Renée Fleming (2009)

Renée Fleming (born February 14, 1959) is an American soprano specializing in opera and lieder. Fleming has a full lyric soprano voice.^[1] Fleming has performed coloratura, lyric, and lighter spinto soprano repertoires. She has sung roles in Italian, German, French, Czech, and Russian, aside from her native English. She also speaks fluent German and French, along with limited Italian. Her signature roles include Countess Almaviva in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro, Desdemona in Verdi's Otello, Violetta in Verdi's La traviata, the title role in Dvořák's Rusalka, the title role in Massenet's Manon, the title role in Massenet's Thaïs, the Marschallin in Richard Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier, and the title role in Arabella.

A Richard Tucker Award winner, she regularly performs in opera houses and concert halls worldwide. In 2008 she was awarded the Swedish Polar Music Prize for her services in music.

Conductor Sir Georg Solti said of Fleming, "In my long life, I have met maybe two sopranos with this quality of singing; the other was Renata Tebaldi."^[1]

Early life and education[link]

A daughter of two music teachers, Fleming was born on Valentine's Day in Indiana, Pennsylvania, and grew up in Rochester, New York.

She studied with Patricia Misslin at the Crane School of Music at the State University of New York at Potsdam. While at SUNY Potsdam, she took up singing with a jazz trio in an off-campus bar called Alger's. The jazz saxophonist Illinois Jacquet invited her on tour with his big band, but she chose instead to continue with graduate studies at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York with voice teacher John Maloy.

She won a Fulbright Scholarship, which enabled her to work in Europe with Arleen Augér and Elisabeth Schwarzkopf. This was followed by further studies at the Juilliard School, which she sang jazz gigs to pay for.^[2] While at Juilliard she sang in roles with the Juilliard Opera Center, appearing as Musetta in Puccini's La bohème and the Wife in Menotti's Tamu-Tamu, among others.^[3][4]

Career[link]

1980s to 1990s[link]

Fleming first began performing professionally in smaller concerts and with small opera companies while still a graduate student at Juilliard. She sang frequently in the Musica Viva concert series sponsored by the New York Unitarian Church of All Souls during the 1980s.^[5] In 1984 she sang nine songs by Hugo Wolf in the world premiere of Eliot Feld's ballet Adieu, which she again performed in 1987 and 1989 at the Joyce Theater.^[6] In 1986 she sang her first major operatic role, Konstanze in Die Entführung aus dem Serail, at the Salzburg Landestheater. Two years later she portrayed Thalie, Clarine and La Folie in Jean-Philippe Rameau's Platée with the Piccolo Teatro Dell Opera.^[7]

Fleming's first major break came in 1988 when she won the Metropolitan Opera Auditions at age 29. That same year she sang the Countess in The Marriage of Figaro in her debut with Houston Grand Opera. She reprised the role the following year in her debut at the Spoleto Festival.^[8] Also in 1989, Fleming made her debut with the New York City Opera as Mimi in La Bohème and her debut with The Royal Opera, London, as Dirce in Cherubini's Médée. She also was awarded a Richard Tucker Career Grant and won the George London Competition.^[9][10]

In 1990 she was once again honored by the Richard Tucker Music Foundation but this time with the highly coveted Richard Tucker Award.^[11] That same year she made her debut with Seattle Opera in her first portrayal of the title role in Rusalka, a role that she has since recorded and reprised at many of the world's great opera houses. She also sang for the 50th anniversary of the American Ballet Theatre in their production of Eliot Feld's Les Noces and returned to the New York City Opera to sing both the Countess in Le nozze di Figaro and Micaela in Bizet's Carmen. In addition, she sang the title role in Donizetti's Lucrezia Borgia with the Opera Orchestra of New York.^[12][13]

In 1991, Fleming made her Metropolitan Opera and San Francisco Opera debut portraying Countess Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro. Fleming was originally not scheduled to make her Met debut until the next season, but ended up making it earlier than expected by stepping in to replace Felicity Lott who had become ill.^[14] She returned to the Met later that year to sing Rosina in the world premiere of John Corigliano's The Ghosts of Versailles. That same year she made her Carnegie Hall debut performing music by Ravel with the New York City Opera Orchestra, sang Rusalka with Houston Grand Opera, and made her debut at the Tanglewood Music Festival as Ilia in Mozart's Idomeneo with Seiji Ozawa and the Boston Symphony Orchestra.^[15][16]

