For a Fill-In Aida, a Triumph Long in Coming
By ANNE MIDGETTE [NY Times]
Angela M. Brown grew up singing gospel music in her grandfather’s Baptist church in Indianapolis, but her father, an autoworker, didn’t see that as the makings of a career.
“He said, ‘You need something to fall back on,’ ” Ms. Brown said.
So after high school she went to vocational school and got a degree in secretarial science; on the side, she worked as a hospital aide, dishing patients’ meals onto plates.
Twenty years later, the onetime aide took the stage at the Metropolitan Opera as Aida, the Ethiopian princess of Verdi’s classic opera. The Met audience roared its approval at Ms. Brown’s debut a little over a week ago, and again as she returned to the role for Saturday’s matinee, replacing a sick colleague, as she had for the last act of “Aida” on Tuesday night.
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Biographical Note: Angela M. Brown
For a Fill-In Aida, a Triumph Long in Coming
By ANNE MIDGETTE [NY Times]
Angela M. Brown grew up singing gospel music in her grandfather’s Baptist church in Indianapolis, but her father, an autoworker, didn’t see that as the makings of a career.
“He said, ‘You need something to fall back on,’ ” Ms. Brown said.
So after high school she went to vocational school and got a degree in secretarial science; on the side, she worked as a hospital aide, dishing patients’ meals onto plates.
Twenty years later, the onetime aide took the stage at the Metropolitan Opera as Aida, the Ethiopian princess of Verdi’s classic opera. The Met audience roared its approval at Ms. Brown’s debut a little over a week ago, and again as she returned to the role for Saturday’s matinee, replacing a sick colleague, as she had for the last act of “Aida” on Tuesday night.
[Click *here* for remainder of article (free registration required).]
Recommended recording: