Pauline Adamek
On June 15, 2024, LA Opera will present soprano Renée Fleming, one of the greatest artists of our time, in recital with pianist Inon Barnatan.
American Soprano Renée Fleming is an iconic American soprano renowned for her exceptional vocal talent and versatility across various operatic and vocal genres. Her vocal prowess is legendary; Fleming possesses a rare combination of technical mastery, range, and expressiveness, allowing her to tackle a diverse repertoire with grace and skill. Not simply an opera singer, Fleming has also excelled in art songs, musical theater, jazz, and crossover collaborations, expanding the boundaries of classical music. As one of the most recognized and respected opera singers globally, Fleming has become a cultural ambassador, introducing opera to new audiences and advocating for its relevance in the modern world. Fleming’s extensive discography includes numerous acclaimed recordings, earning her multiple Grammy Awards and further solidifying her legacy in the world of classical music. Fleming’s influence extends beyond her performances; she’s also a sought-after mentor and educator, nurturing the next generation of opera singers and musicians.
An advocate of the arts in health care, Fleming will also oversee a June 14 Arts & Health Week Summit. (More information below.)
Don’t miss an unforgettable evening with a living legend.
The iconic soprano closes out the LA Opera season with an inspiring evening spanning three centuries of music. This is your chance to savor the exquisite voice and peerless artistry of this longtime audience favorite, treasured for her unforgettable LA Opera appearances in La Traviata, A Streetcar Named Desire and The Light in the Piazza, as well as numerous concerts and recitals.
Her repertoire for this program, a collaboration with pianist Inon Barnatan, ranges from rapturous arias by Handel, Massenet and Cilea, to exquisite songs by Strauss, Hahn and Canteloube, to powerful music of our own time by Howard Shore, Kevin Puts, Hazel Dickens and even Björk.
From the press release:
The June 15th recital features an adventurous program of music spanning three centuries, including arias from Handel’s Atalanta, Massenet’s Manon and Cilea’s Adriana Lecouvreur, classic songs by Strauss, Hahn and Canteloube, music from Howard Shore’s soundtrack score for The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, and music of our own time by Björk, Hazel Dickens, Curtis Green, Nico Muhly, Kevin Puts and Maria Schneider, along with piano solos by Rachmaninoff and Ravel.
The recital will mark the conclusion of Los Angeles County Arts and Health Week, hosted by LA Opera in collaboration with LA County Supervisor Hilda L. Solis, First District. With Ms. Fleming as advisor and advocate, LA Opera’s Connects department (dedicated to educational programming and community engagement) is collaborating with the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture, Healing Arts—an initiative of the Jameel Arts & Health Lab—and the World Health Organization to explore the connections between arts, wellness and recovery. Ms. Fleming will introduce the daylong Arts and Health Week Summit, taking place on Friday, June 14, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, joining local community leaders and arts organizations to showcase the ways in which the arts support mental health and wellbeing, and how they enrich our lives at all ages.
Performance and Ticket Info:
Renée Fleming in Recital will be presented at 7:30pm on Saturday, June 15, 2024, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion (135 N. Grand Avenue, Los Angeles CA 90012).
Tickets begin at $29.00 and are on sale now. Tickets can be purchased online at LAOpera.org, by phone at 213.972.8001, or in person at the LA Opera box office at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion (135 N. Grand Avenue, Los Angeles CA 90012). For disability access, call 213.972.0777 or email LAOpera@LAOpera.org.
More information about the production is available at LAOpera.org/Renee.
About the Arts and Health Week Summit:
Hosted by LA Opera in collaboration with LA County Supervisor Hilda L. Solis, First District; Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture; and Healing Arts—an initiative of the Jameel Arts & Health Lab—and the World Health Organization, this unique summit offers conversations and participatory experiences, and promotes creative ways to approach wellness.
Thought leaders including arts practitioners, medical experts and administrators, policymakers and researchers will gather at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion for discussions and presentations exploring how the arts can increasingly, and equitably, support health and wellbeing. The event features Special Projects Advisor for LA Opera, WHO Goodwill Ambassador for Arts and Health and acclaimed soprano Renée Fleming, among other notable advocates for the arts in healthcare. Click here to learn more.
About Renée Fleming:
Soprano Renée Fleming’s many LA Opera appearances include Violetta in La Traviata (2006), Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire (2014) and Margaret Johnson in The Light in the Piazza (2019), as well as the West Coast premieres of the concert works Penelope by André Previn (2023) and The Brightness of Light by Kevin Puts (2022). She is LA Opera’s Advisor for Special Projects. One of the most highly acclaimed singers of our time, she has performed in the world’s greatest opera houses and concert halls. In 2013, President Obama awarded her the National Medal of Arts, America’s highest honor for an individual artist. Winner of five Grammy Awards, she is the recipient of a 2023 Kennedy Center Honor. She serves as Artistic Advisor-at-Large for the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and Creative Consultant for Lyric Opera of Chicago. In 2023, she was appointed Goodwill Ambassador for Arts and Health by the World Health Organization.
About Inon Barnatan:
Inon Barnatan is a regular soloist with many of the world’s foremost orchestras and conductors and served as the inaugural Artist-in-Association of the New York Philharmonic for three seasons. Passionate about contemporary music, he has commissioned and performed works by many living composers, premiering pieces by Thomas Adès, Sebastian Currier, Avner Dorman, and Andrew Norman, among many others. His 2023/24 season includes return visits to the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic and Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as recitals with the Norwegian Opera, Leeds International Concert Season and Wigmore Hall. In 2019 he embarked on his first season as music director of La Jolla Music Society’s Summerfest in California, one of the foremost music festivals in the USA.
About LA Opera:
Los Angeles is a city of enormous diversity and creativity, and LA Opera is dedicated to reflecting that vibrancy by redefining what opera can be. Through imaginative new productions, world premiere commissions, and inventive performances that preserve foundational works while making them feel fresh and compelling, LA Opera has become one of America’s most exciting and ambitious opera companies.
In addition to its mainstage performances at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, the company explores unusual repertoire each season through the LA Opera Off Grand initiative, featuring performances in a variety of venues throughout Los Angeles. The LA Opera Connects initiative offers a robust variety of educational programming and community engagement offerings that reaches people throughout every corner of Los Angeles County. The company also offers a multitude of online content via its LA Opera On Now digital offerings, which launched in 2020. Learn more at LAOpera.org.
