Fleming, Renée (1959-…), an American soprano, is one of the outstanding opera singers of her time. Fleming became noted for the beauty of her voice and the charm of her acting. She has excelled in classical operatic roles and has also won praise for her performances in modern operas. Fleming has sung a broad vocal repertoire that includes American pop songs, German lieder (art songs), and jazz. She has gained recognition both for her concert performances and for her recordings.
Fleming was born on Feb. 14, 1959, in Indiana, Pennsylvania, and grew up in Rochester, New York. She first planned a career in music education but took up singing while studying at the State University of New York at Potsdam, where she received a bachelor’s degree in music in 1981. Fleming earned a master’s degree from the Eastman School of Music in 1983. She won the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, an annual award designed to encourage young singers, in 1988.
Fleming began singing professionally in 1988 and made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera in 1991 as Countess Almaviva in the opera The Marriage of Figaro by the Austrian composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. She later won acclaim as the Marschallin in the opera Der Rosenkavalier by Richard Strauss of Germany and in the title roles in Manon by the French composer Jules Massenet and Rusalka by the Czech composer Antonín Dvorák. Fleming has also starred in modern operas by such American composers as John Corigliano, Carlisle Floyd, and André Previn. In 2010, Fleming became a creative consultant for the Lyric Opera of Chicago.
