Lyric Opera 2018-2019 Issue 10A Renee Fleming Gala

L Y R I C O P E R A O F C H I C A G O March 23, 2019 | 19 If you treasure great singing, you remember the first time you heard Renée Fleming. For many listeners throughout America, the moment came on PBS in her first major television appearance, performing for the 1990 Richard Tucker Foundation Gala. e aria she sang on that occasion was her favorite and it became her signature – Rusalka’s “Song to the Moon.” e impression she made with it was heartstopping. ere was, first of all, an utterly individual, warmly enveloping lyric voice, with a quality that the late Sir Georg Solti would later describe as “triple cream.” Whether soothing the ear in the middle register or sailing above the staff with enviable ease and shine, the singing created an instant, unmistakable thrill. But what grabbed the listener as much as the sound itself was the ineffable elegance with which Renée shaped each phrase, as well as the honesty with which she revealed the longing of Dvořák’s lovelorn water nymph. Added to all that was an ultra-feminine, innately gracious pres- ence. It was a magical introduction to a profoundly gifted artist who showed at every moment a natural instinct for direct, moving communication. Of course, important opera compa- nies immediately took note. When Renée arrived at Lyric in 1993, she had already been hailed at the Met the Opéra National de Paris, La Scala, and Pesaro’s Rossini Opera Festival (where her assumption of Armida’ s formidable title role made an incendiary impact). at first Lyric appear- ance initiated a series of starring roles with the company that represents a magnificent record of artistic achievement, as well as a source of great joy for our audience. Renée’s “calling card” in many houses had been Countess Almaviva in e Marriage of Figaro , but her Lyric debut came in a very different role, Carlisle Floyd’s Susannah. is would be a memorable harbinger of the vital atten- tion Renée has paid to American reper- toire during her career ever since, whether in opera, concerts, recitals, or recordings. Having become, in effect, a citizen of the world, she nonetheless remains an American artist through and through. e American public regards her as an exemplar of the very best that this country has to offer. When President Obama awarded her the National Medal of Arts in 2013, he was, in effect, recognizing that she had truly become America’s voice. Following Susannah , Renée would return for nine other roles that have suited her ideally, from her anguished Marguerite in Faust (1995/96) to her irrepressible Hanna Glawari, a.k.a. the Merry Widow (2016/17). In between have been Countess Almaviva, Desdemona, Alcina, aïs, Violetta, Blanche DuBois, and Countess Madeleine. To every portrayal Renée has brought boundless interpretive imagina- tion, enlivening these heroines in ways that make them uniquely hers. While invariably creating detailed, thoroughly persuasive physical characterizations, Renée also has exhibited a stylistic versatility that has become legendary, mastering everything from Baroque filigree to romantic French legato, Viennese operetta sparkle, and haunting contemporary American lyricism. And, of course, in all these roles the voice has done absolutely everything she has asked of it. Whether dispatching Alcina’s trills, aïs’s pianissimos, or Desdemona’s passionately arching phrases, she has repeatedly left listeners awestruck. It’s always been clear, both in rehearsal and performance, that Renée is a team player. She loves nothing more than the chance to respond in depth to her partners’ musicality and interpretive ability. Colleagues crave any chance to collaborate with her, because they know her gifts as a musician, actress, and human being will inevitably bring out the best in them. It’s been exciting to witness the relationships Renée has created in Lyric performances – for example, in productions led by Sir Andrew Davis with Samuel Ramey, Matthew Polenzani, and omas Hampson, and in concerts with Maestro Davis, Susan Graham, Jonas Kaufmann, and the late Dmitri Hvorostovsky. is career has been an extraordinary journey for the girl who grew up in upstate New York, the daughter of two music teachers. ere were the years at the State University of New York at Potsdam and the Eastman School of Music, a peri- od of being torn between the worlds of classical music and jazz (Renée has always been totally comfortable in both). ere was a revelatory period spent in Germany on a Fulbright grant, and several years of performing regionally and slowly develop- Renée Fleming debuted at Lyric Opera of Chicago in the title role of Floyd’s Susannah (1993) and reprised the role at the Metropolitan Opera (1999, pictured here). America’s Voice: A Tribute to Renée Fleming By Roger Pines CHRISTIAN STEINER/MET OPERA