Description

JOHN BROWNLEE (GEELONG, VICTORIA, 7 JANUARY, 1900 – NEW YORK, 10 JANUARY, 1969)

 

 

 

 

His real name was Donald Mackenzie Brownlee. During the First World War, he served as a naval cadet and later studied at Geelong College, eventually becoming an auditor. In 1924, his voice was discovered by Nellie Melba during her second Australian tour in Melbourne, where he sang the bass solo in Messiah. He then continued his education in Paris under the renowned baritone Dinh Gilly.

He made his professional debut in 1926 at the Théâtre Trianon-Lyrique in Paris, performing in Lakmé by Delibes. That same year, he appeared opposite Nellie Melba at Covent Garden in London. From 1927 to 1936, he worked at the Grand Opéra in Paris, where he debuted as Athanaël in Massenet’s Thaïs. During this period, he also made guest appearances in London, Brussels (1939), Antwerp, Buenos Aires (1931), and Rio de Janeiro. In 1929, as a member of Nellie Melba’s opera troupe, he performed again in Australia.

At Covent Garden, he appeared between 1930 and 1949 in roles including Mercutio in Roméo et Juliette, Golo in Pelléas et Mélisande, Jago in Otello, Amonasro in Aida, and Scarpia in Tosca. In 1935, he performed in the English premiere of Delius’s Koanga. In the 1949-1950 season, he achieved great success at Covent Garden as Papageno in Die Zauberflöte.

He made guest appearances at the Opéra de Monte-Carlo in 1930, where he sang Athanaël, Rigoletto, Peter in Quo vadis? by Nouguès, Escamillo in Carmen, Valentin in Faust, and Wolfram in Tannhäuser. From 1935 to 1939, he appeared at the Glyndebourne Festival as Don Giovanni, Alfonso in Così fan tutte, the Speaker in Die Zauberflöte, and Count Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro. He returned to Glyndebourne in 1947 for Le nozze di Figaro and in 1949 for Così fan tutte. He also performed at the Edinburgh Festival in the 1948-1949 season.

From 1937 to 1957, he was a member of the Metropolitan Opera in New York, where he made his debut as Rigoletto and sang in the 1948 premiere of Britten’s Peter Grimes. His Metropolitan Opera repertoire included Count Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni, Alfonso in Così fan tutte, Papageno, Kothner in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Escamillo in Carmen, and Marcello in La Bohème. He also appeared at the Chicago Opera during the 1937-1938 and 1945 seasons and at San Francisco Opera almost annually from 1940 to 1950.

He retired from the stage in 1957 and became president of the Manhattan Institute of Music in 1960. From 1953 to 1967, he served as president of the American Guild of Musical Artists. Later, he became a respected vocal pedagogue, teaching notable students such as Ezio Flagello and Johanna Meier.

 

Chronology of some appearances

 

Marcello 3/9/1937, Il marito 3/3/1938, 3/8/1938, Lescaut 12/13/1938, Il marito 1/11/1939, Valentin 1/2/1940, Il conte d’Almaviva 12/3/1940, Sharpless 3/4/1941, Pan 1/20/1942, Golaud 3/21/1944, Marcello 1/16/1945, Dottor Malatesta 1/22/1946, La père 1/6/1948, Captain Balstrode 2/17/1948, Il conte d’Almaviva 1/18/1949, Marcello 12/20/1949, Herr von Faninal 1/9/1951, Dr. Falke 4/3/1951, Don Alfonso 1/27/1953, Fritz Kothner 2/14/1956, Sharpless 2/14/1957 (in Filadelfia).

 

 

TRACKLIST 

 

 

1. Boheme (Puccini) Addio, dolce svegliare with Nellie Melba CR413 HMV
2. Boheme (Puccini) C’e Rodolfo with Nellie Melba CR411 HMV
3. Boheme (Puccini) Oh! come e bello e morbido with Heddle Nash, Dora Labbette, Robert Alva, Stella  Andreva and Robert Easton CAX 7690 Columbia
4. Don Giovanni (Mozart) Deh vieni alla finestra HMV 2 ER 130175 DB 296183
5. Don Giovanni (Mozart) Finch’han del vino with Salvatore Baccaloni 2 ER 130175 DB 296183 HMV
6. Elegie (Massenet) P730 Gramophone
7. Hamlet (Thomas) Comme une pale fleur D 1654 2-032154 HMV
8. Hamlet (Thomas) O vin, dissipe la tristesse D 1654 2-032153 HMV
9. Hérodiade (Massenet) Demande au prisonnier W 1047 Gramophone
10. It’s a long, long way to tipperary (Judge – Williams) 3770 B 68912 Decca
11. Oh! Susanna (Stephen Collins Foster) 3769 68915 A Decca
12. Pack up your troubles in your old kit bag and smile, smile, smile! (Powell – Asaf) 3770 A 68914 Decca
13. Thaïs (Massenet) Duo de la Source with Mireille Berthon 34355 P 719 HMV
14. There’s a long, long trail (Elliot – King) 3769 B 68913 Decca
15. Traviata (Verdi) Dite alla giovane with Nellie Melba DB 987 2-054171 HMV
16. Trees (Rasbach) E 442 6-2619 HMV