February 2006

     By Rebecca Bibbs

     Angela M. Brown sits in Dressing Room No. 2 at the Cincinnati Opera House where she is performing the role of Cilla in the opera Margaret Garner. She is barely able to finish eating a banana because a succession of admirers gingerly knocks at the door to pay tribute, seek autographs or check whether she needs anything.

     Cincinnati resident Kachena Richardson, a member of the chorus in her hometown production of the slave-era drama, enters bearing gifts. Brown pulls a piece of fringed yellow Kenyan cloth tie-dyed in red from a wrapped box.

     "Oh, honey, this is fabulous!" Brown exclaims.

     Richardson's role in the opera is a mixed blessing. She is a great-great granddaughter of the opera's namesake, who was an African-American slave, and her white owner Edward Gaines. Performing the role of a slave and watching the violence done to her ancestor, who rose to fame for the murder of her daughter and attempted murder of her other children so they would not become slaves, was an emotionally difficult experience, Richardson explains.

     As Richardson struggled with her past, Brown gave her an important piece of advice: Put all that pain into the music.

     "You brought a voice to my family," Richardson says tearfully to Brown as she hands her another present - a tiny cloisonnŽ box. Inside is a little soil from the Maplewood plantation in Kentucky where Garner was a slave. Tears rolling down her cheeks, Brown leans forward to hug Richardson, thanking her for the gifts.

     Brown, a native of Indianapolis, is an up-and-coming Verdi soprano best known for her performances of the opera classic Aida and the rave reviews she received after her debut at The Metropolitan Opera. But in her heart, Margaret Garner, by Grammy Award-winning composer Richard Danielpour with a libretto by Nobel Prize-winning novelist Toni Morrison, is her most important opera to date.

     "It's not my family per se, but it's definitely my history," she says. "It's more real than anything I can sing from here on out."

     Laying the groundwork

     Brown's unlikely rise to the upper echelons of the opera world has been two decades in the making, a story of joy and tragedy, not unlike one of the characters she portrays onstage. The second-oldest of three children, Brown was born Dec. 1, 1963 to Walter C. Brown, a now-retired Chrysler autoworker, and his wife Freddie Mae, whose checkerboard career included stints as a nurse, beautician and teacher.

     For many years, the family lived in the inner-city area of 30th and Broadway streets. About the time Brown entered the health professions magnet program at the former Crispus Attucks High School, the family moved up to the area around 52nd Street and College Avenue.

     "I wanted to go to Shortridge (High School) for performing arts, but I wasn't sure I could make it through the auditions," she recalls, chuckling at the irony.

     Brown's musical roots, like those of most African-American performers, are in the church. She performed her first solo at Mt. Calvary Missionary Baptist Church where her grandfather, the Rev. F. H. Moore, was pastor. She performed in the Easter and Christmas pageants, sang when her grandfather led revivals and routinely sang "You Can't Beat God's Giving" during the collection of the offering.

     "I'm probably the only person who knows all the verses," she quips.

     After high school, Brown earned a degree in secretarial science from Ivy Tech State College. But in her soul, Brown says, she wasn't certain whether she should abandon her pursuit of a career in music.

      The turning point was the untimely death of her brother Aaron in 1994. A graduate of Northwest High School, Aaron had just completed basic training for the Indiana National Guard when he contracted deadly bacterial meningitis.

     "Having this happen to someone younger than myself helped me realize life is fleeting," Brown says.

     Her mother always was encouraging of any path Brown wanted to follow. However, her father was a little more skeptical.

     "My father came along afterwards because he was more of a realist," says Brown.

     Feeling she no longer was growing spiritually in her grandfather's church, the young singer also made a fateful decision to become a Seventh Day Adventist.

     It's easy to simply go along with whatever a family member who is a minister says, Brown explains. But she needed something else.

     "I just wanted to study and learn about the Bible for myself," she says.

     Discovering opera

     Through the Adventist church, Brown was introduced to the idea of attending Oakwood College, a historically Black institution. Brown packed her bags and went to Huntsville, Ala., to study Bible instructorship and music in preparation for a career as a singing evangelist.

     She was surprised to learn that she needed to understand classical music in order to study voice. She developed her soprano voice, learning French, German and Italian diction under Oak-wood's Ginger Beazley, whose performance specialty was Italian opera.

