Opera star Renée Fleming to sing, and speak, in Tampa

Lyric soprano Renée Fleming is one of the most recognized and applauded singers in contemporary opera. The six-time Grammy winner brings the same rich, velvet quality and supple warmth to every performance, whether it’s one of the grandest of operas – she’s sung all the lead roles, the world over – or Broadway ballads, or songs by Leonard Cohen, Jefferson Airplane or Bjork.

Fleming is a class act, and has been recognized as such since she made her first recording in 1992. President Barack Obama awarded her the National Medal of Arts in 2012.

Fleming will be in recital Jan. 14 in Ferguson Hall, part of Tampa’s Straz Center complex, with song selection from classical to contemporary. Her show is called Voice of Nature – The Anthropocene, and she tells us all about it in this Catalyst interview. Tickets are at this link.

She plans to be in the area a few days, however, and on the 13^th – the day before the concert – she’ll host a discussion program inside the Straz Center’s TECO Theatre.

Fleming, a passionate believer in, and advocate for the nascent science of neuroarts, will speak and participate in a panel discussion on the subject, alongside:

Fred Johnson, the Straz Center’s Community Engagement Specialist and Artist in Residence; Heather Spooner MA, ATR-BC, Board Certified Art Therapist, Malcom Randall Veterans Affairs Medical Center; and Karen Alexander, MPA , Director of Outreach and Education for the International Arts + Mind Lab Center for Applied Neuroaesthetics (IAM Lab) at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

The Dec. 13 event is free; find more information here.

St. Pete Catalyst: Tell me about it your concert in Tampa, Voice of Nature – the Anthropocene.

Renée Fleming: It’s based on an album I recorded with Yannick Nezet-Seguin during the pandemic, that won a Grammy. It was really a look at the effect we’ve had on nature – and comparing the repertoire from the late 19^th century with today. You know, all the great song literature that we love, from these great composers starting with Schubert, that reads the human condition through the lens of nature.

And then it changed, you know? It went completely the other direction and went to modern day. The Anthropocene is the effect that humans have had on the environment, and on the planet, which has not been very positive.

So the album compares those two things. And I said OK, let’s take it on the road. I perform it with piano or orchestra, either one. I chose repertoire that would work either way.

I was lucky to meet someone who introduced me to the head of National Geographic. So. We added media to this tour; he said ‘you’re an influencer, and we’ll make your films.’ So it has a visual element that is just obvious. I mean, the audience gets it immediately.

Can you explain what neuroArts is?

Once I met Susan Magsamen, who invented the field of neuroarts, I was so completely impressed with her vision that I joined forces with her. Through scientific studies, we’re understand more and more how artistic experiences really increase and really confirm our physical well-being, our ability to flourish, childhood development, aging, diseases of aging … it has a very positive experience on our health. And so that’s kind of what I’ve been focused on.

I wanted to bring more of it to the public. And I was inspired by David Rubenstein’s anthologies – he’s created several, based on his interviews for his TV show.

Unfortunately, I didn’t really know what I was getting into. And these things are always much more work than you think! So it was hugely time-consuming, but we did get it done. And I’m really proud. It was worth it.

You’ve always been a champion of new works, new composers. Nixon in China, The Hours, The Brightness of Light, on and on. Is lending your name to them a way to bring them more attention?

Well, I do it because it’s my taste. I enjoy them. Nixon in China was written a long time ago, but I’ve loved performing it. On the other hand The Hours, by Kevin Puts, I really did champion that piece. Which helped it get produced at the Met.

Is that what happens? ‘If Renee Fleming is going to sing, we’ll throw some money at it and people will know about it’?

Yeah, it doesn’t hurt. It doesn’t hurt. And it’s an absolute joy doing it.

I imagine there’s something of a spark there for you, as opposed to singing Verdi and Puccini and Cosi fan tutte again and again.

A lot of people prefer singing roles that they’ve done before, but I don’t. I’m not a repeater. It’s just what I enjoy.

The discussion goes on about the importance of bringing younger audience members, a new generation, to opera. You’re now “Artist Development Advisor” for Wolf Trap Opera. Why is it important to you to nurture the next generation of singers?

It certainly helped me. My first book was called The Inner Voice, and one theme throughout the whole book was mentorship. It talked about the great singers who mentored me, like Beverly Sills and Leontyne Price and Marilyn Horne. So it was kind of, I think expected that if you made it, you would lift the next generation.

First of all, they admire people who have succeeded, so it gets their attention. More importantly, they want to learn. And it’s an extremely competitive field. So they really have to be great.

One of the things I tell young singers when I travel and do classes is I say, ‘Double major.’ There’s no guarantee you’re gonna make it, and you need to have a backup plan.

You mean “Go into business … just in case?”

Yeah, absolutely. Or my favorite, “Become a creative arts therapist.”

What’s next on the schedule for you?

Well, I’m touring this program for a while longer, then I have Nixon in China in Paris for two months, then I tour again. It’s just, you know, more of the same.

Do you keep one ear open all the time for that new composer who’s going to turn your world upside down?

I’m curious, you know? I like to stay connected, but I’m not looking for work at this point.