Product Description
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One of the World's Great Voices Puts Her Indelible
Signature On Songs By Arcade Fire, Band of Horses, Death Cab For
Cutie, The Mars Volta, Muse, and of course, Leonard Cohen. Renée
Fleming s new album 'Dark Hope', which the opera star describes
as a visit to a new universe for her, will be released by Decca
this spring. The album was recorded in close collaboration with
producer David Kahne (Regina Spektor, The Strokes, The Bangles,
Sublime, and countless others) in New York City, and features a
diverse and adventurous track listing of songs as interpreted by
one of the world s great voices. Fleming, the superstar soprano
known as "the people's diva," says of the songs on 'Dark Hope':
"One of the ways that you keep people interested is by taking
risks and what could be a greater risk than this?" Producer Kahne
was a true collaborator during the process, driving
most of the arrangements and pushing Fleming to learn how to sing
all over again. Also joining Fleming on the album are her two
daughters and sister, who sing backup on several songs.
The album features a voice that's been called "superlative"
(Denver Post) and "radiant" (Chicago Tribune). But Fleming says
that for the of this album, "Singing in a small,
acoustic booth, with a microphone that s very close, in this very
style, is the complete site of what I [usually] do."
There were similarities to how she prepares for an opera role,
however. Fleming points out that for each track on 'Dark Hope'
"we found an interpretation that enabled the point of view to
sound authentic coming from me. Every song has a story like that,
so this whole idea of enacting or playing a role is doubly true
for this music." Renée Fleming, a Fulbright Scholar and
three-time Grammy award winner, is one of the world's most famous
and accomplished vocalists. A New Yorker who made her
professional opera debut in 1986 and her Metropolitan Opera debut
in 1991, she has had star roles at great halls worldwide and last
year was a featured performer at President Obama's Inaugural
Celebration. Fleming has also had an interest in jazz since her
college years at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY,
and has recorded jazz repertoire throughout her career including
'Haunted Heart', the lauded collaboration with pianist Fred
Hersch and guitarist Bill Frisell.
From the Artist
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Renée Fleming recently sat down to discuss her upcoming
album "Dark Hope," which the opera star describes as a "visit to
a new, parallel universe." The album was produced by David Kahne
(Regina Spektor, Shawn Colvin, Paul McCartney, Bangles, Sublime,
and countless others) in New York City, and features a diverse
and adventurous track listing:
Endlessly (Muse) No One's Gonna Love You (Band of Horses) Oxygen
(Willy Mason) Today (Jefferson Airplane) Intervention (Arcade
Fire) With Twilight As My Guide (The Mars Volta) Mad World (Tears
For Fears) In Your Eyes (Peter Gabriel) Stepping Stone (Duffy)
Soul Meets Body (Death Cab For Cutie) Hallelujah (Leonard Cohen)
Tell me about the album title, "Dark Hope."
We discussed many potential album titles. Throughout the
process, David Kahne and I had long conversations about
the meaning of the song lyrics and the concept behind this
project. He felt that the songs represent two sing
viewpoints: one of youthful ardor and the fight against
establishment, and the other a more mature perspective of someone
who has already experienced life. So what is "Dark Hope"? We know
that hope is light, something positive. Dark we associate with
the site. So "Dark Hope" is an outlook of maturity, of
someone who's really lived, and been through it all, and who says
to the young, angry person, "You have to stay hopeful, you have
to stay positive." I love the title, because it's a paradox. It
immediately makes you think.
Where did the idea for this project start?
For ten years, Peter Mensch and Cliff Burnstein from Q-Prime
Management had the idea of pairing an opera singer with the best
recent songwriters. Unbeknownst to me, they had been asking
Christopher Roberts of Universal Music on a regular basis if I
would consider a project like this. When we finally met, I was
pleasantly surprised to learn that Peter played the cello when he
was young and had some knowledge of classical music. Cliff and
Peter were really enthusiastic about their idea, and it was
contagious. I've always been inspired by artists who have shown
musical and intellectual curiosity and the courage to take risks.
