Renée Fleming is one of the most celebrated voices not only in opera, but in all of music.
The soprano's accolades include four Grammys, a National Medal of Arts and a Fulbright Lifetime Achievement Award. Recently she's performed at the Super Bowl, the Olympics and for the United States Supreme Court.
Fleming's connections to the Centennial state are strong. As a student at the Aspen Music Festival and School, she learned signature roles like Countess Almaviva in "The Marriage of Figaro" while finding time to take daily bike rides in the Rocky Mountains. Next year, she returns to Aspen as the new co-director of the school's opera program.
Fleming performs Kevin Puts' "The Brightness of Light" with the Colorado Symphony on Friday and Sunday. The production tells the story of the love affair between painter Georgia O'Keefe and photographer Alfred Steiglitz.
Before the pair of Denver performances, Fleming spoke with Colorado Matters about her time in Aspen, music therapy, portraying the "extraordinary" role of O'Keefe and the music that inspired her as a young singer.
