Concert with Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Lyric Opera of Chicago, January 2012
Chicago Tribune | January 9, 2012
[Lyric] brought the two mega-singers together for what was billed as a "subscriber appreciation concert" Saturday night at the Civic Opera House. ... The American soprano (Lyric's creative consultant) and the Siberian baritone are among the very few opera stars with the glamour, artistic stature and drawing power to sell out such an event. Sure enough, the auditorium was packed for the concert, which showcased Fleming and Hvorostovsky in a program of favorite duets and arias, accompanied by the Lyric Opera Orchestra under its music director, Andrew Davis.
Fleming modeled a succession of gorgeous Douglas Hannant creations, the first a pale green gown with voluminous cape, the second a gauzy symphony of brown and black. Not to be outdone on the fashion front, her partner variously sported a long tuxedo jacket with sequined lapels and a rakish black-shirt-and-black-trousers outfit.
Although not known as regular collaborators, Fleming and Hvorostovsky recorded some of this repertory for a Decca DVD, "A Musical Odyssey in St. Petersburg," which was released last year. On the video, as well as at Saturday's concert, they clearly made a comfortable and congenial duo, their voices blending beautifully, playing off one other with an emotional intensity that seemed as natural as their vocalism.
Both the father-daughter duet from Act 1 of Verdi's "Simon Boccanegra" and the Leonora-Di Luna duet from the final act of that composer's "Il Trovatore" were cases in point. There was mounting excitement, followed by tenderness, in the scene where Hvorostovsky as the eponymous corsair-turned-doge recognizes Amelia as his long-lost daughter. Both singers brought abundant verbal and musical nuance to this father-daughter scene, just as they nailed the tense confrontation between Fleming's desperate Leonora and Hvorostovsky’s vengeful count....
Between them, the singers generated considerable sizzle in the final scene [of Tchaikovsky's "Eugene Onegin"], in which the tormented Onegin regrets his callous youthful behavior toward Tatiana and urges her to flee with him. She admits she still loves him but tells him that, since she is now married, with a position in society, she will not forsake her responsibility. They nailed the scene with unforgettable vocal and emotional impact, making it the highlight of the program....
Each artist [also] got to sing two arias on his or her own. Fleming sang the lyric-soprano chestnut, "Io son l'umile ancella," from Cilea's "Adriana Lecouvreur," with melting legato and dreamy delicacy of phrasing. She also got to present the single novelty of the evening, "Give Me Some Music," from Samuel Barber's "Antony and Cleopatra," which Lyric staged in 1991. The expressive, darkly alluring sound she brought to Cleopatra's scena made one eager to hear her in the full opera; Lyric should consider reviving its production for her.
The event ended with an encore — Fleming and Hvorostovsky singing and dancing their way into the audience's hearts (as if they hadn't already) in Lehar's "Merry Widow" waltz.
-John von Rhein
Four Last Songs, Royal Festival Hall, December 2011
The Financial Times | December 16, 2011
[Fleming’s singing] floats on ... an effortless stream of warm and beautiful tone. Fleming was made for these Strauss songs, and they for her. In this performance the music was presented as high German romanticism. The conductor was Christoph Eschenbach, with whom Fleming has often sung (and recorded) the songs. He favours a very full texture from the orchestra, so it is fortunate that Fleming’s voice has more richness lower down than some others of its kind, and Strauss’s accompaniments surged in waves of sound. Like a Wagnerian threnody, the last song faded away slowly and grandly, as if looking out over a majestic landscape of autumnal bronze and deep red. For an encore, Fleming and Eschenbach offered Strauss’s “Waldseligkeit” – more quietly rapturous singing, more lush, woodland poetry from the orchestra.
-Richard Fairman
The Independent | December 15, 2011
No one makes an entrance or wears a frock quite like Fleming: she is in every sense a star turn - and if you've got it (and she has, in spades), flaunt it, I say. She certainly flaunted the Strauss.
-Edward Seckerson
Love Letters with Alec Baldwin, Carnegie Hall, November 2011
The Huffington Post | December 14, 2011
Sometimes theater thrives on the simplest pleasures. A couple actors on a bare stage. This was the case at the last event for Carnegie Hall's young donor group, the Notables. Of course, it helps when those two actors are Alec Baldwin and Renee Fleming who both exude an effortless charm (even when they're on book) that buoys A.R. Gurney's charming play of a lifelong friendship told through a series of letters. It's refreshingly old-fashioned, and perfectly suited to a reading.
-Chris Kompanek
Page 1 of 11 | Next
Watch
Renée Fleming - Endlessly
Watch the music video for “Endlessly”, featuring actor Matthew Modine and director Abel Ferrara (“Bad Lieutenant”), as well as Renée’s daughters, Amelia and Sage, and her sister Rachelle. Directed by David Hausen. © 2010 Decca Label Group
Dark Hope Trailer
Renée Fleming's new album Dark Hope, which the opera star describes as a "visit to a new, parallel universe," now available on iTunes and Amazon.
Read
THE INNER VOICE
The Making of a singer
The Inner Voice traces Renée Fleming’s path to maturity and success as an artist, from her youth as the child of two singing teachers through her years at Julliard, from her struggles to establish her career to her international success. Her articulate and candid book is the most revelatory examination yet of a performing life, of the crucial roles played by a solid education and supportive mentors, of the importance of discipline and a well-established technique, of confronting the challenges of stress and self-doubt, of the myriad details that must be mastered in creating a vivid operatic character or interpreting a song, of the practical necessity of having a firm understanding of how business functions, and of learning to balance personal and professional fulfillment.
