{"id":125953,"date":"2026-07-17T14:03:35","date_gmt":"2026-07-17T18:03:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=125953"},"modified":"2026-07-17T14:03:35","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T18:03:35","slug":"scrutiny-toronto-summer-music-opera-stars-erin-morley-lawrence-brownlee-soar-golden-age-program","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2026\/07\/17\/scrutiny-toronto-summer-music-opera-stars-erin-morley-lawrence-brownlee-soar-golden-age-program\/","title":{"rendered":"SCRUTINY | Toronto Summer Music: Opera Stars Erin Morley & Lawrence Brownlee Soar With Golden Age Program"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Tenor
Tenor Lawrence Brownlee and soprano Erin Morley perform at Koerner Hall as part of Toronto Summer Music, with pianist Malcolm Martineau, July 16 2026 (Photo:Lucky Tang)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Toronto Summer Music: Golden Age: Erin Morley & Lawrence Brownlee. Rossini: \u201cAh, quel respect\u2026 Ce t\u00e9m\u00e9raire qui croit nous plaire,\u201d from Le Comte Ory: Verdi: \u201cGualtier Mald\u00e8! \u2026 Caro nome,\u201d from Rigoletto: Bizet: \u201c\u00c0 cette voix quel trouble \u2026 Je crois entendre encore,\u201d from Les P\u00eacheurs de Perles; Debussy: \u201cClair de lune\u201d from Suite Bergamasque, L. 75, No. 3; Delibes: \u201cD\u2019o\u00f9 viens-tu? \u2026 C\u2019est le dieu de la jeunesse,\u201d from Lakm\u00e9; Bizet: \u201cIls verront si je mens!,\u201d from La Jolie Fille de Perth; Bizet: \u201cChanson Boh\u00e8me\u201d for Four Hands, from Carmen; Verdi: \u201cElla mi fu rapita \u2026 Parmi veder le lagrime\u201d from Rigoletto; Delibes: \u201cO\u00f9 va la jeune Indoue,\u201d from Lakm\u00e9; Donizetti: \u201cQuoi? Vous m\u2019aimez? \u2026 De cet aveu si tendre,\u201d from La Fille du R\u00e9giment. Erin Morley, soprano; Lawrence Brownlee, tenor; Malcolm Martineau, piano. Koernere Hall, July 16, 2026.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

While wildfire smoke blanketed Toronto last night, Koerner Hall was smoking with vocal fireworks by two celebrated opera stars.<\/p>\n

Soprano Erin Morley<\/strong> and tenor Lawrence Brownlee<\/strong> are today\u2019s leading voices at the Metropolitan Opera and other international houses. Together, they collaborated on the recording \u201cGolden Age,\u201d featuring a curated collection of 19th century operatic gems from the French and Italian bel canto repertoire, for which both are renowned interpreters.<\/p>\n

Last night\u2019s performance at the Toronto Summer Music Festival was part of their Golden Age Tour. While Brownlee has appeared in Toronto before, notably with the Canadian Opera Company, Morley is making her Canadian debut.<\/p>\n

The program of arias by Gaetano Donizetti, Gioachino Rossini, Georges Bizet, L\u00e9o Delibes and Giuseppe Verdi arias was mostly drawn from their best-selling album. While there were a few familiar numbers, it was most exciting to discover rarely performed operatic gems from these famous composers.<\/p>\n

Brownlee and Morley have voices that magically complement each other, and electrifying stage chemistry. They are no strangers to performing together, having sung the lead roles of the Met\u2019s productions of Mozart\u2019s The Magic Flute and Donizetti\u2019s La Fille du R\u00e9giment.<\/p>\n

\"Tenor
Tenor Lawrence Brownlee and soprano Erin Morley perform at Koerner Hall as part of Toronto Summer Music, with pianist Malcolm Martineau, July 16 2026 (Photo:Lucky Tang)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Duets<\/h3>\n

Many of their duets are playful games of seduction and cat-and-mouse lovers\u2019 chases. In \u201cAh, quel respect \u2026 Ce t\u00e9m\u00e9raire qui croit nous plaire\u201d (Rossini\u2019s Le Comte Ory,) the intricate vocal interplay between the tenor and soprano captured the comedic tension between the lovers.<\/p>\n

\u201cQuoi! Vous m\u2019aimez? \u2026 De cet aveu si tendre\u201d (Donizetti\u2019s La Fille du R\u00e9giment) had a similarly playful energy, with the two young lovers eagerly confessing their mutual attraction. The duet ended with a series of bright, ringing high notes, mirroring the pure euphoria of the two characters.<\/p>\n