In 1992, Fleming made her debut with Grand Théâtre de Genève as Fiordiligi in Mozart's Così fan tutte.^[17] She also sang the role of Anna in Boieldieu's La dame blanche at Carnegie Hall with the Opera Orchestra of New York and the role of Fortuna in Mozart's Il sogno di Scipione at Alice Tully Hall, as part of Lincoln Center's Festival of Mozart Operas in Concert.^[18][19]

In 1993, Fleming sang the role of Alaide in Bellini's La straniera with the Opera Orchestra of New York, made her debut at the Rossini Opera Festival in the title role of Rossini's Armida, and her debut with the Lyric Opera of Chicago in the title role of Carlisle Floyd's Susannah.^[20] She also gave her New York City solo recital debut at Alice Tully Hall to great acclaim.^[21] She also sang her first Pamina in Mozart's The Magic Flute at the Metropolitan Opera and performed Berg's Three Excerpts from Wozzeck and Lulu Suite with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and James Levine.^[22][23] She also sang the world premiere of Joan Tower's Fanfare with Pinchas Zukerman and the Aspen Chamber Symphony^[24] and the world premiere of John Kander's Letter From Sullivan Ballou at the Richard Tucker Awards ceremony.^[25]

In 1994, Fleming sang her first Desdemona in Verdi's Otello and her first Ellen Orford in Britten's Peter Grimes with the Metropolitan Opera.^[26] She also made her debut at the Glyndebourne Festival as the Countess in Le nozze di Figaro.^[27] She also performed the role of Madame de Tourvel in the world premiere of Conrad Susa's The Dangerous Liaisons and sang the role of Salome in Massenet's Hérodiade with the San Francisco Opera.^[28]

In 1995 Fleming portrayed the Marschallin in Der Rosenkavalier with Houston Grand Opera, sang Hérodiade with the Opera Orchestra of New York at Carnegie Hall, and sang Rusalka with the San Francisco Opera.^[29] She also sang Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte with Solti at Royal Festival Hall and gave a lauded recital at the Morgan Library.^[30] She further signed an exclusive recording contract with the London/Decca label, making her the first American singer in 31 years to do so (Marilyn Horne was the last).^[31]

In 1996, Fleming sang the title role in Rossini's Armida and the role of Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte at the Met and performed the soprano solos in the Verdi Requiem with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra at Carnegie Hall.^[32] She also sang her first Marguerite in Gounod's Faust with Chicago Lyric Opera and sang the role of Donna Anna in Mozart's Don Giovanni with the Paris Opera at the reopening of the Palais Garnier with Sir Georg Solti. She was also chosen by Solti to be the first recipient of the Solti Prize, to be given to an outstanding younger singer. The award is given by the Académie du disque lyrique in a ceremony equivalent to the Grammy Awards.^[33] Fleming also made debut at the Bayreuth Festival as Eva in Wagner's Meistersinger.^[34] Her other performances that year included recitals at the Edinburgh International Festival and at Alice Tully Hall.^[35]

In 1997, Fleming portrayed the Marschallin in Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier and her first Manon at the Opéra Bastille, receiving glowing reviews. She reprised the role at the Metropolitan Opera along with singing Marguerite in Faust and Rusalka.^[36] She also performed in concert twice with the New York Philharmonic, first under the baton of Zubin Mehta performing a selection of opera arias, and second singing Mozart's Exsultate, jubilate and three songs of Richard Strauss with Kurt Masur. She also performed at the Ravinia Festival with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and performed Samuel Barber's Knoxville: Summer of 1915 with the Orchestra of St. Luke's under André Previn. She gave several recitals as well at such notable places as the Salzburg Festival.^[37]

In 1998, Fleming sang the title role in Richard Strauss' Arabella with Houston Grand Opera and the Countess with Lyric Opera of Chicago. She sang the title role in Carlisle Floyd's Susannah and Countess Almaviva in a landmark production of Le nozze di Figaro at the Met; the Mozart production also starred Cecilia Bartoli, Susanne Mentzer, Dwayne Croft, Danielle de Niese, and Bryn Terfel and was broadcast on PBS' Great Performances.^[38] She made her Carnegie Hall recital debut. She sang Richard Strauss's Four Last Songs with Claudio Abbado and the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra at the Salzburg Festival.^[39] She originated the roles of Blanche DuBois in the world première André Previn's A Streetcar Named Desire with the San Francisco Opera.^[40] Fleming also performed Strauss' Four Last Songs with the Berlin Philharmonic. In what Fleming has described as "the worst night of her operatic life" she was roundly booed on the opening night of Lucrezia Borgia by Donizetti in July, 1998 at La Scala.

