Over the coming months, New Yorkers can revel in remarkably different facets of the artistry of Ren茅e Fleming.
The American soprano 鈥� who received the Kennedy Center Honor in 2023 for her career achievements 鈥� first arrives on February 14, when Fleming joins pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet, her longtime musical partner, on an Artist Spotlight recital that includes songs by Gabriel Faur茅, Reynaldo Hahn, Olivier Messiaen, Richard Strauss, and Alan Fletcher. In a recent phone conversation she explained how she constructs a recital program: 鈥淭here are many considerations, which create a sort of puzzle. I always consider both the pianist and the audience. Jean-Yves is such an amazing musician, and it鈥檚 always wonderful to work with him. Then I think about the balance of languages, keys, and perhaps thematic ideas. But sometimes it鈥檚 simply that the music is so beautiful and I love singing it.鈥�
Fleming will return to the New York Philharmonic again this spring to perform a work whose genesis she has been involved in for a decade. In 2015 the Eastman School of Music commissioned Kevin Puts (an alumnus) to compose something that would be performed by Fleming (an alumna) with the school鈥檚 orchestra. The result was a song cycle titled Letters from Georgia, which draws from letters painter and sculptor Georgia O鈥橩eeffe (1887鈥�1986) wrote to photographer Alfred Stieglitz (1864鈥�1946), whom she eventually married.
After the work鈥檚 premiere, Fleming suggested that Puts expand it to include
letters from Stieglitz to O鈥橩eeffe set to music for the baritone who would perform it. Thus was born The Brightness of Light (2019), which receives its New York premiere, May 16鈥�18, with baritone Rod Gilfry joining Fleming and the New York Philharmonic, conducted by Juanjo Mena.
According to Fleming, 鈥淎dding Alfred Stieglitz is an important change. This version tells the story of their lives together, and adds the emotional charge between them. The storytelling is also in the images gathered by Wendall K. Harrington that will be part of the performance. The piece is a compelling introduction to both her art and their lives. Their letters are so passionate and expressive, and they remind us what we鈥檝e lost by living in the world of email and texts. She outlived him by 40 years, and it becomes clear that her choice to live in the Southwest had a huge impact on her art.鈥�
Fleming has performed with the NY Phil a dozen times since her debut, conducted by Zubin Mehta, in 1996. The musical selections have ranged widely, from Mozart to Bj枚rk, reflecting the soprano鈥檚 artistic curiosity. 鈥淚 have sung Richard Strauss鈥檚 Four Last Songs far more than anything else in my repertoire. Ideally, it changes with each conductor, and I like that, actually. With the New York Philharmonic I performed them with Kurt Masur in 1997 and Alan Gilbert two decades later in 2017.鈥�
The soprano managed to make these appearances despite her career as an opera singer, combining iconic roles in Mozart, Verdi, and Richard Strauss with works specifically composed for her (Andr茅 Previn鈥檚 A Streetcar Named Desire and The Hours by Kevin Puts). Last year she and longtime colleague Thomas Hampson triumphed as Pat and Richard Nixon in John Adams鈥檚 Nixon in China at the Paris Op茅ra.
Away from grand concert stages, Ren茅e Fleming has long been committed to exploring how music and the brain connect, whether reaching places that language and personal memory cannot, or delving into music鈥檚 ability to alleviate pain from disease or emotional distress. Fleming was the editor of Music and Mind: Harnessing the Arts for Health and Wellness (published in 2024), for which she gathered important and fascinating essays by scientists, musicians, novelists, and physicians.
She said: 鈥淚 am a consultant for the Kennedy Center and when I met Dr. Francis Collins, then director of the National Institutes of Health, I asked him if the Kennedy Center could become a platform to share the research about the arts and health with the public. I am passionate about this growing field, and what it could mean for society and healthcare. I am devoting a lot of time and effort now to funding pilot grants for young scientists and artists working together, as well as upcoming fellowships in a public-private partnership with the Foundation for the NIH. Creativity is an essential attribute of both artists and scientists.鈥�
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