Because everything about the voice interests me, I felt it would
be fascinating to learn a completely different style of singing.
How did you find your way into these songs?
What many people do when they venture outside of their normal
genre is continue to sing with the same voice, although in music
that is more contemporary, as in crossover. "Crossover" suggests
that one is in between two worlds, and this album is NOT
crossover. It's so much more interesting to me, because there's
not a hint of "middle ground;" it's completely at the other
extreme of the spectrum. It's been amazing to visit a new,
parallel universe.
I was simply trying to find a voice for this music that made
sense to me, one that sounded stylistically authentic. Singing in
the lowest part of my voice was key to making this work.
How did you actually begin working on the album?
In our very first meeting, Cliff Bernstein handed me a CD. He had
the most wonderful little Excel sheet print-out that said "Love
it," "Like It," "So-So," "Not My Cup of Tea," "Would Love to Sing
It." Ultimately they gave me about 40 songs, mostly by - for lack
of a better label - indie-rock bands, and I was impressed by the
sophistication of the music and the texts, and by the seriousness
of the material. Soon after this meeting, I had a whirlwind of
performances on five continents, and I brought my family with me.
When we weren't hiking or swimming in the Galapagos, or on safari
in South Africa, I played this CD. My children both said, "Mom,
these are some of our favorite bands," and my youngest brother,
who is a voice student at Rice University, said, "We're all
studying music, but this is what we listen to for fun." It really
grew on me, but I still don't think anyone knew how my voice
could possibly combine with this music.
By the time I got home, I felt positive about at least trying to
make a demo. Then Cliff and Peter paired me with the wonderful
producer David Kahne. David is so articulate, detailed, and
demanding about style that I become even more fascinated by the
prospect of singing with completely different vocal technique.
The challenges were by and large the site of what I face as
classical singer on stage, since the technology plays such a
strong part in creating the sound. It was stimulating to me
artistically to be in a new process.
Is there something that unifies the final song selections for
you?
Usually when I record an album, it's centered on a concept,
theme, period, or a particular composer. We are held to a
stringent musicological yardstick. But these songs didn't seem to
fit together, since there were a few songs from earlier decades,
and I'd ask, "How do you see these songs fitting together?" Cliff
would say, "They're just really good songs, they don't need to
fit together." Eventually I accepted that, and what I've
discovered is that David provided the unifying voice with his
arrangements.
Anytime I'm choosing music of any style, I have to make sure that
the texts make sense for me. I was surprised by the inventiveness
and edginess of the writing; the harmonies and the vocal lines;
and even the instrumentation of this music. I find it interesting
that so many of these young musicians are using stringed
instruments like the cello or, for example, an organ, as in
Arcade Fire's "Intervention."
It's become clear to me that lines are blurring in a way that
promotes collaboration across musical genres. It's not clear yet
where this will lead, but the choices are endless. It's possible
I can well imagine that this type of collaboration will help
classical music move out of the "museum" and into the 21st
century, since for example some young musicians are using string
quartets to form bands.
What is different about singing these songs from singing the
material you usually perform?
David was constantly coaching me, and the process was taking off
layer after layer of training. In classical music, we perform
unamplified in halls that seat up to 4,000 audience members, plus
we're required to project over large orchestras and often a
chorus. We're kind of the weightlifters of singing; we have to
have power, stamina, and projection. In this music, I had to let
that all go, sing in my own language; and then sing in what often
felt like a whisper. I was in a small, acoustic booth,
with a microphone that's very close, in this very style,
which is the complete site of how I usually sing. David
worked with me very closely so that there was no hint of drama,
cheesiness, or "Las Ve," as he would call it. He was exacting
about the minutest detail, even those barely audible to the
trained ear. It was a wonderful learning curve, one reminiscent
of my early days studying Mozart as a Juilliard student.
