Renée Fleming

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Lore & Background

Fleming was born in Indiana, Pennsylvania, to two music teachers and grew up in Churchville, New York. She earned a Bachelor of Music Education from SUNY Potsdam in 1981 and a Master of Music from the Eastman School of Music in 1983. While a student, she sang with a jazz trio and turned down an invitation to tour with Illinois Jacquet's big band. She won a Fulbright Scholarship in 1985, studying in Europe with Arleen Augér and Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, and later graduated from Juilliard with an Artist Diploma in 1986. Her major break came in 1988 when she won the Met Auditions at age 29. She made her Metropolitan Opera debut in 1991 as Countess Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro, stepping in for an ill Felicity Lott. In 2008, she became the first woman in the Met's 125-year history 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.'

Reader's Guide

Renée Fleming's significance lies in her ability to bridge the classical and popular worlds while maintaining a distinguished operatic career. She has performed a full lyric soprano repertoire in multiple languages and championed new music, including world premieres by composers such as André Previn, Caroline Shaw, and Wayne Shorter. Beyond opera, she has sung lieder, jazz, musical theatre, and indie rock, collaborating with artists like Luciano Pavarotti, Lou Reed, and Sting. She is the only classical singer to have performed the US National Anthem at the Super Bowl and has recorded for Oscar-winning film soundtracks. In 2018, she was a Tony Award nominee for her Broadway acting. Fleming is also a prominent advocate for the impact of music and the arts on health and neuroscience. In May 2023, she was appointed a World Health Organization Goodwill Ambassador for Arts and Health, and in 2024 she launched the Renée Fleming Neuroarts Investigator Awards. Her anthology 'Music and Mind' was published in April 2024. In July 2025, she made her directing debut with Mozart's Così fan tutte at the Aspen Music Festival and School.

Did You Know?

• Fleming turned down an invitation to tour with jazz saxophonist Illinois Jacquet's big band to continue graduate studies.
• She won the Met Auditions at age 29 in 1988, which was her major break.
• In 2008, she became the first woman in the Metropolitan Opera's 125-year history to solo headline a season opening night gala.
• She is the only classical singer to have performed the US National Anthem at the Super Bowl.
• Fleming made her directing debut in July 2025 with Mozart's Così fan tutte at the Aspen Music Festival and School.