In 1999, Fleming appeared at the Bavarian State Opera as the Marschallin in Der Rosenkavalier. She returned to Carnegie Hall to great success with a concert of German lieder. She also performed in recital with André Previn and made her debut at the Schleswig-Holstein Festival.^[41] She also won a Grammy Award for her CD The Beautiful Voice. She also performed the title role in Handel's Alcina with Les Arts Florissants and conductor William Christie and with the Lyric Opera of Chicago.^[42] She also sang the title role in Charpentier's Louise with San Francisco Opera and Théâtre du Capitole.^[43] Fleming closed out the year by performing for President Bill Clinton at the White House for a Christmas celebration.^[44]

2000s[link]

Renée Fleming (2009)

In 2000, Fleming appeared at the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera and at Covent Garden as the Marschallin in Der Rosenkavalier and sang the title role in Donizetti's Lucrezia Borgia with the Opera Orchestra of New York.^[45] She also appeared as Donna Anna in Mozart's Don Giovanni at the Salzburg Festival and the Met. She performed with the Orchestra of St. Luke's, under Mark Elder as part of the PBS series Live From Lincoln Center and with the Boston Symphony Orchestra in Haydn's Creation under James Levine.^[46]

In 2001, Fleming sang Desdemona in Otello with the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Manon with the Paris Opera, the Marschallin with both the San Francisco Opera and the Met, and Arabella at both the Bavarian State Opera and the Met. She also sang Verdi's Requiem twice, once with the London Symphony Orchestra and once with the New York Philharmonic. Fleming also sang at World Trade Center site shortly after the September 11 attacks.^[2]

In 2002, Fleming provided the vocals for Howard Shore's soundtrack for The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King soundtrack. Her singing can be found in the songs "The End of All Things", "Twilight and Shadow" and "The Return of the King" (Original Soundtrack) and "The Grace Of Undómiel", "Mount Doom", "The Eagles" and "The Fellowship Reunited" (The Complete Recordings). She also sang in several concerts in the United Kingdom with Bryn Terfel and gave the most extensive recital tour of her career, singing in dozens of recitals with accompianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet throughout the United States, Europe, Australia, and Asia. In addition, she portrayed the role of Rusalka with Opéra Bastille and Imogene in Il pirata with Théâtre du Châtelet.

In 2003, Fleming sang Imogene in at the Met, the title role in Massenet's Thaïs with the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Rusalka at Covent Garden, and Violetta in La traviata with both Houston Grand Opera and the Metropolitan Opera. She also reprised the role of Blanche in Previn's A Streetcar Named Desire at the Barbican Centre in London.

In 2004, Fleming portrayed the title role in Handel's Rodelinda, and reprised the roles of Rusalka and Violetta at the Met. She also sang her first Gräfin (Countess) in Capriccio at the Palais Garnier and performed in concerts with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra among others. She also gave recitals in Spain, Switzerland, Germany, Canada, and the United States and performed in several concerts with Elton John at Radio City Music Hall.

In 2005, Fleming sang the title role in Massenet's Manon at the Met, Desdemona in Verdi's Otello at Covent Garden, and Thaïs in Vienna. She also performed with the Berlin Philharmonic, the London Symphony Orchestra, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, the New Jersey Symphony, the Rochester Philharmonic, and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir among several other ensembles.

Fleming in April 2008

In 2006, Fleming performed a solo concert at the Lyric Opera of Chicago with Sir Andrew Davis, sang Violetta in Verdi's La traviata with Los Angeles Opera, and returned to the Met to sing Manon and Rodelinda. She also sang Violetta again in the Metropolitan Opera's touring production to Japan and gave several recitals and concerts throughout the United States, Italy, Russia, and Sweden. She also sang in the Vienna Philharmonic's concert celebrating Mozart's 250th Birthday which was broadcast live internationally.^[47]

In 2007, Fleming sang Violetta with the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Tatyana in Eugene Onegin at the Metropolitan Opera, Arabella with Zurich Opera, and Thaïs at the Théâtre du Châtelet, The Royal Opera, London, Vienna State Opera, and the Liceu, Barcelona. She also performed with over a dozen orchestras including the Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra,the National Symphony Orchestra, the Vancouver Symphony, the Boston Symphony, the San Francisco Symphony, the China Philharmonic Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and she has appeared as a Pennington Great Performers series artist with the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra, and performed at numerous music festivals including the Salzburg Festival and the Lincoln Center Festival. She also gave recitals throughout Southeast Asia, Germany, and Switzerland.

