All shall have prizes? Renee Fleming, again

All shall have prizes? Renee Fleming, again

News

norman lebrecht

January 10, 2023

The American soprano has been awarded the 29th Annual Crystal Award at the World Economic Forum in Davos. ‘The award celebrates the achievements of leading artists who are bridge-builders and role models for all leaders of society.’

In other news, Renee has been hit by a late change of pianist for what would have been a major tour with Evgeny Kissin. Kissin has called in sick so she will pen the tour in Vienna on Thursday with Jean-Yves Thibaudet.

Comments

  • PS says:

    If you bring the award up to your ear, can you hear anything? I’m baffled by her new album. I like her voice and her previous recordings, including at the Met. But all the preview tracks for this one so far sound awful to me, and I don’t know why. Surely the source material was recorded well. Does anyone else hear what I’m hearing?

    • M2N2K says:

      For nearly a quarter of a century, RF’s voice was in superbly beautiful shape and her singing overall was truly masterful, so I was among her many fans. However, for about 10 or 11 years now, the sound of her voice and her vocal skills have been in slow and gradual but steady decline which is why it does not surprise me at all that what you are hearing in her latest recording is significantly below your high expectations.

    • soavemusica says:

      World Economic Forum celebrates “social leaders”, not art.

      I seem to remember said forum requiring that 50 % of characters in sitcoms should be gay.

      They endeavour to save the climate so urgently that private jets are needed.

  • mem says:

    Isn’t Davos already one big self-congratulatory smug group hug, so any prize is redundant?

    Not quite sure how Renée is a “bridge-builder” (unless she actually constructs bridges as a hobby) or a “role model for all leaders of society”, but whatever, it’s Davos.

    • Karden says:

      Actually, I’ve heard Fleming has taken up work in civil engineering. So constructing spans over rivers and valleys is her new stock in trade. In today’s era, it’s not just one type of diversity that really counts. Bravo!

    • JSH says:

      As below, why don’t you take the time to read the actual citation of the Forum and learn their reason for awarding this honor. You might learn something and save the public (small as this site’s is) from your ignorance.

    • Jams Hipped says:

      Right. Renée is going to Davos. And we comment on the media which failed to properly retell simple press release

  • Vincent Mouret says:

    I attended her Vier letzte Lieder in Konzerthaus Berlin with Eschenbach last year. It was a total catastrophe. She is just the shadow of herself.

  • MMcGrath says:

    What is it with Renee Fleming? Is she running for office? Is she the fave singer of every senior executive who knows nothing about opera?

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