Renée Fleming is a celebrated American soprano whose signature roles include the Countess Almaviva in Mozart's Marriage of Figaro, and Violetta in Verdi's La Traviata.
Renée was born on February 14th 1959 in Indiana, Pennsylvania, and grew up in Rochester, New York. She enjoyed a happy suburban childhood, starting singing lessons at an early age with her singing-teacher parents.
She studied at the Crane School of Music at the State University of New York where she flirted with the idea of becoming a jazz singer before continuing her studies at New York's Juilliard.
Her first major break came in 1988 when she sang the Countess in The Marriage of Figaro at the Houston Grand Opera. She followed this with debuts at the New York City Opera and the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. In 1991, she made her Metropolitan Opera debut. In 1997, Fleming sang her first Manon at the Opéra Bastille to glowing reviews.
A mother of two girls, Renée is at the peak of her soprano's career. She has released a number of classical albums - including an album of spiritually inspired music called Sacred Arias, and a new recording of Richard Strauss's opera Daphne.
She has also released a number of popular music recordings on the Polygram and Decca labels and has gone back to her jazz roots in later recordings.
In 2004, Renee released her autobiography, The Inner Voice, and also appears on the soundtrack of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, in which she sings in 'Elvish'.
