Mosaic: African-American Spirituals

On October 29, 2004, Angela Brown made her Metropolitan Opera debut as Aida in the great Verdi opera. Hailed in Opera News as "one of America's most promising Verdi sopranos," she was a National Metropolitan Opera Council Audition winner in 1997. The 2003 - 2004 season marked a new high for Miss Brown's career as it encompassed four highly successful role debuts, a Carnegie Hall debut, two glowing reviews each from The New York Times and Opera Now and word to the wise to keep a watch on her career from Opera News. It all began in Spring 2003, as she stepped in for one performance of Ariadne in Philadelphia and received this review from Opera Now: "In one of those dramatic twists that are the stuff of opera, the soprano covering the title role in Ariadne auf Naxos at the Metropolitan Opera got her chance to sing it - at the Opera Company of Philadelphia. The young American soprano Angela Brown took over one performance...She (Ms. Brown) has a powerhouse of an instrument, shimmering with color and imaginatively used, and she knows how to take center-stage." Then, in the fall of 2004, Angela sang an unexpected performance and her debut as Leonora in Opera Company of Philadelphia's Il Travatore. In January, 2004, she made her debut as Elisabetta in Don Carlo with Opera Company of Philadelphia receiving this praise from The New York Times: "Angela Brown, a soprano, brought dignity and shimmering pianos, and hit a bull's-eye with her final aria." Opera News wrote: "Angela Brown revealed herself as a soprano to watch. Brown displayed good command of Verdi's style, imaginative phrasing and a warm, expressive voice." Opera Now said: "Angela Brown's beautiful lyric soprano voice was ideal for Elisabetta. She floated pianissimos that seemed to hang in space, shimmering, and she had plenty of power for her last big scene." It is an especial privilege for Albany Records to present a magnificent soprano on the brink of a major career.