The regnant American diva has pulled out of a Met orchestra summer tour to Paris, Baden-Baden, London and New York with the tenor Russell Thomas and music director Yannick Nézet-Séguin.
She will be replaced by Angel Blue.
No reason has been communicated for the late change of mind.
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I have long been a fan of Ms. Fleming. I consider myself fortunate that I have been able to follow her career for the last 30+ years and enjoy many performances that she has given.
The great conductor Sir George Solti once described her voice is double cream. I heard her sing a recital about a month ago in Vienna; unfortunately the cream that was once in the voice has turned into skimmed milk.
Ms. Fleming still sings with her trademark artistry and she is intelligent enough that she is able to capitalize on the instrument she still has, but there is no denying that the instrument has diminished in richness.
I suspect she has realized that the program was beyond her current means.
Ms. Fleming was to sing a very challenging program including difficult excerpts of Otello. Instead of the deriding her for a cancellation, I salute her for stepping out of the way and giving the wonderful Ms. Blue an opportunity to sing with this great orchestra.
She is a terrible person, at the aspen music festival of 2022 she treated the staff very disrespectfully and left everyone with the impression of a narcissistic diva.
I have had the good fortune to meet Ms. Fleming and speak with her during one of her trips to Atlanta to sing with our wonderful orchestra. I was charmed! I met her on Thursday having just heard her sing from the Met on the radio the previous Saturday. For a world famous artist I found her amazingly friendly and down to earth. It’s been several years but it seems like only yesterday. I think we are very lucky to have such a wonderful person take such an active part in promoting opera in this country.
Once I sent her an admiring letter and a very polite one. She never responded. She should have responded because it is people like me who admire her singing, and buy her cd’s. I don’t know what judgement to make. I was simply disappointed!
Her new Rap album will take up most of her time.
LOL. Today’s quips are tomorrow’s reality.
Why the tabloid heading? Your last sentence states no reason has been given. The credibility of articles here is severely compromised by clickbait headings and disingenuous copy.
As is yours, by anonymity.
Unanimous up-votes for Walter and unanimous down-votes for you might prompt some self-reflection here…….
Highly defensive! I seek no anonymity – I supplied my name and genuine email to your website. May I suggest you would find greater credibility if you reported facts and left personal, unsubstantiated, implications out of your articles and headlines.
Without more detail, it’s not very fair to say she “snubbed” the Met.
Whatever the reason, Angel Blue is glorious. So all good.
I’d love to know what the real story is here. I can’t for a minute believe that Fleming would publicly admit she can’t adequately perform the scheduled program, Act 4 of Otello. No, something else is going on…..
Ms. Fleming is 64. Things happen.
It’s a summer tour and this is February. Not exactly a late change of mind. Obviously, there was ample time to make the adjustment in the schedule.
Where’s the “snub”, bub?
Better than being replaced by the Blue Angels I suppose.
On the issue of the headline. I’ve devoted my life-both as a drama worker with adults and then as a counsellor, and, of course, a regular citizen-to encouraging people to be honest about how they represent a given situation. When we’re distressed we lose perspective, as we also do when we’ve been hurt or we overreach an ambition. When I worked in education a very significant number of staff had no idea they were misrepresenting any number of colleagues. Headlines are just one way of doing this…..
If no reason for the cancellation has been given, it is unfounded to speak of a snub.
I heard Fleming live in the Hours and was mesmerized at how at her age she still doesn’t have any trace of a wobble or anything else one would expect at such an age. Not as powerful nor as rich but equally as beautiful. She has given us decades of enjoyment. One never knows but she may need some rest.
Fleming gets paid a small fortune for each solo recital. Why would she go on tour when she can make the same amount in one night that she can make from one tour?
Speaking of tours, the Philadelphia Orchestra will be going on tour in 2023-2024 but sans YNS. Nathalie Stutzman will be leading them.
On the program in Costa Mesa, CA on March 5th, 2024: Beethoven Emperor Concerto with Haochen Zhang (a great pianist IMO) and Dvorak’s New World Symphony.