Renée Fleming

Renée Lynn Fleming born February 14 1959 is an American soprano known for performances in opera concerts recordings theater film and at major public occasions A recipient of the National Medal of Arts Fleming has been nominated for 18 Grammy Awards and has won five times In June 2023 the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts announced that Fleming would be one of the five artists recognized at the 2023 Kennedy Center Honors which she received in December 2023 Other notable honors won by Fleming have included the Crystal Award from the World Economic Forum in Davos the Chevalier de la Légion dHonneur from the French government Germanys Cross of the Order of Merit Swedens Polar Music Prize and honorary membership in Englands Royal Academy of Music Unusual among artists whose careers began in opera Fleming has achieved name recognition beyond the classical music world In May 2023 Fleming was appointed by the World Health Organization as a Goodwill Ambassador for Arts and Health On April 9 2024 Penguin Random House published Flemings anthology Music and Mind Harnessing the Arts for Health and Wellness a collection of essays about the health benefits of music and the arts by scientists from leading research institutions practitioners educators arts leaders musicians artists and writers Fleming has a full lyric soprano voice She has performed coloratura lyric and lighter spinto soprano operatic roles in Italian German French Czech and Russian aside from her native English A significant portion of her career has been the performance of new music including world premieres of operas concert pieces and songs composed for her by André Previn Caroline Shaw Kevin Puts Anders Hillborg Nico Muhly Henri Dutilleux Brad Mehldau and Wayne Shorter In 2008 Fleming became the first woman in the 125year history of the Metropolitan Opera to solo headline a season opening night gala 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 Beyond opera Fleming has sung and recorded lieder chansons jazz musical theatre and indie rock and she has performed with a wide range of artists including Luciano Pavarotti Lou Reed Wynton Marsalis Paul Simon Andrea Bocelli Sting and John Prine A 2018 Tony Award nominee Fleming has acted on Broadway and in theatrical productions in London Los Angeles and Chicago Fleming has also recorded songs for the soundtracks of several major films two of which won the Academy Award for Best Picture The Shape of Water and The Lord of the Rings Return of the King Fleming has made numerous television appearances and she is the only classical singer to have performed the US National Anthem at the Super Bowl Fleming has also become a frequent public speaker about the impact of music on health and neuroscience winning a ResearchAmerica Award for her advocacy in this field Fleming was born on February 14 1959 in Indiana Pennsylvania the daughter of two music teachers and grew up in Churchville New York She has greatgrandparents who were born in Prague and later emigrated to the US Fleming attended ChurchvilleChili High School Source Article Renée Fleming from Wikipedia in English licensed under CCBYSA 30