     "I fell in love with this, and the voice took to classical music like that," Brown says, snapping her fingers.

     Beazley is especially proud of her former student's accomplishments. She says it takes about three years of vocal discipline to determine how successful a singer may become professionally. However, it was clear from the start that Brown, with her larger-than-life stage presence, could easily have a successful career as a gospel singer, Beazley says.

     "I think she popped out of the womb that way. She was a performer when she came to me," she says. "We always thought she could have had a career as a standup comedian - but we're glad that she didn't."

     A huge gulf of difference separates gospel singing and opera, Beazley notes. She adds, however, that Brown was able to bridge that gulf relatively effortlessly because she was older, more mature and more experienced than the average Oakwood student.

     "It's been just a really lovely journey to watch," Beazley says. "The more she developed, the more this enormous voice appropriate for opera began to emerge."

     Beazley, who had studied under world-renowned soprano Virginia Zeani, persuaded the highly acclaimed Indiana University voice teacher to take Brown under her wing. Zeani, who was one of the great sopranos of the 1950s and '60s, is considered one of the last great bel canto opera singers. The bel canto style, characterized as a light quality that charms audiences, emerged in the Italian opera of the 16th and 17th centuries. Beazley says she saw that rare quality in Brown. Zeani also had important contacts.

     "It was a very compatible technical shift," Beazley says. "As far as I'm concerned, it took Angela to the next level."

      Zeani says she didn't need much persuasion. She was impressed by Brown's depth, range and sound. She says Brown needed only some work on her breathing.

     "She told me, 'If you want to sing like Aretha Franklin, go; you need no more lessons. But if you want to be a Verdian soprano, it's hard work,'" Brown recalls.

     Zeani, whose career included almost every major role in every major opera house in Italy, helped Brown realize her dreams of conquering opera beyond regional theaters. Verdian opera, Zeani says, is characterized by heroism, brilliance, flexibility and suffering - each of which can be found in Brown's voice.

     "I saw the quality of her sound. I saw the quality of her soul in her voice," Zeani says. "It's like a prayer to God. When we think and close our eyes, it's like sending a message to God that we love him."

     More than a decade after starting her studies under Zeani, Brown still seeks guidance. She is one of many students who make pilgrimages to Zeani's home in West Palm Beach, Fla.

     "An opera singer never finishes to learn. When you finish to learn, you finish the life," Zeani says.

     Rising star

     Roles including Elisabetta in Don Carlo, Leonora in Il Trovatore and Amelia in Un Ballo in Maschera solidified Brown's reputation as a Verdi soprano. One of her favorite, most highly acclaimed parts is the title role of Aida, which she enjoys because of the large amount of time she is able to spend onstage. On Oct. 29, 2004, Brown hit the big time, making her debut in that role with the Metropolitan Opera.

     "I have the voice for it," Brown says. "I have the breadth and the stamina. I have the breadth at the top and the low notes at the bottom."

     The 2003-04 season was a turning point for Brown who made four role debuts as well as a debut at Carnegie Hall. Her efforts resulted in glowing reviews by The New York Times and Opera Now.

     But for all her love of opera, gospel still tugs at her spirit. In 2004, Brown returned to her musical roots, recording her solo CD Mosaic - A Collection of African-American Spirituals with Piano and Guitar. The collection of 16 songs includes "This Little Light of Mine," "Ev'ry Time I Feel the Spirit" and "Roun' About the Mountain."

     A career in development

     Mike Silverman of the Associated Press has praised Brown, saying "she combines a potent, dusky lower register with a striking ability to spin out soft high notes of shimmering beauty. There's no doubt her voice is powerful enough for Verdi."

     Opera Now says, "She has a powerhouse of an instrument, shimmering with colour and imaginatively used, and she knows how to take centre-stage."

     And the Asheville (N.C.) Citizen-Times describes her voice as "big, dark and rich throughout its great range, and her stage presence is mesmerizing ... She is the ideal Verdi soprano, able to carry the composer's difficult vocal lines from the lowest chest tones to the most powerful, spellbinding high notes."

