Renée Fleming: Distant Light Renée Fleming

• Samuel Barber (1910 - 1991): Knoxville: Summer of 1915, Op.24
• 1 Knoxville: Summer of 1915, Op.24 15:36
• Anders Hillborg (b.1954): The Strand Settings:
• 2 1. Black Sea 04:17
• 3 2. Dark Harbor XX 05:09
• 4 3. Dark Harbor XXXV 05:26
• 5 4. Dark Harbor XI 05:49
• Björk Guðmundsdóttir (b.1965):
• 6 Virus 04:24
• 7 Joga 04:37
• 8 All Is Full Of Love 03:13
• 9 Undo 05:18
• Total Runtime 53:49

Info for Renée Fleming: Distant Light

Distant Light is Renee Flemings first foray into the hypnotic world of Scandinavian music. For her first new studio album in three years she has chosen to inspire and provoke with a daring mix of music.

The title comes from a poem in a new song cycle dedicated to Renee and here receiving its world premiere recording: Anders Hillborgs The Strand Settings.

At once atmospheric, elegiac and unsettling, the work was crafted with Ms. Flemings creamy voice in mind, wrote the New York Times at its first performance in 2013. One of Swedens brightest star composers Hillborg has a close relationship with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic where this recording was made in February 2016 with its principal conductor Sakari Oramo.

Renee couples this with three songs by Bjork in specially commissioned orchestrations by the brilliant Swedish composer and arranger Hans Ek, recorded here for the first time.

Why Bjork? Both she and Renee are recipients of Swedens Polar Music Prize. Both dare to be original. In the fascinating booklet interview Renee talks about her admiration for Bjork: Her originality is breathtaking. She just blazes her own path forward. Renee chooses the songs which mean the most to her personally and musically.

Distant Light also evokes the world of summer evenings in Tennessee which is the setting for Samuel Barbers masterpiece, Knoxville: Summer of 1915. This is new to Renees discography and one of her most requested pieces: perfect repertoire for Americas reigning diva (Washington Post).

„The most sheerly beautiful soprano voice on the planet“ (Ivan Hewett, Daily Telegraph)

Renée Fleming, soprano
Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra
Sakari Oramo, conductor

Renée Fleming
One of the most beloved and celebrated musical ambassadors of our time, soprano Renée Fleming captivates audiences with her sumptuous voice, consummate artistry, and compelling stage presence. At a White House ceremony in July of this year, the President awarded Ms. Fleming the National Medal of Arts, America's highest honor for an individual artist. Known as “the people’s diva” and winner of the 2013 Grammy Award for Best Classical Vocal Solo, she continues to grace the world’s greatest opera stages and concert halls, now extending her reach to include other musical forms and media. Over the past few seasons, Ms. Fleming has hosted a wide variety of television and radio broadcasts, including the Metropolitan Opera’s Live in HD series for movie theaters and television, and Live From Lincoln Center on PBS.

As a musical statesman, Renée Fleming has been sought after on numerous distinguished occasions, from the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize ceremony to performances in Beijing during the 2008 Olympic Games. In January 2009, Ms. Fleming was featured in the televised We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial concert for President Obama. In 2012, in an historic first, Ms. Fleming sang on the balcony of Buckingham Palace in the Diamond Jubilee Concert for HM Queen Elizabeth II. Ms. Fleming has also performed for the United States Supreme Court and, in November 2009, celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Czech Republic’s “Velvet Revolution” at the invitation of Václav Havel. An additional distinction was bestowed in 2008 when, breaking a precedent, Ms. Fleming became the first woman in the 125-year history of the Metropolitan Opera to solo headline an opening night gala.

In 2012, Renée Fleming added a new role to her repertoire, Strauss’s Ariadne auf Naxos, at Baden-Baden in a new production by Philippe Arlaud, conducted by Christian Thielemann. She appeared in the title role of Arabella in a new production at the Paris Opera, conducted by Philippe Jordan. Her Marschallin in Der Rosenkavalier, under the baton of Constantin Trinks, was seen at the Munich Opernfestspiele. Renée began the 2012-13 season as Desdemona in Otello at the Metropolitan Opera, conducted by Semyon Bychkov, and broadcast around the world via the MET Opera Live in HD. 2013 will find her at Carnegie Hall and Lyric Opera of Chicago in André Previn's A Streetcar Named Desire, playing Blanche DuBois, a role she created in the world premiere. In June of 2013, she returns to Vienna as the Countess in Strauss's Cappriccio, conducted by Christoph Eschenbach .

Renée's busy concert calendar this year has included galas at the San Diego Opera, Providence Performing Arts Center, and the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, as well as appearances with the Seattle, Vancouver, Oregon, Colorado, San Antonio, Baltimore, and Cincinnati Symphony orchestras and the Santiago Philharmonic. Renée began the 2012-13 season singing for the inaugural concerts of Christian Thielemann as principal conductor of the Staatskapelle Dresden and Yannick Nézet-Séguin as Music Director of the Philadelphia Orchestra. Her 2012-13 recital schedule includes Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Buenos Aires, Quito, Bogota, Guayaquil, Paris, Geneva, London, Vienna, Hong Kong, Beijing, Guangzhou, and Taipei. A January 2013 duo recital tour with Renée's friend, mezzo-soprano Susan Graham, includes San Francisco, Los Angeles, Palm Desert, Chicago, New York and Boston. For more, visit: www.reneefleming.com

Booklet for Renée Fleming: Distant Light