(Decca Records / Released – 2023)
By Scott Gudell
When you’ve perfected one art form like Ms. Fleming has done in the world of opera, you may eventually reach out and flirt with other genres. Fleming has done just that through the years. As she previously revealed, Fleming was originally “trained as a jazz singer” and, later, recorded and released discs focused on Broadway, crossover pop and rock, Sacred and Christmas songs and even contributed to the soundtracks of the Lord of the Rings and The Shape of Water. And, yes, that was Fleming singing the Star Spangled Banner at Super Bowl XLVIII. But opera has always been her first true love. Fleming’s nomination for a 2023 Grammy Award for Best Classical Solo Vocal Album won its category (adding another Grammy to her prestigious collection.)
Long recognized as one of the definitive soprano opera singers of our generation, Ms. Renee Fleming, (*a ‘charter inductee of the Rochester Music Hall of Fame’) has presented music accompanied by full, lush operas at major venues to more intimate recitals all over the world. As for her voice, critics have acknowledged its “fullness, warmth and creamy tone.” Maybe because she was raised in New York State, she keeps coming back to one of the definitive opera stages on the planet, The New York Metropolitan Opera, a venue she first appeared at in the early 1990s. In all likelihood, she now has a key to the front door since she’s appeared there over two hundred and fifty times – and counting – as of 2023. Passionate opera fans will debate the ‘best’ opera house but, according to Fleming, the Met is “the pinnacle of all opera houses.”
Her 2023 release is a double CD offering numerous handpicked live highlights from nearly twenty operas as captured since her first leading role all those years ago. As the record company press release confirms, these discs offer a “chronological order of her roles at the house, allowing listeners to experience the development of Fleming as an artist over three decades, featuring music from 19 productions and gala concerts, and featuring duets with the likes of Cecilia Bartoli, Susan Graham, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Samuel Ramey and Bryn Terfel.”
So you have your choice of various Fleming collections: Met Opera highlights, stunning selections of Bel Canto songs, an album such as Dark Hope packed with edgier rock cuts (complimented by an edgy black and white cover) and so much more. Opera is and always will be at the top of her list. But there is so much more to choose from.
*The Rochester Music Hall of Fame announced an initial ‘charter inductees’ slate of over twenty people in 2011 with the goal of honoring them at future in-person ceremonies every spring at the Eastman Theatre.