     Zeani says Brown long has been vocally ready for opera super-stardom but that gaining acceptance takes time. But like any rock or rhythm and blues star, Brown is gathering groupies. One Bloomington couple, for instance, has closely followed her career since she performed Ariadne auf Naxos in 2003.

     "At first it was scary because they showed up everywhere with big grins," Brown says.

     But not everyone takes Brown's remarkable voice at face value. Though the way has been paved by other African Americans, including Leontyne Price, Jessye Norman and Denyce Graves, who performed the title role of Margaret Garner, many still express surprise at an African-American opera singer, Brown says.

     "It's a shame," she says, "but there is disbelief on both sides - black and white." African Americans are surprised she would be interested in classical music, and white people are surprised she can sing in that style.

     White producers also aren't prepared to give up the power onstage, Brown laments. Though Margaret Garner was about the slave experience, she notes, there were more white singers than African-American cast.

     "They're not having the slaves outnumber the white folk," Brown says.

     The concept of colorblind casting has worked well for Brown, who more often than not portrays characters of other races. But she's adamant that colorblind casting is not appropriate for characters like Margaret Garner and Cilla. "You can't have a colorblind cast with this specific show," she insists.

     Performance day

     Brown enters her dressing room wearing dark slacks and a turquoise-colored paisley poncho-style top, a long ponytail trailing down her back. On performance days, she rests her throat, barely speaking to prevent strain. As she changes into a blue-print silk robe, those waiting outside in the Green Room decorated as a Victorian-era grand

     parlor hear Brown clearing her throat and practicing her scales.

     An hour and a half after entering the dressing room as vibrant, colorful fashion diva, Brown emerges with the defeated, drab look of Cilla, mother-in-law to Margaret Garner. Her appearance sharply contrasts her own carefully cultivated image and the opera patrons dressed in sequins, burnt velvet and brightly colored ceremonial African garb.

     "Having the opportunity to put my fingerprint on this character has been a blast," says Brown.

     Her Achilles heel, Brown says, is her weight. She admits she's always been a "large and lovely lady," but life on the road isn't conducive to a healthy diet and exercise regime.

     It also doesn't help with forging and maintaining relationships with family and friends. Brown, who is single, still hopes one day to find Mr. Right. At the very least, the New York City resident would like to be able to spend more time with family and friends.

     "Right now, it's all about the stage all the time," she says.

     Though the word has entered the everyday lexicon, Brown has earned the right to be called a diva, a queen of opera. But the woman who has been called the "new Leontyne Price," is more likely to bestow that title on others.

     "Mmmm, aren't you a diva?" she croons with approval at anyone wearing shoes, a ring or a purse she likes.

     Helping others

     Those who know her agree that Brown shuns the high-maintenance traits that typify a diva. Most, in fact, characterize her as a woman of great personality, humility and compassion.

     Beazley says Brown makes a point of reaching back to help others succeed. In fact, she credits Brown with inspiring Susanna Phillips, an up-and-coming opera singer. As a high school student, the Alabama native attended the prestigious Brevard Music Center Summer Institute in North Carolina and decided to pursue opera when she heard Brown sing there.

     "Susanna knew about her," Beazley says, "but it was seeing her and hearing her there that stirred that desire."

     Phillips, now 23, went on to study at The Juilliard School and is a singer at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.

     Brown's accolades also have been recognized by her peers in the industry. In 1997, after four tries, Brown won the Metropolitan Opera Council Auditions, one of opera's most prestigious awards.

     She also won the Opera Carolina Competition in 1994, the G.B. Viotti Verdi Vocal Competition in 1998 in Italy and a Sullivan Foundation grant. She was the 2001 Altamura/Enrico Caruso Inter-national Voice Competition Audience Award Winner and co-winner of grand first prize, and a finalist for the 1997 Birgit Nilsson Prize at Carnegie Hall.

     Brown's voice has taken her around the world. She has performed in Europe, New Zealand and Africa.

     The soprano is confident she can conform her voice to any style of music. She would be interested, for instance, in a role on Broadway - as long as it doesn't compromise her primary instrument, her opera voice.

     "I can do all those," Brown says, "but this is what pays the bills."

     Bibbs, a native of Indianapolis, is an award-winning journalist whose art of choice is writing.

Article appears as published in the IW February 2006 issue.