International opera star Angela Brown, trailblazer

<p dir="ltr">She started singing as a 5-year-old girl at <strong>Mt Calvary Baptist Church</strong> in <strong>Indianapolis</strong>, where her grandfather was the minister.</p> <p dir="ltr"><img src= "http://hoosierhistorylive.org/images/Angela-Brown-headshot.JPG" alt="Angela Brown" width="199" height="274" align= "right" />Soprano <strong><a href= "http://www.angelambrown.com/">Angela Brown</a></strong>, 56, went on to become an international opera star, performing everywhere from the <strong><a href= "https://www.metopera.org/">Metropolitan Opera</a></strong> in New York City - where she made a sensational debut in 2004 - to prestigious venues in Paris, London and Shanghai. She has sung the national anthem at the <strong><a href= "https://www.nps.gov/linc/index.htm">Lincoln Memorial</a></strong> In Washington D.C. and at games of the <strong><a href="https://www.colts.com/">Indianapolis Colts</a></strong> and <strong><a href= "https://www.nba.com/pacers/">Indiana Pacers</a></strong> in her hometown.</p> <p dir="ltr">Angela, a 1982 graduate of <strong><a href= "https://myips.org/crispusattucks/">Attucks High School</a></strong> who later studied at <strong>Indiana University</strong>'s <strong><a href= "https://music.indiana.edu/">Jacobs School of Music</a></strong>, has been blazing trails, including some beyond the music world.</p> <p dir="ltr">She recently founded <strong>Freddie Mae's Daughter</strong>, a company offering such products as "handcrafted jewelry, masks and other Afrocentric accessories." The business is named for Angela's late mother, <strong>Freddie Mae Brown</strong>, an Indianapolis artist and nurse. Angela also is converting her one-woman show, <strong><a href= "https://www.atlantaopera.org/performance/angela-brown/">Opera from a Sistah's Point of View</a></strong>, into a virtual program for opera companies across the country; the show includes Angela's re-telling of opera plots from a Black perspective.</p> <p dir="ltr">Angela will discuss these endeavors - and others, including a new po