Renée Fleming

​Renée Fleming is an acclaimed soprano who performs in opera houses and concert halls worldwide. Notably, she became the first woman in the history of the Metropolitan Opera to solo headline a season-opening night gala. Her wide-ranging performances include collaborations with illustrious artists like Luciano Pavarotti, Lou Reed, Wynton Marsalis, and Sting. In addition to her operatic repertoire, Fleming has recorded non-classical works, exploring genres like jazz and indie rock. She has also made significant contributions to film and television, including performing the U.S. National Anthem at the Super Bowl.

Fleming has been nominated for 18 Grammy Awards and won five times, underscoring her prowess in music. She has been an active advocate for the intersection of music and health. Co-artistic director of Aspen Opera Theater, Fleming launched the first ongoing collaboration between the Kennedy Center and the National Institutes of Health and is a World Health Organization goodwill ambassador for arts and health. She has given presentations on the intersection of arts, health, and neuroscience in more than 60 cities around the world. This inspired Fleming to launch the "Music and Mind LIVE" web series in May 2020, exploring the intersection of music and arts with human health and the brain, earning more than 650,000 views from 70 countries.

In June 2023, Fleming was recognized at the Kennedy Center Honors, and in the same year, she was appointed by the World Health Organization as a Goodwill Ambassador for Arts and Health. In April 2024, she shared her insights in her anthology, "Music and Mind: Harnessing the Arts for Health and Wellness." Fleming's outstanding contributions to music and arts have earned her numerous prestigious awards, including the US National Medal of Arts, a Fulbright Lifetime Achievement Medal, Germany’s Cross of the Order of Merit, and France’s Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur.