Frank Brownell III OPERA’S ADVOCATE

Frank Brownell loves opera. Hard stop. But he is passionate about Des Moines Metro Opera. He came to his first productions at DMMO in 1974, the company’s second season, and he hasn’t missed one since. For many decades, he was accompanied by his late wife Nancy. In recent years he can be seen with several new friends at performances and special events. “I’ve known Frank since my earliest days with the opera. Both he and Nancy were quick to welcome me into the fold when I arrived in the mid 1970s. His friendship and support have meant the world to me,” said Jerilee M. Mace, former Executive Director at DMMO. Frank’s love of opera and of DMMO grew over time. He showed his appreciation, not only by his attendance, but through financial support that grew from an annual gift to major production underwriting and recently to leadership endowment support.

Frank is a native Iowan and graduated from Montezuma High School in 1957. He attended the University of Iowa, graduating magna cum laude in 1961 with a degree in Journalism and married his sweetheart Nancy Denton that same year. After college Frank attended Naval Officer Candidate School and served aboard the USS Caliente in San Pedro, California. He became a Lieutenant in 1966 while serving in the US Naval Reserves. In 1964 Frank returned to the family business, Brownells, Inc. He fulfilled many duties within the company before being appointed President/CEO in 1991, a position he held until 2008 before becoming Chairman of the Board. Frank and Nancy had three sons—Bob, Pete and Matt—and six grandchildren. To his delight, one of his grandsons in Colorado has recently started singing lessons. “He’s a tenor. We finally have a singer in the crowd,” Frank said.

Civic service was a major tenant of Frank’s professional years. He served on the Montezuma City Council for 54 years, including a stint as mayor pro tem, and was given an “Outstanding Citizen Award” in 2019 on his retirement from municipal service. Frank is a member of the Alumni Board of the School of Journalism at the University of Iowa and has served on numerous boards and committees, including the board of DMMO. He is a passionate philanthropist as well, leading by example through campaigns for the Montezuma Public Library, school district and local hospital—all while continuing to cultivate a love for opera and the performing arts.

This love for music and opera was not perhaps the most obvious hobby for him, but his parents are mainly to blame. His mother listened regularly to Metropolitan Opera radio broadcasts on Saturday afternoons, and his father purchased a set of 13 opera performances on record from a jeweler who was closing his shop. Frank wore out the records listening to them. One year an aunt bought the whole family tickets to a performance at the Lyric Opera of Chicago and they took the Rock Island train from Grinnell to Chicago to see the legendary Risë Stevens sing Carmen. Those were the first of many miles traveled to see opera.

Throughout life, Frank continued to travel frequently to see performances at companies like the Metropolitan Opera, the Lyric Opera of Chicago and San Francisco Opera, which he often attended with his sister Diana. But no matter how far he traveled, he always preferred his favorite seats in the third row center at the Blank Performing Arts Center in Indianola to any theatre in the world. “It’s my favorite theatre of all—it’s the best. It spoils me. I’m the most comfortable there,” he said.

A manufacturer by trade, it’s not surprising that Frank also wanted to know how all the parts of an opera came together. “Tell me about scenery design. What does building a costume mean? How is a festival different than other opera companies?” he often asked. The more he learned, the more interested he became. Backstage tours for Frank are commonplace, and he could often be found inspecting rigging systems or touring the stage deck. His years in the Navy even informed some of the advice that he gave the stage crew while touring the set for one of his favorite operas, Billy Budd in 2017, set on a British naval ship. Frank befriended longtime DMMO Production Manager Jim Lile and even traveled to Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music, which boasts one of the largest opera stages in the country, where Lile worked. “We hit it off right away. Each season we’d go out after a show to catch up,” said Lile. “I knew The Tales of Hoffmann was his favorite opera, and so I contacted him to invite him out to Bloomington to see it. To my delight, he accepted.”

Most importantly of all, Frank became passionate about DMMO’s Apprentice Artist Program. “Aspiring singers are of particular interest to Frank,” said Mace. In the early 2000s he would journey to New York with Mace and DMMO Founder Robert L. Larsen on the annual audition trip. Frank would spend time in the afternoon listening to singers and marveling at the breadth of talent he’d hear and then attending productions at New York City Opera and the Metropolitan Opera in the evenings and even dancing afterwards!

In 2015 Frank made the first of many yearly trips to New York with current General and Artistic Director Michael Egel. They took in museum exhibits, opera performances and often planned their trip around the invitation-only semifinals of the Met’s Laffont Competition which Frank enthusiastically enjoyed. “Frank shares my passion for identifying promising singers and searching near and far to find the next generation of artists,” said Egel. “He has a good ear for singers, and I always value his perspective. Those trips to New York with a close friend were very happy times.” In 2022 Frank generously endowed the Apprentice Artist Program for young singers with a $1 million gift, and the program now bears his name. He looks forward to attending the Apprentice Spotlight on June 1 and the Stars of Tomorrow concert on July 20 this season.

“Of all the causes I support, this one is just about the most important, followed by the local hospital which fixes the body—DMMO fixes everything else,” Frank said. We couldn’t agree more, and we are all better for his spirit of giving back and his immense love of opera.