Song:Summertime
Album:By Request
Renee Fleming is a very versatile opera singer equally comfortable performing classical, Broadway and jazz standards. She has been around since the 80s and she is one of today's most popular sopranos. She was born Feb. 14, 1959 in Indiana, PA and she grew up in Rochester, NY. Her parents were music teachers. Renee studied at SUNY Potsdam and performed with a jazz trio in local clubs. Jazz sax legend Illinois Jacquet invited her to tour with his big band. But she decided to continue studying at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester and then a Fullbright Scholarship led to studies in Europe and Juilliard. She got her big break when she joined the Metropolitan Opera in 1988 and Renee has been performing and recording steadily since then. After recording for RCA, Sony and Telarc, Renee signed with Decca Records in 1997 and she still records for them today. This recording of the Gershwin classic Summertime from Porgy and Bess is from the 1998 CD I Want Magic. It's interpretations of American composers like Gershwin, Bernstein and others recorded with James Levine and the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. This is available on CD. Or you can get Summertime on this 2003 CD By Request which is a Greatest Hits album though it doesn't say that on the cover. It's a good intro to Renee's music. Renee is probably best known for her appearances in the Lord Of The Rings films. She also sang the Star Spangled Banner at the 2014 Super Bowl. She still tours and records. Her latest CD was released last year. Here's Renee Fleming performing Summertime with Paul Gemignan and the Orchestra of the Welsh National Opera 2003.
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