In 2008, Fleming sang Violetta and Desdemona at the Metropolitan Opera, the Gräfin in Capriccio at the Vienna State Opera, Tatyana at the Tanglewood Music Festival, and Lucrezia Borgia^[48] at the Washington National Opera.

In 2009, Fleming created the complete version of Le temps l'horloge, the latest work of famous French composer Henri Dutilleux. She sang Violetta at Covent Garden and Thaïs and Rusalka at the Metropolitan Opera, the Marschallin at the Baden-Baden Festival, the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées and the Metropolitan Opera. She sang a variety of short pieces at Napa Valley's Festival del Sole in California.

During the 2009/2010 Metropolitan Opera season Fleming sang the Marschallin and in Mary Zimmerman's new production, the first at the Met, of Rossini's Armida, a role and production she will return to during the Met's 2010/2011 Season along with the Gräfin in Richard Strauss's Capriccio.

In an April 15, 2010, Wall Street Journal article, Fleming talked about her view of the battle between opera traditionalists and those who want to reinterpret the standards, siding – with some reservations – with the latter. "I'm not a reactionary. I've loved some of [these productions] when they've been well thought out", she said. "I have no problem with edgy, as long as it's not vulgar or disrespectful of the piece." Still, she said her "classic" image meant that she was unlikely to be asked to perform in such productions.^[49] In the same Wall Street Journal interview, Fleming explained her increasing preference for performing in concerts, rather than opera productions, and said, having learned more than 50 operas, that she is unlikely to learn many more.

Fleming appeared on Good Morning America on June 8, 2010, performing a cover of Muse's "Endlessly" from their album Absolution.

At the Last Night of the BBC Proms in 2010, Fleming performed songs by Richard Strauss, Dvořák and Smetana.

On November 11, 2010, the Charlie Haden Quartet West released the jazz CD Sophisticated Ladies in which Fleming was a guest vocalist on the song "A Love Like This" by Ned Washington and Victor Young.

On December 9, 2010, the Board of Directors of Lyric Opera of Chicago announced that Fleming has been named Creative Consultant, a first in the company’s history.^[50]

Personal life[link]

Fleming married actor Rick Ross in 1989, and they have two daughters together; Amelia, born in 1992, and Sage, born in 1995. The couple divorced in 2000, and Fleming has raised their children as a single mother.^[1][51] On September 3, 2011 Fleming married corporate lawyer Tim Jessell, whom she met on a blind date set up by author Ann Patchett.^[52]

Popular recordings[link]

Fleming performs at We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial on January 18, 2009.

Fleming has released a number of music recordings on the Decca label. In 2000 she was a guest artist alongside the cellist Julian Lloyd Webber and the violinist Gil Shaham on the album Two Worlds by Dave Grusin and Lee Ritenour. She recorded a jazz album in 2005 entitled Haunted Heart. She appears on the soundtrack of the 2003 film The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King in which she sings in the imagined language Sindarin. Renée Fleming recorded the duet "O soave fanciulla" with Michael Bolton. Her album Dark Hope, released in June 2010, features covers of songs by Leonard Cohen, Band of Horses, Jefferson Airplane and others.^[53]

TV, radio and record guest appearances[link]

Fleming has a notable sense of humor. She appeared on the children's show Sesame Street singing a lively rendition of "Caro nome" from Rigoletto, replacing the traditional Italian text with lyrics intended to aid children learning to count.

She has performed several times on Garrison Keillor's popular public radio program A Prairie Home Companion.

Fleming appeared as a "Special Guest Vocalist" on Joe Jackson's 1994 album Night Music on the song "Lullaby."

On November 18, 2005, Fleming appeared as guest on the BBC Radio 4 radio programme Desert Island Discs; her favourite was Joni Mitchell's 1971 song "River".^[54]

Fleming performed "I'll Be Home For Christmas" on ABC's The View on December 18, 2008.

She performed on January 18, 2009, at We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial, singing the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic "You'll Never Walk Alone" with the combined choirs of the United States Naval Academy. She had performed the same song at Concert for America, which marked the one-year anniversary of 9/11.^[55]

Repertory[link]