Renée Fleming was already a superstar of the operatic stage when she took a chance on the inaugural Festival of the Arts Boca in 2007, lending instant gravitas to the fledgling event. She’s been a periodic presence at the Mizner Park Amphitheater ever since, appearing in 2015 and returning again this March.
A five-time Grammy winner, the Pennsylvania native and Juilliard School alumna is one of the few Americans who has earned the title of national treasure. Her full lyric soprano voice has been a fixture at opera houses the world over, she has sung for monarchs and presidents, and she’s the only classical singer to have performed the National Anthem at a Super Bowl. She’s also been a prolific presence outside of the classical world, having collaborated with artists as varied as Wynton Marsalis, Elton John, Lou Reed and Björk.
Fleming descends on Boca amid a typically hectic schedule of performances and galas. She’s fresh off her 2023 portrayal of a former first lady in John Adams’ opera “Nixon in China,” and her performance as a recipient of the 46th-annual Kennedy Center Honors aired in December. She spoke to Boca in an exclusive conversation about her twin programs at this year’s Festival: her recital March 3 and her “Music and the Mind” presentation March 4, in which she’ll share insights on the relationship between music, health and neuroscience alongside local researchers.
What’s the vibe at festival performances like this? do you get a be a little looser, a little freer, than when you’re performing at the Met or on television?
Yes, this is a much more mixed repertoire. There are fun things on it, from Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” to Jerome Kern’s “All The Things You Are” and Stevie Wonder. And then I’ve got Handel and Italian arias. It spans more than 300 years.
Did you always have this omnivorous taste in music, or did that develop over time?
No, I’ve always had that. I grew up in a very musical family, so I had eclectic tastes. When I really started pursuing music as a career, it was the end of the period in which people listened to a specific genre, and when people started listening more widely.
You’re also speaking about “Music and the Mind.” How did you come to discover and research this connection?
I was always interested in it. I loved that scientists were studying music in order to understand the brain. And so I developed this program as a consultant to the Kennedy Center to provide a platform for science with the public. And it’s been a very exciting and successful project called Sound Health. And I take it on the road everywhere I perform, so I’m always excited to see who’s working in this area, which is growing quickly around the country and around the world, and to have audiences experience that. We all want to learn, and so this is one way we can do that.
How can music positively affect our mental wellness?
Mental wellness is a very specific thing. But it affects through the lifespan—from childhood development [to] creative aging. For mental health, I would suggest that listening can be very calming. There’s a collective worldwide anxiety and depression right now, and it’s because of our news feed, and for very real reasons. It helps us to get away from that, to take time during the day to unplug, de-stress, get out in nature, listen to music, play music, doodle, draw art. All of these things can really help the brain recover from this bombardment that we have right now with constant bad news.
Does it start before childhood? Is there evidence for the positive effect of playing music for the developing baby in the womb?
You have the mother’s heartbeat, and her own body, that is creating a rhythmic training before [the infant] is even born, and it’s no accident that rhythm is a great precursor, and the basis for language in general. When pregnant women hear me perform, I always want to know, was the baby kicking? Was the baby active when listening?
IF YOU GO
WHAT: Renée Fleming Returns
WHERE: Mizner Park Amphitheater, 590 Plaza Real, Boca Raton
WHEN: March 3, 7 p.m.
COST: $40-$250
CONTACT: 561/757-4762, festivalboca.org
WHAT: Renée Fleming: “Music and the Mind”
WHERE: Mizner Park Amphitheater, 590 Plaza Real, Boca Raton
WHEN: March 4, 7 p.m.
COST: $50-$75
CONTACT: 561/757-4762, festivalboca.org
This article is from the February 2024 issue of Boca magazine. For more like this, click here to subscribe to the magazine.
