Photo Flash: LIVING ON LOVE's Renee Fleming Honored with Cross of the Order of Merit

American soprano Renée Fleming has been awarded the Cross of the Order of Merit by President of the Federal Republic of Germany Joachim Gauck, for her "outstanding work in German-American relations." The award is the only federal decoration given by Germany. It was be presented at a private reception at the New York residence of the Consul General of the Federal Republic of Germany, Brita Wagener, last night, Thursday, March 12. Scroll down for photos!

At a White House ceremony in 2013, President Obama awarded Ms. Fleming the National Medal of Arts, America's highest honor for an individual artist. Among Fleming's other honors are four Grammy Awards, the Fulbright Lifetime Achievement Medal (2011); Sweden's Polar Prize (2008); the Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur from the French government (2005); Honorary Membership in the Royal Academy of Music (2003); and honorary doctorates from Carnegie Mellon University (2012), the Eastman School of Music (2011) and The Juilliard School (2003), where she was also commencement speaker.

Renée Fleming will make her Broadway debut next month in the new comedy, Living on Love, written by Joe DiPietro and directed by Kathleen Marshall. A regular performer in the world's leading opera houses and concert halls, Ms. Fleming's performance history in Germany goes back to her days as a student. Most recently, she sang at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin on November 9, 2014, in a public concert to mark the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Later that month she appeared in the title role of Strauss's Arabella at the Semperoper Dresden, and in concerts of Strauss lieder with the Dresden Staatskapelle under the baton of Christian Thielemann.

Said Fleming, "I am deeply grateful to receive this award from the Federal Republic of Germany. The German language and culture have been central to my life as an artist. As a student, I studied in Frankfurt on a Fulbright scholarship. Richard Strauss has been the most important composer on my core repertoire as a singer, and I have been privileged to perform in opera houses and concert halls in Dresden, Bayreuth, Munich and Berlin. I have enjoyed rewarding collaborations with German artists, like pianist Hartmut Holl, and maestros Christoph Eschenbach and Christian Thielemann. And some of my most treasured performing experiences have been in the performance of German lieder, a body of musical literature that I find incredibly rewarding. A culmination was performing Beethoven's Ninth Symphony last November at the Brandenburg Gate to commemorate the fall of the Berlin Wall. I look forward to continuing my friendship with the German people and culture for years to come."