Renée Fleming brings star power to Edinburgh

By Simon Thompson, 25 August 2021

Loading, please wait...

See full listing

Reviewed at Old College, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh on 25 August 2021

Ochs, Dank sei Dir, Herr

Handel, Alexander Balus, HWV 65: Calm though my soul

Fauré, Rêve d'amour, Op.5 no.2

Fauré, Prison, Op.83 no.1

Fauré, Les Berceaux, Op.23 no.1

Fauré, Au bord de l'eau, Op.8 no.1

Grieg, Lauf der Welt, Op.48 no.3

Grieg, Zur Rosenzeit, Op.48 no.5

Grieg, Ein Traum Op.48 no. 6

Strauss R., Muttertändelei, Op.43 no.2

Strauss R., Waldseligkeit (Woodland Bliss), Op.49 no.1

Puts, Evening

Mitchell, Both sides now

Renée Fleming, Soprano

Hartmut Höll, Piano

Renée Fleming in recital at the Concertgebouw

Jenny Camilleri, 7th February

In a highly versatile recital, soprano Renée Fleming was at her best in unaffected songs and operetta.

***11

Andris Nelsons and the BSO arrive in New York, with baggage in tow

Cameron Kelsall, 9th April

In his first New York appearance since the termination of his contract as BSO Music Director, Nelsons courts public sympathy and makes some thrilling music.

***11

Pomp meets ping-pong: Nixon in China lands again in Paris

David Karlin, 14th March

Excellent vocal acting from Thomas Hampson, Renée Fleming, Xiaomeng Zhang and a magnificent orchestral performance conducted by Kent Nagano can't make Valentina Carrasco's production fully grip.

***11

Climate change and classic arias: Renée Fleming in Saratoga Springs

Cameron Kelsall, 15th August

Fleming's program, an outgrowth of her Grammy-winning album Voice of Nature: The Anthropocene, makes an urgent case for the preservation of the world's natural wonders.

***11

Scenes from a marriage: The Brightness of Light at the NY Phil

Cameron Kelsall, 18th May

Kevin Puts' song cycle inspired by the correspondence of Georgia O'Keeffe and Alfred Stieglitz makes its long-awaited New York debut, featuring Renée Fleming and Rod Gilfry.

***11

Renée Fleming sings Strauss favorites with Guggeis and the LPO

Mark Valencia, 5th March

Debutant conductor Thomas Guggeis filled out the programme with a creation of his own – a fusion of Tannhäuser, Lohengrin and Meistersinger.

****1

More reviews...

Simon Thompson

Simon lives and works in Edinburgh, and teaches History and Modern Studies at a local high school when he is not writing about music. Born an Irishman, he is an enthusiastic adopted Scot, and has lived in the capital for fifteen years since university days, making the most of its many avenues for classical music. He spends his spare time enthusing about music, theatre, art and literature to anyone who will listen, including his long-suffering students, who have no choice.

Renée Fleming brings star power to the Edinburgh International Festival