Renée Fleming Opens Columbus Symphony 2021-22 Season

One of the most beloved and celebrated singers of our time, soprano Renée Fleming is renowned for her sumptuous voice, consummate artistry, and compelling stage presence. Awarded America's highest honor for an individual artist, the National Medal of Arts, as well as four Grammy awards, she brings her highly acclaimed voice to Columbus for a one-night-only, not-to-be-missed performance, kicking off the Columbus Symphony's 2021-22 Masterworks season in grand style.

The Columbus Symphony presents Renée Fleming at the Ohio Theatre (39 E. State St.) on Saturday, September 25, at 7:30 pm. Tickets are $79-$210 and can be purchased in-person at the CBUSArts Ticket Center (39 E. State St.), online at www.columbussymphony.com, or by phone at (614) 469-0939.

One of the most highly acclaimed singers of our time, Renée Fleming has been honored with four Grammy awards and the US National Medal of Arts and sung for momentous occasions from the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony to the Diamond Jubilee Concert for Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace. In 2014, she brought her voice to a vast new audience as the first classical artist ever to sing "The Star-Spangled Banner" at the Super Bowl. In 2008, Fleming was the first woman in the 125-year history of the Metropolitan Opera to solo headline an opening-night gala.

Known for bringing new audiences to classical music and opera, Fleming has starred in and hosted an array of television and radio broadcasts, including "The Met: Live in HD" and "Live from Lincoln Center." Her voice is featured on the soundtracks of Best Picture Oscar winners The Shape of Water and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. This 17-time Grammy-nominated artist has recorded everything from complete operas and song recitals to jazz and indie rock. During the pandemic, Fleming's performances on digital platforms have included streamed online concerts for the Metropolitan Opera, the Kennedy Center, Lyric Opera of Chicago, LA Opera, and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.

In 2020, Fleming launched "Music and Mind LIVE," a weekly online interview show exploring the intersection of music and arts with human health and the brain. In 19 episodes, the show amassed more than 650,000 views from 70 countries. Fleming was inspired to launch the series by the Sound Health initiative she leads as artistic advisor to The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in partnership with the NIH and the NEA. She has given presentations with scientists and practitioners on the connection of arts and health around the world and is a leading advocate for research in this field, winning the 2020 Rosenfeld Award for Impact on Public Opinion.

In addition to her work with the Kennedy Center, Fleming leads SongStudio at Carnegie Hall, an intensive program for young singers and pianists dedicated to the art of the song. She is co-director of the Aspen Opera Center and VocalArts at the Aspen Music Festival.

In 2019, Fleming appeared opposite Ben Whishaw in Norma Jean Baker of Troy to open The Shed in New York City. Later that year, she performed world premieres by André Previn and Kevin Puts with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and the London premiere of The Light in the Piazza, bringing the acclaimed production to Los Angeles and Chicago in the autumn. Fleming earned a Tony Award nomination for her performance in the 2018 Broadway production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Carousel.

Fleming's book, The Inner Voice, was published by Viking Penguin in 2004, and is now in its 16th printing. It is also published in France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, Poland, Russia, and China.

Fleming's other awards include the Fulbright Lifetime Achievement Medal, Germany's Cross of the Order of Merit, Sweden's Polar Music Prize, France's Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur, and honorary doctorates from Yale, Northwestern, Harvard, Duke, and Carnegie Mellon Universities, and the University of Pennsylvania, the Eastman School of Music, and The Juilliard School.

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