# Renée Fleming



## Clouds Weep Snowflakes

I have her recording of R. Strauss's "four last songs" and a few other performances of her on a CD, and I must say I find her voice to be amazing! I usually think of Classical music to be European, I'm surprised there are Classical musicians in the US! What other works by her should I get? What other pieces of music I'll like if I like this one? And what do you think about her?


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## philoctetes

Clouds Weep Snowflakes said:


> I have her recording of R. Strauss's "four last songs" and a few other performances of her on a CD, and I must say I find her voice to be amazing! I usually think of Classical music to be European, I'm surprised there are Classical musicians in the US! What other works by her should I get? What other pieces of music I'll like if I like this one? And what do you think about her?


Joyce DeDonato is from Kansas. Lorraine Hunt was from California. Anna Moffo from Pennsylvania. America has produced a lot of great singers.


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## Clouds Weep Snowflakes

philoctetes said:


> Joyce DeDonato is from Kansas. Lorraine Hunt was from California. Anna Moffo from Pennsylvania. America has produced a lot of great singers.


How strong is the Classical scene in the US? Any more info on Fleming?


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## philoctetes

Clouds Weep Snowflakes said:


> How strong is the Classical scene in the US? Any more info on Fleming?


Depends on where you look. Chamber music groups tour through even the backwoods of California. Recitalists, like Fleming and DeDonato fill up calendars in SF and Berkeley. But many people judge by the success of urban orchestras, which is not really a fair measure IMO.

There is nothing I can say about Fleming that can't be found online, except that her recital here is one of the few CM events that ever sold out at Weill Hall. Even Yuja Wang played to a few empty seats, and Les Arts Florisants had a half-packed house.

Unfortunately, the allure for CM performers to play at Weill Hall as a venue has not been matched by the rather country-billy type audiences that live around here.


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## Clouds Weep Snowflakes

philoctetes said:


> Depends on where you look. Chamber music groups tour through even the backwoods of California. Recitalists, like Fleming and DeDonato fill up calendars in SF and Berkeley. But many people judge by the success of urban orchestras, which is not really a fair measure IMO.
> 
> There is nothing I can say about Fleming that can't be found online, except that her recital here is one of the few CM events that ever sold out at Weill Hall. Even *Yuja Wang* played to a few empty seats, and Les Arts Florisants had a half-packed house.
> 
> Unfortunately, the allure for CM performers to play at Weill Hall as a venue has not been matched by the rather country-billy type audiences that live around here.


I recently got a CD of her performing Ravel, I was surprised Chinese are into Classical music, isn't Classics usually attributed to Europe? I'm ethnically Jewish, if that counts...


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## philoctetes

Clouds Weep Snowflakes said:


> I recently got a CD of her performing Ravel, I was surprised Chinese are into Classical music, isn't Classics usually attributed to Europe? I'm ethnically Jewish, if that counts...


Don't get out much, huh?


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## Clouds Weep Snowflakes

philoctetes said:


> Don't get out much, huh?


What do you mean?


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## Guest

Clouds Weep Snowflakes said:


> How strong is the Classical scene in the US?


Not very strong. They're still fighting the ****** so there's not much time for anything else.


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## EddieRUKiddingVarese

I don't know, Snowflakes, but how popular is Renee in Melbourne? Is she as popular as anime?


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## samm

Clouds Weep Snowflakes said:


> What do you mean?


Don't you think it's a bit odd to be surprised that the Chinese are into classical music? Have you seen the number of Chinese violin and piano students? Or the number of professional musicians?

Is this real naivety or a game?


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## Clouds Weep Snowflakes

samm said:


> Don't you think it's a bit odd to be surprised that the Chinese are into classical music? Have you seen the number of Chinese violin and piano students? Or the number of professional musicians?
> 
> Is this real naivety or a game?


What about the Japanese? I was told they have a strong Jazz scene, what about Classics?


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## philoctetes

Clouds Weep Snowflakes said:


> What about the Japanese? I was told they have a strong Jazz scene, what about Classics?


Just to humor this nonsense, I'll relate how I went with a friend to the Blue Note to see Bobby Hutcherson and McCoy Tyner. Before the music started, the gentleman in the next booth enthusiastically introduced himself as from Tokyo, and though he couldn't speak any English, he was so excited he could not stop exclaiming "McCoy Tyner!! McCoy Tyner!!" over and over until we joined him. It became something we kept repeating to each other all night.


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## amfortas

On a related note, I notice there are some African-American jazz musicians. Is this starting to become a trend?


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## ldiat

philoctetes said:


> Joyce DeDonato is from Kansas. Lorraine Hunt was from California. Anna Moffo from Pennsylvania. America has produced a lot of great singers.


 Renée Fleming is from westeren Pennsylvania. about a hour from the great state of Pittsburgh!


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## amfortas

philoctetes said:


> Joyce DeDonato is from Kansas. Lorraine Hunt was from California. Anna Moffo from Pennsylvania. America has produced a lot of great singers.


And don't forget Maria Callas.

Yes, I know, but she was born in Manhattan.


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## philoctetes

Just read Mildred Pierce to see how far Americans might go to raise offspring with *European* talents...


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## jegreenwood

Renee Fleming in today's New York Times.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/04/arts/music/renee-fleming-opera-aspen.html

For those who might be locked out, here are the opening paragraphs.

"It was as a young and, by her own description, "green" opera student at the Aspen Music Festival and School in Colorado that the soprano Renée Fleming honed her art over several summers.

"Now she's coming back to help run it.

"The festival announced Monday that Ms. Fleming, one of the world's leading singers, and the conductor Patrick Summers, the artistic and music director of the Houston Grand Opera, would take over and redesign its opera program as the program's new artistic directors."


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## Larkenfield

Lovely performance of Hugo Wolf:


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## philoctetes

amfortas said:


> And don't forget Maria Callas.
> 
> Yes, I know, but she was born in Manhattan.


Manhattan Kansas?


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## Guest

Ms. Fleming is a favourite of mine. She is beautiful, can act and sing up a storm. I was comparing her to Jessye Norman the other day and I felt that while Fleming brings subtlety to her work, Norman tended to eat the lot of it whole.


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## Open Book

I don't think it's naivete to wonder why so many people from some Asian countries are into classical and jazz music. Don't say it's racist, it's nothing of the kind. People after all tend to stick with what they know and you have to wonder why people from Asia have become so strongly interested in something so very different from their own music. 

After all, are Westerners flocking to Asian music in as great numbers? Probably not. So why the difference? It's an interesting question.

I take it back somewhat, Westerners have been interested in Indian music thanks to Ravi Shankar and there are probably other examples. But you don't see Westerners going whole hog immersing themselves in Asian music and getting authentic training in it as if they were natives - not to the same extent. At least I'm not aware of it.


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