Elizabeth – In the past few years of attending opera I have known who Renée Fleming is, of course, but had never heard her sing.  To opera aficionados this is probably embarrassing, or at least something I shouldn’t admit.  Actually my first time hearing her was on the David Letterman show just a few months ago in September 2013 when she sang the top ten opera lyrics—in English.  She appeared good natured, silly, and nerdy, like most opera singers.  It was cute watching her to try to joke around with David Letterman, saying she had practiced beforehand.  But even reading the Top Ten List, she sounded operatic, though she was singing about getting her new iPhone and other mundane silliness.  It seemed like she has holding back in volume when singing, probably due to the microphone as opera singers normally do not sing with amplification.  But she was great.  It was amazing how much her acting shined through even singing simple declarative phrases.

When it was announced that Fleming would be singing the national anthem at the Superbowl, I grew nervous.  On my Facebook everyone was abuzz and proudly chattering about how fabulous it was that opera lovers were getting this national audience and getting their due.  The way people were talking it felt like opera was being introduced to the nation for the first time.  Or perhaps opera was vindicated and legitimized by having our national anthem sung by an opera singer on the most important and most watched sporting event of the year.  I, along with everyone else, began to think of Fleming as an ambassador for opera.  The weight of opera as a legitimate art form suddenly was entirely on her shoulders.  So I was anxious. 

I watch the Superbowl every year and see how much hype is placed on the national anthem singer.  Who can forget Christina Aguilera in 2011 when she forgot the lyrics?  I began to worry for Fleming…a lot.  And when Superbowl Sunday arrived, it got worse as I watched the first shots of Fleming and could tell she was nervous.  She relaxed a bit after the first few notes, but the arrangement was not particularly representative of opera to me.  There was a lot of pausing and speeding up, a jazzy quality to the rendition. In my opinion Fleming came across as stiff; she didn’t sound natural.  Having a military choir sing with her only complicated matters.  It was as though the arrangers weren’t confident the public could handle a straight operatic rendition of the national anthem.  The penultimate high note was the first point at which she sounded operatic.  Overall I didn’t like the rendition, mainly because of the arrangement, but when I saw the exuberant response on Facebook I figured that I didn’t know much, my ear isn’t very fine tuned. 

Approaching Rusalka, 5 days after the Superbowl, I was not sure what to expect.  I don’t know if I thought Fleming would sound entirely different from other sopranos, or if this mermaid was going to have a jazzy effect, but I wasn’t expecting her to be a regular soprano.  Turns out she was great.  Her Rusalka was gorgeous—wow can she hold those high notes!  Her acting is also tremendous.  Huge portions of the opera she is only acting and not singing and she was terrific, her acting choices specific.  It was, however, a touch surreal to be seeing a performer I had been first been introduced to through television now in a live show that was being simultaneously broadcast for movie theatres and recorded for television.

 

And having first seen her on TV as Renée Fleming -Opera Singer, not a character, it was harder to think of her as Rusalka.  It was Renée Fleming in a wig.  Look, at the top of that tree, there’s Renée Fleming.  She should be careful she doesn’t fall as she’s an international presence, a celebrity.  But in some ways it made the performance even more thrilling.  A good sign for the future of opera as we move towards opera singers in pop culture leading the public to the opera house instead of vice versa. 

Although this is a piece about Renée Fleming, I have to mention the fabulous Piotr Beczala, who was also my favorite singer in Eugene Onegin at the beginning of the season.  Emily Magee was a delightful surprise as the Foreign Princess.  And Dolora Zajick was the perfect mix of humor and threat as Ježibaba, the witch who grants Rusalka her wish.  Dvořák’s music under conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin was gorgeous and perfect for this fairy tale brought to life. 

I went in not knowing that this was the same story as the Little Mermaid.  I think I like this grown up version better, although I missed the singing red Jamaican crab just a little bit.