Soprano Renee Fleming to show her versatility

American soprano Renee Fleming / Courtesy of Andrew Eccles, Decca

By Yun Suh-young

American soprano Renee Fleming begins her second Korean tour on Monday, 15 years after her first.

Fleming, who last visited the country in 2002 for her initial Seoul concert, will be performing at the Seoul Arts Center (SAC) on July 3.

She will sing 20 songs from a mix of genres, ranging from opera arias and Italian songs to musical numbers.

Fleming's return is part of the SAC's World Premiere Series that selects the best foreign artists to perform for Korean classical music fans.

The first part of the program will begin with "C'est Thais, l'idole fragile" from the opera "Thais" by J. Massenet, followed by G. Faure's Mandoline, Saint-Saëns' "Soiree en mer," and L. Delibes' "Les filles de Cadix," along with six songs by J. Brahms.

More familiar songs from musicals will follow the intermission. They include "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" from "The Wizard of Oz," "I Whistle a Happy Tune" from "The King and I," Leonard Bernstein's "Somewhere" and "I Feel Pretty" from West Side Story, along with several songs from Mexico and Spain. Italian songs by Tosti, Puccini and Leoncavallo, such as "Aprile," "O mio babbino caro" from Opera "Gianni Schicchi" and "Mattinata," will follow the Latin American songs.

Monday’s performance will be a chance to see Fleming's versatile style projected through French, German, American, Mexican, Spanish and Italian music from different periods.

Her performance partner will be German pianist and music professor Hartmut Holl, who has worked with Fleming for a long time.

Fleming made her name known in 1988 when she won the Metropolitan Opera Auditions aged 29. Two years later, she was honored by the Richard Tucker Music Foundation with the Richard Tucker Award.

In 2013, she received her fourth Grammy Award with "Poemes." She has been nominated 14 times for a Grammy. She received the National Medal of Arts in 2013 from President Barack Obama, awarded to the most honored artist in the United States.

Fleming has been invited to sing at global events such as the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's accession to the throne and the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

In 2014, she became the first opera singer to perform the American national anthem at the Super Bowl. Since last year, she has served as Artistic Adviser at Large for the Kennedy Center.

For more information, visit www.sac.or.kr.