Lawrence Brownlee, America’s premier bel canto tenor, was named Male Singer of the Year at the 2017 International Opera Awards. His voice, praised by NPR as “an instrument of great beauty and expression...perfectly suited to the early 19th-century operas of Rossini and Donizetti,” has brought him to the top of the opera world.

At Stetson Chapel, Brownlee will perform Schumann’s poignant song-cycle Dichterliebe (Poet’s Love) and a new work commissioned by Carnegie Hall and Opera Philadelphia titled “Cycles of My Being.” The new work was composed by Tyshawn Sorey, with words by Terrance Hayes, and depicts the experience of being a black male in America today. Accompanying Brownlee with will be Myra Huang on piano.