela Brown was now a Metropolitan Opera singer living in New York. One of the operas that she sang, Aida, received wonderful reviews from many people – especially the Baruch students in her audience!
But reading a story about her life is not as exciting as talking to the woman in person. The moment Angela Brown began speaking, her energy was felt through out the room. She immediately became comfortable with the audience and wasn’t afraid to show her sense of humor…at all. She made the audience involuntarily laugh out of their seats. Her facial expressions and hand gestures were a performance of their own. It was a pleasure to see everyone, including Ms. Brown and Professor Bernstein, enjoying this occasion.
By the end of her visit, the students agreed that Angela Brown was the craziest woman in opera – and they loved it. The twists and turns of life led her to an unexpected career in which she found her passion. Finding her love in such an elegant and sophisticated form of art shows that life can turn out completely different that expected. Her playful but respectful personality attracts praise and respect from audiences. Her exciting and outgoing attitude is recognizable on and off the stage. It is about time that someone added a little flavor to the opera.