Brownlee, John (Donald Mackensie)
Brownlee, John (Donald Mackensie)
Brownlee, John (Donald Mackensie), Australian baritone; b. Geelong, Jan. 7, 1900; d. N.Y., Jan. 10, 1969. He was a pupil of Gilly in Paris, where he made his operatic debut as Nilakantha in Lakmé at the Théâtre-Lyrique in 1926. On June 8, 1926, he first appeared at London’s Covent Garden as Marcello during Melba’s farewell concert. From 1927 to 1936 he was a member of the Paris Opéra; also sang at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires (1931) and the Glyndebourne Festivals (1935–39). On Feb. 17, 1937, he made his Metropolitan Opera debut in N.Y. as Rigoletto, and continued to sing there until 1957. He also sang in Chicago (1937-38; 1945), San Francisco (1940–50), and again at Covent Garden (1949–50). From 1953 to 1967 he was president of the American Guild of Musical Artists. He founded the Empire State Music Festival near Ellenville, N.Y., in 1955. In 1956 he became president of the Manhattan School of Music, and then was its president from 1966 until his death. Among his most prominent roles were Don Giovanni, Count Almaviva, Papageno, Alfonso, lago, andScarpia.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire