Renée
Renée of France was a 16th century French princess
Pronunciation	French: [ʁəˈne] English: /rəˈneɪ/
Gender	Female
Origin
Word/Name	French, Latin
Meaning	reborn, born again
Other names
Related names	René, Renata

Look up Renée in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Renée (often spelled without the accent in non-French speaking countries) is a French feminine first name.

Renée is the female form of René, with the extra –e making it feminine according to French grammar.^[1] The name René is the French form of the late Roman name Renatus and the meaning is reborn or born again. In medieval times, the meaning was associated with the Christian concept of being spiritually born again through baptism.^[2]

Renee was among the top 100 names given to girls in the United States in the late 1950s, the 1960s, the 1970s and the early 1980s.^[3] It ranked as the 734th most popular name given to American girls in 2008 and is continuing to fall in popularity.^[4]

First name[link]

As a first name, it may refer to:

People

• Renée Adorée (1898–1933), French actress of the silent era
• Renée Asherson (born 1920), English actress
• Renée Bourque (born 1977), American actress
• Renée Bordereau (1770-1824), French woman who disguised herself as a man
• Renée Carl (1875–1954), French actress of the silent era
• Renée Chen, Taiwanese singer and songwriter
• Renée Colliard (born 1933), Swiss alpine skier
• Renée Cox (born 1960), Jamaican-American artist, political activist and curator
• Renée Estevez (born 1967), American actress
• Renée Doria (born 1921), French opera singer
• Renée Jeanne Falconetti (1892–1946),
• Renée Faure (1919-2005), French actress
• Renée Ferrer de Arréllaga (born 1944), Paraguayan poet and novelist
• Renée Fleming (born 1959), American soprano
• Renée Fox (born 1928), American sociologist
• Renée of France (1510–1574), younger daughter of Louis XII of France
• Renée French (born 1963), American comics writer and illustrator
• Renée French (actress), American actress
• Renée Friedman, American egyptologist
• Renée Geyer (born 1953), Australian singer
• Renée Gill Pratt (born 1954), local politician from New Orleans
• Renée Green (born 1959), American artist, writer and filmmaker
• Renée Houston (1902-1980), Scottish comedy actor and revue artist
• Renée Jeryd (born 1965), Swedish social democratic politician
• Renée Jones (born 1958), American actress
• Renée Manfredi, American novelist
• Renée Montagne, American radio journalist
• Renée Morisset (1928–2009), Canadian pianist
• Renée Nicoux (born 1951), French politician and member of the Senate of France
• Renée O'Connor (born 1971), American actress, producer and director
• Marie-Renée Oget (born 1945), French politician, member of the National Assembly
• Renée Richards (born 1934), American ophthalmologist, author and tennis player
• Renée Roca (born 1963), American figure skater and choreographer
• Renée Scheltema (born 1951), Dutch documentary filmmaker
• Renée Schwarzenbach-Wille (1883-1959), Swiss photographer
• Renée Simonsen (born 1965), Danish model and writer
• Jamie Renée Smith (born 1987), American actress
• Renée Sintenis (1888–1965), German artist
• Renée Soutendijk (born 1957), Dutch actress
• Renée Taylor (born 1933), American actress
• Renée Victor, actress
• Renée Vivien (1877-1909), British poet writing in French
• Renée Weibel (born 1986), Swiss actress
• Renée Zellweger (born 1969), American actress
• Renée Björling (1898–1975), Swedish actress
• Renée and Renato, a British female/male vocal duo

Fictional characters

• Renée DuMonde, a character on the television soap opera Days of our Lives
• Renée Dwyer, a character in the Twilight novel series
• Renée Rienne, a character in the spy-fi television series Alias
• Renée, a minor character in Buffy the Vampire Slayer
• Renée, a character in Claymore
• Renée Divine Buchanan, a character on the American soap opera One Life to Live
• Renée de Villefort, first wife of Gérard de Villefort in Alexandre Dumas's "The Counte of Monte Cristo"

Family name[link]

As a family name, it may refer to:

• Lyne Renée (born 1979), a Belgian actress
• Tiffany Renée (born 1971), a member of the Petaluma City Council in Petaluma, California

Other[link]

• Renée, a song by Talk Talk on their 1984 album It's My Life
• Renée, a 2011 made-for-TV documentary film on Renée Richards
• Renee (song), a 1996 song by rap group Lost Boyz
• Walk Away Renée, a song made popular by the band The Left Banke in 1966

Variants in different languages[link]

• Rena English, Polish
• Renae English
• Renáta Czech, Hungarian, Slovak
• Renata Croatian, Czech, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Slovene, Spanish, Lithuanian
• Renate Dutch, French, German
• Renátka Czech
• Renatka Polish
• Renča Czech
• Renea Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian, Slovene
• Renée Dutch, French
• Renee English
• Reneeke Dutch
• Reneetje Dutch
• Renia Polish
• Renita English, Spanish
• Renāte Latvian

References[link]

This page or section lists people that share the same given name. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change that link to point directly to the intended article.

For other uses, see Lost Boys

The Lost Boyz is a hip hop group from South Jamaica, Queens, New York City. The original group members were lead MC Mr. Cheeks, backup MC and promoter Freaky Tah (1971–1999), DJ Spigg Nice and Pretty Lou.^[1][2][3][4]

Recording career[link]

In 1995, the group released their debut single "Lifestyles Of The Rich & Shameless", charting on the Billboard Hot 100. The release landed them a record deal with Uptown Records. The group contributed a single to the Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood soundtrack, titled "Renee". The song became a major hit, breaking into the Top 40 on the Hot 100 chart. The single also reached Gold status in 1996. On June 4, 1996, they released their debut album Legal Drug Money. The work was highly acclaimed, and the album featured five Hot 100 hits, including their past singles "Lifestyles of the Rich & Shameless", "Renee", as well as "Music Makes Me High", "Jeeps, Lex Coups, Bimaz & Benz" and "Get Up". The album was certified Gold by the RIAA in late 1996. Their second album, Love, Peace & Nappiness, was released on June 17, 1997 on Uptown/Universal Records. It featured another Hot 100 hit single, "Me & My Crazy World". One of the most famous songs on the album was the posse-cut "Beasts From The East", featuring A+, Redman and Canibus. The album wasn't as acclaimed as their debut, but fared well commercially, reaching Gold status in late 1997.

In 1996, the group appeared on the Red Hot Organization's compilation CD, America is Dying Slowly, alongside Wu-Tang Clan, Coolio, and Fat Joe, among others. The CD, meant to raise awareness of the AIDS epidemic among African American men, was heralded as "a masterpiece" by The Source magazine.

On the night of March 28, 1999, at a birthday party for Mr. Cheeks, Freaky Tah was shot in the head while exiting the Sheraton Hotel in Queens. Tah was taken to Jamaica Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 4:20 am, at the age of 27. The getaway driver, Raheem Fletcher, was sentenced to 7 years in prison for Manslaughter. In 2001, Kelvin Jones pleaded guilty to the murder. The three remaining group members finished their third album LB IV Life, released in September 1999. The effort fell short critically and commercially, failing to provide any Hot 100 hits, and failing to reach Gold status. The three split-up after the release, and lead MC Mr. Cheeks began a solo career. He released his first solo effort John P. Kelly in 2001, which featured the smash hit "Lights, Camera, Action!". The album also featured a heartfelt tribute song to Freaky Tah, titled "Till We Meet Again", featuring Bob Marley's son Stephen. Cheeks released another album in 2003, titled Back Again!, then followed in 2004 with Ladies & Ghettomen. On January 16, 2004, DJ Spigg Nice was tried and convicted of multiple bank robberies in New Jersey and was sentenced to 37 years in prison.^[5] The group released a compilation album Lost Boyz Forever in 2005, featuring past hits and previously unreleased material. Lost Boyz reunited in 2010. A new single was released on their website. It's called "Haaay".

Discography[link]

• Legal Drug Money (1995)
• Love, Peace & Nappiness (1997)
• LB IV Life (1999)

References[link]

External links[link]

• LB Fam Online
• Allmusic page
• "Lifestyles Of The Rich & Shameless" music video

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]

Partial discography[link]

CD[link]

• Donizetti: Rosmonda d'Inghilterra Opera Rara 1994
• Strauss Four Last Songs RCA 1996
• Visions of Love – Mozart Arias Decca 1996
• Schubert Lieder Decca 1997
• Signatures Opera arias By Mozart, Verdi, Britten, Strauss, w. Georg Solti, Decca 1997
• Elijah (Mendelssohn) Decca 1997
• Rusalka (1997)
• A Streetcar Named Desire (1997)
• The Beautiful Voice Decca 1998
• I Want Magic American Opera Arias, Decca 1998
• Star Crossed Lovers Duets with Plácido Domingo, Decca 1999
• Strauss Heroines Decca 1999
• Requiem (Verdi) with Andrea Bocelli, Olga Borodina and Ildebrando D'Arcangelo, conducted by Valery Gergiev, Philips 2001
• Renée Fleming Decca 2001
• Night Songs Lieder by Debussy, Fauré, Marx, Strauss, Rachmaninov, Decca 2001
• Thaïs (2001)
• Manon (2001)
• Bel Canto Arias by Donizetti, Bellini, Rossini, Decca 2002
• Under the Stars Broadway Duets with Bryn Terfel, Decca 2003
• By Request Decca 2003
• Mozart: Così fan tutte Decca
• Handel: Alcina Erato
• Rossini: Armida Sony (live)
• Mozart: Don Giovanni Decca
• Massenet: Hérodiade Sont (live)
• Handel Arias Decca 2003/2004
• Requiem (Verdi) Philips 2004
• Haunted Heart Decca 2005
• Sacred Songs Decca 2005
• Homage – The Age of the Diva Decca 2006
• Strauss: Daphne Decca
• Four Last Songs by Richard Strauss Decca 2008
• Verismo – Arias of Puccini, Mascagni, Cilea, Giordano, Leoncavallo Decca 2009
• Dark Hope Decca Records 2010
• Poèmes – French songs, Decca 2012

DVD[link]

• Tchaikovsky: Eugene Onegin Decca 2007
• Strauss, R: Arabella Decca 2008
• Verdi: La traviata Decca
• Mozart: Don Giovanni
• Mozart: The Marriage of Figaro
• Massenet: Manon
• Rossini: Armida Decca
• Strauss, R: Arabella Decca
• Strauss, R: Der Rosenkavalier Decca
• Strauss, R: Capriccio Decca
• Verdi: Otello
• Dvořák: Rusalka Decca
• Massenet: Thaïs Decca
• Metropolitan Opera: The Audition (documentary)

Honors[link]

• Fleming received the 1999 Grammy Award for Best Classical Vocal Performance for her album The Beautiful Voice.
• In 2000, Chef Daniel Boulud named a dessert, La Diva Renée, after her.^[56]
• Ann Patchett used Fleming as the inspiration for a character in the 2001 novel Bel Canto.^[57]
• Fleming received the 2003 Grammy Award for Best Classical Vocal Performance for her album Bel Canto.
• In 2003, Fleming was awarded Honorary Membership in the Royal Academy of Music.
• Also in 2003, Fleming received an Honorary Doctorate from the Juilliard School, and she was the Speaker for the Commencement Ceremony.^[58]
• In 2008, Fleming was awarded the Polar Music Prize "in recognition of her sublime unparalleled voice and unique stylistic versatility."^[59]
• Fleming's 2009 album Verismo was awarded the Grammy Award for Best Classical Vocal Performance.^[60]
• In 2011, Fleming received an Honorary Doctorate from the Eastman School of Music.^[61]
• Also in 2011, Fleming was the recipient of the Fulbright Lifetime Achievement Medal.^[62]
• In February, 2012, Fleming was awarded the Victoire d'Honneur prize by France's Victoires de la Musique Classique.^[63]

References[link]

Sources[link]

• Fleming, Renée. The Inner Voice: the Making of a Singer. Paperback ed. New York: Penguin Group, 2004. ISBN 978-0-14-303594-7

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Renée Fleming

Graham hosting the National Endowment for the Arts Opera Honors in 2008

Susan Graham (born July 23, 1960, Roswell, New Mexico) is an American mezzo-soprano.

Raised in Midland, Texas, she is a graduate of Texas Tech University and the Manhattan School of Music. She studied the piano for 13 years.^[1] She was a winner in the Metropolitan Opera's National Council Auditions, and also a recipient of the Schwabacher Award from the Merola Program of San Francisco Opera.

Graham made her international début at Covent Garden in 1994, playing Massenet's Chérubin.^[2] She has also premièred several roles in contemporary operas, including John Harbison's The Great Gatsby (Jordan Baker), Jake Heggie's Dead Man Walking (Sister Helen Prejean), and Tobias Picker's An American Tragedy (Sondra Finchley).^[3]

Graham is a noted champion of the French song repertoire^[4] and of songs by contemporary American composers, including Ned Rorem and Lowell Liebermann.^[5] Graham made her Carnegie Hall recital debut in April 2003,^[6] and a recording of this recital was later released.

Graham sang "Bless This House" at George W. Bush's second inauguration on January 20, 2005,^[2] and Schubert's "Ave Maria" at the nationally televised funeral mass for Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts on August 29, 2009. She is a US delegate for UNESCO.^[7][8]

Opera roles[link]

Graham at the Metropolitan Opera opening in 2008

Her operatic roles include:

• Samuel Barber
  • Vanessa (Erika)^[9][10]
• Hector Berlioz
  • Béatrice et Bénédict (Béatrice) 1997^[11]
  • La damnation de Faust (Marguerite) La Scala, Metropolitan Opera November 2008
  • Les Troyens (Didon) Théâtre du Châtelet, (Paris)
• Christoph Willibald Gluck
  • Iphigénie en Tauride (Iphigénie)^[12]
• Alexander Goehr
  • Arianna (Arianna)^[2]
• Charles Gounod
  • Roméo et Juliette (Stephano) Seattle Opera
• George Frideric Handel
  • Alcina (Ruggerio)^[13]
  • Xerxes (Serse-Title Role)
  • Ariodante Houston Grand Opera, San Francisco Opera
• John Harbison
  • The Great Gatsby (Jordan Baker) 1999^[14]
• Jake Heggie
  • Dead Man Walking (Sister Helen Prejean)
• Franz Lehár
  • The Merry Widow Hanna Glawari (the title character)^[2][15][16]
• Jules Massenet
  • Werther (Charlotte)
  • Chérubin Royal Opera House^[17]
• Claudio Monteverdi
  • L'incoronazione di Poppea (Poppea)
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
  • Così fan tutte (Dorabella)^[2]
  • Don Giovanni (Donna Elvira) Lyric Opera of Chicago^[18]
  • Idomeneo (Idamante) Houston Grand Opera, Palais Garnier, Paris
  • La clemenza di Tito (Sesto) Opéra National de Paris and concert performances^[19]
  • Le nozze di Figaro (Cherubino) Metropolitan Opera
  • Lucio Silla (Cecilio), Santa Fe Opera^[20]
• Tobias Picker
  • An American Tragedy (Sondra Finchley) Metropolitan Opera world première
• Henry Purcell
  • Dido and Aeneas (Sorceress,^[2] Dido)
• Gioachino Rossini
  • Il barbiere di Siviglia (Rosina)
• Richard Strauss
  • Ariadne auf Naxos (Composer) Metropolitan Opera,^[21] Royal Opera House,^[22] and Glyndebourne^[23]
  • Der Rosenkavalier (Octavian)^[2][24]
• Giuseppe Verdi
  • Falstaff (Meg Page)

Awards[link]

• 2001 Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters (Chevalier dans l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres)^[25]
• June 2005 Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters
• Musical America 2004 Vocalist of the Year
• 2004 Grammy Award for Best Classical Vocal Performance, for her album Ives: Songs (The Things Our Fathers Loved; The Housatonic At Stockbridge, Etc.)
• 2005 Opera News Award
• September 5, 2006 Midland, Texas first annual "Susan Graham Day"^[26]
• May 2008, Honorary Doctorate, Manhattan School of Music

Some of the recordings have also received awards. See below.

Recordings[link]

Susan Graham's recordings (in chronological order):

1992

• Le sacre du printemps, Pulcinella (Stravinsky) Seattle Symphony Orchestra, Gerard Schwarz (conductor) Delos Records 3100

1995

• Scenes from Goethe's Faust (Schumann) Bryn Terfel, Karita Mattila, Jan-Hendrik Rootering, Barbara Bonney, Endrik Wottrich, Iris Vermillion, Brigitte Poschner-Klebel, Susan Graham, Hans-Peter Blochwitz, Harry Peeters, Berliner Philharmoniker, Claudio Abbado (conductor). Sony Classical 66308

1996

• Roméo et Juliette (Charles Gounod) Plácido Domingo, Ruth Ann Swenson, Miles, Kurt Ollmann, Susan Graham, Alain Vernhes, Paul Charles Clarke Bayerischen Rundfunkorchester und chor, Münchner Rundfunkorchester, Leonard Slatkin (conductor). RCA 68440

1997

• Béatrice et Bénédict (Berlioz). Catherine Robbin (Ursule), Gabriel Bacquier (Somarone), Gilles Cachemaille (Claudio), Jean-Luc Viala (Bénédict), Philippe Magnant (Léonato), Susan Graham (Béatrice), Sylvia McNair (Héro), Vincent le Texier (Don Pedro), Lyon Opera Orchestra and Chorus, John Nelson (conductor). MusiFrance 2292
• The Gold & Silver Gala Susan duets with Plácido Domingo in La Ci Darem La Mano. EMI Classics 56337
• Les nuits d'été and Opera Arias (Berlioz) Les nuits d'été Op. 7 and songs from La Damnation De Faust Op. 24, Benvenuto Cellini, Les Troyens, Béatrice et Bénédict. Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, John Nelson (conductor) Sony 62730

1998

• La Belle Époque – The Songs of Reynaldo Hahn (Hahn) Roger Vignoles (piano) Sony. Awards: Winner of Performance Today "Critic's Choice" Award; the 1999 Caecilia Prize; Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik critic's award; Choc du Monde de la Musique; Opera International's Timbre de Platine. Sony 60168
• Ravel: Shéhérazade, Debussy La damoiselle élue, Britten Les illuminations. Sylvia McNair, Susan Graham, Boston Symphony Orchestra Seiji Ozawa. Philips 446682. (Susan sings on La damoiselle elue.)

2000

• Strauss: Der Rosenkavalier Act 1 - closing scene; Act 3 - Trio and finale; Arabella Act 1 duet; Capriccio - closing scene. Renée Fleming (Marschallin), Barbara Bonney, Susan Graham (Octavian), Vienna PO, Christoph Eschenbach (conductor) Decca 466 314-2^[27]
• Songs of Ned Rorem (Rorem) Malcolm Martineau (piano) Rorem's settings of poems by Paul Goodman, Theodore Roethke, Witter Bynner, Tennyson, Walt Whitman and others. Erato 80222^[28][29]
• Alcina (Handel) Renée Fleming, Susan Graham, Natalie Dessay, Kathleen Kuhlmann, Timothy Robinson, Laurent Naouri, Juanita Lascarro, Michael Loughlin-Smith, Maurizio Rossano, Laurent Collobert, Eric Demarteau, Les Arts Florissants, William Christie (conductor). Erato 80233^[30]
• Berlioz: L'enfance du Christ; Three Irlande songs; Sara la baigneuse Susan Graham, François Le Roux, John Mark Ainsley, Montreal SO and Chorus, Dutoit. Decca^[31]

2001

• Il tenero momento (Mozart and Gluck). Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Harry Bicket (conductor) Erato Best Recital Disc in 2001 (The Gramophone), German Echo Klassik award, Prix Gabriel Fauré and the Grand Prix (Académie du disque)^[32]

2002

• Dead Man Walking (Heggie) Susan Graham, Catherine Cook, Robert Orth, Frederica von Stade, Nicolle Foland, David Harper, San Francisco Opera Orchestra, Patrick Summers (conductor). Erato 86238-2^[33]
• C'est ça la vie, c'est ça l'amour (Songs by Moïse Simons, Messager, Maurice Yvain, Honegger, Hahn, and Mahler) City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Yves Abel (conductor). Erato 42106

2003

• At Carnegie Hall (Songs by Brahms, Debussy, Berg, Poulenc, Messager, Moïse Simons, Hahn, Mahler, and Ben Moore.) Malcolm Martineau (piano) Erato 2564 60295-2^[34][35][36]

2004

• Concord Sonata - Songs (Ives) 2005 Grammy Award for Best Classical Vocal Performance. Pierre-Laurent Aimard (piano), Emmanuel Pahud (flute), Tabea Zimmermann (viola). Warner Classics 2564 60297-2^{[37][38][39][40]}
• Vanessa (Barber). Susan Graham (Erika), Christine Brewer (Vanessa), William Burden (Anatol), Michael Davis, Neal Davies (The Old Doctor), Catherine Wyn-Rogers (Old Baroness), Simon Birchall (Nicholas), Stephen Charlesworth (Footman), BBC Singers (Servants, Guests, Peasants), Anthony Legge (conductor), BBC Symphony Orchestra, Leonard Slatkin (conductor). Chandos CHSA 5032^[41]
• Les Troyens (Berlioz) — DVD. Susan Graham (Didon), Gregory Kunde (Énée), Laurent Naouri (Narbal), Lydia Korniordou (Andromaque), Mark Padmore (Iopas), Topi Lehtipuu (Hylas/Hélénus), Fernand Bernardi (Ghost of Hector), Danielle Bouthillon (Hécube), Nicolas Courjal (Trojan Guard), Benjamin Davies (Trojan soldier), Frances Jellard (Polyxène), Anna Caterina Antonacci (Cassandre), Ludovic Tézier (Chorèbe), Renata Pokupić (Anna), Quentin Gac (Astyanax), Stéphanie d'Oustrac (Ascagne), Nicolas Testé (Panthée), René Schirrer (Priam), Laurent Alvaro (Trojan Guard), Robert Davies (Greek Captain), Simon Davies (Priest of Pluto), Monteverdi Choir, Chœur du Théâtre du Châtelet, Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique, John Eliot Gardiner (conductor). Opus Arte OA 0900 D
• Dido and Aeneas (Purcell) Susan Graham (Dido), Ian Bostridge (Aeneas), Camilla Tilling (Belinda), Felicity Palmer (Sorceress), David Daniels (Spirit), Cécile de Boever (Second Woman), Paul Agnew (A Sailor), Emmanuelle Haïm (conductor), European Voices, Le Concert d'Astrée. Virgin Veritas 45605. Grammy Award nomination. Maria Callas award from the Académie du Disque Lyrique^[42][43]

2005

• Poèmes de l'amour — Chausson Poeme de l'amour et de la mer; Ravel Sheherazade; Debussy orch. Adams Songs from Le Livre De Baudelaire BBC Symphony Orchestra, Yan Pascal Tortelier Warner Classics 2564 619382 (CD)^[44][45]
• Sacred Songs Renée Fleming (soprano), London Voices, RPO/Delfs. Decca 475 6925. Susan sings a duet with Renée in "Abends will ich schlafen gehn" from Engelbert Humperdinck's Hänsel und Gretel.^[46]

2006

• La clemenza di Tito (Mozart). Christoph Prégardien (Tito), Susan Graham (Sesto), Catherine Naglestad (Vitellia), Ekaterina Siurina (Servillia), Hannah Esther Minutillo (Annio), Roland Bracht (Publio). Opus Arte OA 0942 DVD
• Werther (Massenet) — DVD Thomas Hampson (Werther), Susan Graham (Charlotte), Sandrine Piau, Stephane Degout (Albert), Michel Plasson (conductor), Chatelet Opera, Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse. Virgin Classics

2008

• Berlioz Symphonie fantastique, Op. 14, La mort de Cléopâtre Berliner Philharmoniker, Sir Simon Rattle EMI 2162240^[47][48]
• Un Frisson Français: A Century of French Song Songs by Georges Bizet, César Franck, Édouard Lalo, Charles Gounod, Camille Saint-Saëns, Emmanuel Chabrier, Émile Paladilhe, Ernest Chausson, Alfred Bachelet, Henri Duparc, Maurice Ravel, André Caplet, Albert Roussel, Olivier Messiaen, Claude Debussy, Gabriel Fauré, Reynaldo Hahn, Erik Satie, Arthur Honegger, Joseph Canteloube, Manuel Rosenthal, and Francis Poulenc. Malcolm Martineau (piano) Onyx Classics ONYX4030