By contrast, \u201cD\u2019o\u00f9 viens-tu? \u2026 C\u2019est le Dieu de la jeunesse\u201d (Delibes\u2019s Lakm\u00e9) is a slow-burning romance. There was a tender blend of vocal colors and expressive artistry between the singers.<\/p>\n

My favourite, however, was \u201cIls verront si je mens!\u201d from Bizet\u2019s lesser-known opera La Jolie Fille de Perth. This performance of the two lovers swearing their true devotion to one another was a masterclass in lyricism and seamless vocal weaving.<\/p>\n

Solo<\/h3>\n

Each artist also performed two solo pieces. Brownlee\u2019s choice of \u201c\u00c0 cette voix quel trouble \u2026 Je crois entendre encore\u201d (Bizet\u2019s Les P\u00eacheurs de Perles) showed his luminous top notes and effortless use of head voice which created a hauntingly dreamlike atmosphere.<\/p>\n

Brownlee joked that at the young age of 53, he finally made his first career jump into the Verdi repertoire, when he recently debuted the role of the Duke in Verdi\u2019s Rigoletto in Japan. His \u201cElla mi fu rapita!… Parmi veder le lagrime\u201d again showcased his vocal agility and lyrical finesse, with a gorgeous high D.<\/p>\n

Morley\u2019s first solo was another showstopper from Rigoletto. \u201cGualtier Mald\u00e8! \u2026 Caro nome” showed her stunning breath control and sparkling tops, embellished with many ornamental flourishes. My only small lament was I wished she sang this piece with less powerful vibratos to yield a less mature voice that is more suited to a young Gilda.<\/p>\n

She pulled out all the stops with \u201cO\u00f9 va la jeune Indoue,\u201d the legendary \u201cBell Song\u201d from Delibes\u2019 Lakm\u00e9. This was a showcase of Morley\u2019s pyrotechnics \u2014 powerful coloratura, high staccatos, trills, and precise octave jumps. Her highly ornamented rendition also showed her stratospheric range, with a rarely-heard fleeting high G-sharp and a sustained high E to end the piece.<\/p>\n

\"Tenor
Tenor Lawrence Brownlee and soprano Erin Morley perform at Koerner Hall as part of Toronto Summer Music, with pianist Malcolm Martineau, July 16 2026 (Photo:Lucky Tang)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Piano<\/h3>\n

The duo was accompanied by pianist Malcolm Martineau<\/strong>, who is gifted with immense flexibility and lightness of touch. His accompaniment was an outstanding stand-in for a full orchestra that was hardly missed. Martineau also performed a solo of Debussy\u2019s iconic \u201cClair de lune,\u201d which he painted with vivid Impressionistic colours.<\/p>\n

As a surprise performance, Morley also dazzled with her piano chops. Together with Martineau, they amused us with a four-hand duet of \u201cChanson Boh\u00e8me\u201d from Bizet\u2019s Carmen. I would be remiss not to mention that even in a floor-length resplendent gold gown that matched the concert\u2019s theme of Golden Age, Morley executed impressively clean pedaling!<\/p>\n

Encore<\/h3>\n

After rounds of well-deserved standing ovations, Morley joked that \u201cWe\u2019re not going to pretend we didn\u2019t prepare an encore!\u201d<\/p>\n

Morley and Brownlee gave us the most sublime parting gift, delighting us with \u201cTornami a dir che m’ami\u201d from Donizetti’s Don Pasquale.<\/p>\n

It was a sweet and tender end to an evening of unforgettable vocal virtuosity.<\/p>\n

Are you looking to promote an event<\/u><\/span><\/a>? Have a\u00a0news tip<\/u><\/a>? Need to know the best\u00a0events<\/u><\/a>\u00a0happening this weekend? Send us a\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>note<\/u>.<\/em><\/strong>
\n<\/a><\/p>\n

#LUDWIGVAN<\/b><\/em><\/h3>\n

Get the daily arts news straight to your inbox.<\/em><\/p>\n

Sign up for the Ludwig Van Toronto e-Blast! \u2014 local classical music and opera news straight to your inbox <\/em>HERE<\/a>.<\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

While wildfire smoke blanketed Toronto last night, Koerner Hall was smoking with vocal fireworks by celebrated opera stars Erin Morley and Lawrence Brownlee.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":118,"featured_media":125960,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[42533,76,19,43,52,59,63],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[15149],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-REVIEW-2-1.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9bakr-wLv","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125953"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/118"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=125953"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125953\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":125961,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125953\/revisions\/125961"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/125960"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=125953"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=125953"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=125953"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=125953"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}