Album

The Art of Renée Fleming is essentially an album of the soprano's most popular hits, probably not targeted at listeners who are already big fans (who are likely to already have the albums from which these selections were culled), but at more general audiences interested in expanding their operatic horizons. With a few very familiar exceptions, the songs and arias are from the Romantic and Post-Romantic eras, and showcase the luxurious creaminess of Fleming's voice and her ability to spin out melodic lines with seamless, soaring lyricism. The album does not offer a representative sample of what Fleming can do—its narrow focus excludes music of the Classical, Modern, and Contemporary eras, in all of which she excels—but it what it does it does very well.

The recital albums from which these selections were taken were recorded between 1997 and 2010. Fleming receives stellar accompaniment from some of the world's finest conductors and orchestras, including (to name only a few) Georg Solti and the London Symphony Orchestra, James Levine and the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Daniel Barenboim and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and Valery Gergiev and the Orchestra of the Mariinsky Theatre. There are four bonus tracks of songs from outside the classical repertoire: Wheels of a Dream from the musical, Ragtime; Amazing Grace, in a lovely arrangement by violinist Mark O'Connor; You'll Never Walk Alone; and Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah. These songs demonstrate Fleming's versatility and natural ability to cross effortlessly into jazz and popular styles. The recorded sound throughout is flawlessly engineered.

© Stephen Eddins, Rovi

CD 1
Franz Peter Schubert Composer Ellens Gesang III ('Ave Maria'), D.839, Op.52, No.6 Work Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Orchestra, Renée Fleming Soprano, Andreas Delfs Conductor
1	Ellens Gesang III ('Ave Maria'), D.839, Op.52, No.6	4:18			$0.99
Vincenzo Bellini Composer Norma (opera seria) Work London Philharmonic Orchestra Orchestra, Renée Fleming Soprano, Sir Charles Mackerras Conductor
2	Act 1. Casta Diva	7:32			$1.49
Francesco Cilèa Composer Adriana Lecouvreur, opera Work London Philharmonic Orchestra Orchestra, Renée Fleming Soprano, Sir Charles Mackerras Conductor
3	Act 1. Io son l'umile ancella	3:53			$0.99
Charles Gounod Composer Roméo et Juliette (opera) Work London Philharmonic Orchestra Orchestra, Renée Fleming Soprano, Sir Charles Mackerras Conductor
4	Act 1. Ah, je veux vivre dans ce reve	3:39			$0.99
Erich Wolfgang Korngold Composer Die tote Stadt (The Dead City; opera), Op.12...Act 1 Work English Chamber Orchestra Orchestra, Jeffrey Tate Conductor, Renée Fleming Soprano
5	6.Glück, das mir verblieb (Marietta's Lied)	6:00			$0.99
Antonín (Leopold) Dvořák Composer Rusalka, B.203, Op.114 (lyric fairy tale, opera) Work London Symphony Orchestra Orchestra, Renée Fleming Soprano, Georg Solti Conductor
6	Act 1. O Silver Moon	5:55			$0.99
Alfredo Catalani Composer La Wally, opera (dramma musicale) in 4 acts Work London Philharmonic Orchestra Orchestra, Renée Fleming Soprano, Sir Charles Mackerras Conductor
7	Act 1. Ebben? Ne andrò lontana	5:00			$0.99
Giacomo Puccini Composer Tosca (opera)...Act 2 Work Valery Gergiev Conductor, Renée Fleming Soprano, Kirov Orchestra, St.Petersburg Orchestra
8	12.Vissi d'arte, vissi d'amore	3:48			$0.99
Giacomo Puccini Composer Madama Butterfly (opera)...Act 2 Work London Philharmonic Orchestra Orchestra, Renée Fleming Soprano, Sir Charles Mackerras Conductor
9	2.Un bel dì verdremo	4:51			$0.99
George Gershwin Composer Porgy and Bess (opera) Work Teddy Swarrer Chorus Master, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra Orchestra, New York Voices Chorus/Choir, Renée Fleming Soprano, James Levine Conductor
10	Act 1. Summertime	4:16			$0.99
Giacomo Puccini Composer Gianni Schicchi (opera) Work London Philharmonic Orchestra Orchestra, Renée Fleming Soprano, Sir Charles Mackerras Conductor
11	9.O mio babbino caro	2:49			$0.99
Leonard Bernstein Composer West Side Story (musical) Work Renée Fleming Soprano, Chicago Symphony Orchestra Orchestra, Daniel Barenboim Conductor
12	Somewhere, song (from "West Side Story")	3:16			$0.99
George Frideric Handel Composer Xerxes ('Serse'), HWV40 (opera) Work Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment Ensemble, Renée Fleming Soprano, Harry Bicket Conductor
13	Act 1. Ombra mai fù	3:03			$0.99
Charles Gounod Composer Ave Maria, No.2 (after a second prelude by J.S. Bach) Work Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Orchestra, Renée Fleming Soprano, Andreas Delfs Conductor
14	Ave Maria, No.2 (after a second prelude by J.S. Bach)	3:13			$0.99
Stephen Flaherty Composer Ragtime, musical play Work Bryn Terfel Baritone, Paul Gemignani Conductor, Renée Fleming Soprano, Welsh National Opera Orchestra Orchestra
15	Wheels of a dream	4:04			$0.99
John Newton Composer Amazing Grace Work Renée Fleming Soprano, Mark O'Connor Violin
16	Amazing Grace	5:13			$0.99
Richard Rodgers Composer Carousel, musical Work Orchestra of St. Luke's Orchestra, Patrick Summers Conductor, Renée Fleming Soprano
17	You'll Never Walk Alone	4:37			$0.99
Leonard Cohen Composer Hallelujah, song Work Renée Fleming Soprano
18	Hallelujah, song	3:26			$0.99