One of those *wow!* occasions. Hearing Renee Fleming live at the Royal Festival Hall. Arguably the greatest soprano of our age. Her or Angela Gheorgiou, anyway. What a pleasant evening.
The programme was a mixture of song and orchestral pieces. Can't really beat The Overture to Marriage of Figaro as an opener. The first half was good, but not brilliant, although I really loved her coloratara in the Massenet Recitative and Gavotte.
The second half really was brilliant. The overture to I vespri siciliani is quite stunning, and I especially loved the percussion. Next came the highlight of the evening - Willow song and Ave Maria from Otello. I have a DVD where Dame Kiri singing this provides one of the highlights of my entire music collection. But, hearing Renee sing it was beyond words. The tension in the auditorium, absolute silence from the audience, as the hairs on the back of my neck stand up and my entire body is covered in goosebumps. A gorgeous piece of music interpreted to perfection. You know how good a performance is when there is a discernible pause between the last note and the start of the applause (except for one w*nker who needs to get his 'Brava' in before the conductor has lowered his baton).
O mio babbino caro and Ebben? Ne andro lontana are lovely showy pieces, and, as far as I'm concerned, performed faultlessly. Three encores were welcome. A lovely evening.
It's always interesting hearing the conversations of those around one. So many people, who showed evidence of being musicians or music students were raving about her, not just her wonderful singing, but also that she's a really normal person (of course the implication being a sharp contrast to a certain other diva...).
It was interesting chatting with the chap next to me, a senior opera queen, who adores Renee, and Angela. We were also talking about male singers - I mentioned Rolando Villazon, he said "Oh! What a voice!" He also mentioned 'Angela Gheorghiou's husband'. I said I'm not that big a fan. But I thought it must be a pain to be, arguably, the third best operatic tenor in the world, and yet be known as somebody's husband...
Reviews from icbirmingham and Scotsman, and an interview in The Times.
Update:Times Review /update
She has an album that has just been released in the UK.
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