Renée Fleming highlights the peril and fragility of the natural world in this recital program, presented as an uninterrupted set along with projected video from National Geographic. “The music . . . begins in a time almost two centuries ago, when people had a profound connection to the beauty of nature” says Fleming. “Now we have reached a moment when we see all too clearly the effects of our own activity.” Through Romantic era art songs by Grieg, Liszt, Fauré, and Hahn, and new commissions from Nico Muhly, Caroline Shaw, and Kevin Puts, this program explores nature as both inspiration and casualty of humanity.

Known for bringing new audiences to classical music and opera, Fleming has sung not only with Luciano Pavarotti and Andrea Bocelli, but also with Elton John, Paul Simon, Sting, Josh Groban, and Joan Baez. Her voice is featured on the soundtracks of Best Picture Oscar winners The Shape of Water and The Lord of the Rings.

In addition to her performance activity, Renée Fleming tirelessly advocates for research at the intersection of arts, health, and neuroscience. Her new anthology, Music and Mind: Harnessing the Arts for Health and Wellness, is a collection of essays from leading scientists, artists, creative arts therapists, educators, and physicians about the powerful impacts of music and the arts on health and the human experience.

As a World Health Organization Goodwill Ambassador for Arts and Health, and as Artistic Advisor to the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Renée launched the first ongoing collaboration between America’s national cultural center and its largest health research institute, the National Institutes of Health. She created her own program called Music and the Mind and launched Music and Mind LIVE, a weekly web show exploring the connections between arts, human health, and the brain. She is now an advisor for major initiatives in this field, including the Sound Health Network at the University of California San Francisco and the NeuroArts Blueprint at Johns Hopkins University.

Saturday, January 25, 2025 at 7:30PM in the Foellinger Great Hall

See the Krannert Center website for more details and to purchase tickets.