World Famous Tenor Lawrence Brownlee As Charlie Parker in Yardbird

During June, Black Music Month, renowned tenor Lawrence Brownlee stars as legendary saxophonist,

Charlie Parker in the Opera Philadelphia World Premiere of Yardbird. I spoke with Lawrence about this exciting production and asked why many African-Americans don’t support opera. Also, you might be surprised to hear what he was recently listening to.

Brownlee, a native of Youngstown, Ohio, now resides in Atlanta with his wife, Kendra and their two children. Performances of Yardbird at the Kimmel Center’s Perelman Theater runs June 5-14, 2015

Take a listen to our conversation.