Renée Fleming, soprano
Howard Watkins, piano

Radiant soprano Renée Fleming graces Berkeley with her star power once again, lending her warmth and sensitivity to a recital program of songs and arias in several languages. Fleming’s shimmering, lustrous voice is the stuff of legends. Affectionately coined “America’s Diva,” only she can claim to have sung at the Super Bowl, on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, at a Nobel Peace Prize ceremony, and at a Presidential inauguration, in addition to all the world’s major opera houses—not to mention boasting five Grammy wins, an indie rock album, and a Tony Award-nominated Broadway appearance. Beyond the opera stage, Fleming’s artistic curiosity has led her to follow her creativity in countless directions, pursuing fascinating projects, collaborations, commissions, and—luckily for us—more of her rare and special recital appearances. In December, she was among the artists celebrated at the 46th Kennedy Center Honors for lifetime artistic achievement.

A highlight of the concert will be an original film created by the National Geographic Society to reflect the live musical selections on the first half of the program. This multimedia piece, in which Fleming will sing music from Handel to The Lord of the Rings, is inspired by Fleming’s Grammy Award-winning album Voice of Nature: the Anthropocene, addressing our complicated relationship with nature. Classical songs by Fauré and Grieg continue the theme of nature, seen through the eyes of the Romantic poets, and the recital concludes with a few beloved audience favorites by Puccini, Jerome Kern, and Andrew Lippa.

Run time for this performance is approximately 1 hour 30 minutes including intermission.