How was your family involved in the making of the album?
This was one of the great joys of this project, because my sister
and my two daughters were the back-up singers on this .
This was music that my daughters already knew and loved, and for
me to take the time to enter and learn about their music was a
reversal. Although they love opera and classical music too, it
was meaningful to them to see me making the effort. So now when
Sage says she's going to a Muse concert, I know who she's talking
about, and I've become more respectful of their sophisticated and
eclectic taste in music. In the beginning, they were skeptical
about this project, more than anyone else, because obviously
teenagers don't want to be embarrassed by their parents. But
they've really come to like it and are very supportive now.
My sister has always had the most glorious, rich voice, and a
timbre that goes directly to the heart. She sounds so beautiful,
and it was just fun for us to share this together.
You're used to going into a role when you sing. Did these songs
mean assuming a different kind of role, or was it an entirely
separate process?
I do everything in the third person - I'm now divulging a secret.
I'm an innately reserved person, so in order to become who I've
become, when I'm onstage, I'm thinking "She does that, she feels
that, she is that." The way I can come out of my shell is to
think that I'm someone else.
David and I talked for hours about the songs and what they mean
and how I might sing a song that's clearly from an angry young
person's perspective, and what I might bring to it. The young
person might be saying "The world is tough, it's a really hard
place, so let's fight against the establishment," and I'm coming
from a more experienced, nurturing place saying, "Yes, it's tough
and it's hard, and this is how you can deal with it." We found an
interpretation that enabled the point of view to sound authentic
coming from me. Many of the songs have this similar vein, so this
whole idea of enacting or playing a role is doubly true for this
music.
Which of the songs stand out as being especially meaningful for
you?
These songs fit broadly into two categories: love songs and songs
about change and social injustice. "No One's Gonna Love You" is
really just a beautiful love song. All of these texts are quirky
in a way that makes them interesting. I always thought of pop
music as being a bit more simplistic, but many of these songs are
complex, if not completely enigmatic. I was especially fascinated
by the Mars Volta song, "With Twilight As My Guide," which is
operatic in its scale and musical complexity. I was however a bit
concerned about the text, specifically the reference to "devil
daughters." I said, "As much as I love this song, I really can't
sing it for that reason." Peter Mensch offered to contact Cedric
Bixler-Zavala and asked if the text could be changed, since the
overall meaning of the song wasn't completely clear anyway.
Cedric responded, "Sure, she can change it. I would just like it
to be known that in no way is the lyric supposed to paint women
in a bad light... The song feels like it was written during the
salem witch trials, and it sarcastically takes the religious
right wing slang of how all women were treated. Our last album,
Bedlam in Goliath, was one huge metaphor for the way women are
treated in Islamic society (honor killings, etc) not just a story
about a ouija board... its meant to make you question the way
things are." This explanation was enough for me to feel as
completely supportive of the song as I already had been about
their musical talent.
"Intervention" is so powerful, and I had Bruce Springsteen in my
head as I approached it. That's a song that could be from today
or from 200 years ago - it mixes church, war, family and conflict
in a way that makes it possible to invest your own story. Many of
the songs have in common this aspect of not tying up all the
loose ends; it's the same thing I love about Strauss's "Four Last
Songs" or "Morgen" - there's space in which you can invest
yourself.
Do you have any plans to record any more in this style?
I've felt very strongly, for a long time, that I am American, my
culture is so multi-dimensional and there's so much to explore,
why should I be forced into a strictly European model in what I
sing? Why can't I explore the music I grew up with, the music I
listen to? It doesn't mean that everyone has to like it, but I
don't want to be straitjacketed.
You can't predict anything about music and what the reaction is
going to be - especially with this combination. You just wait and
see if it finds an audience, and that's kind of the fun of it.
The important thing is that, regardless of what the reception is,
I have enjoyed the process. I feel good about the work that we've
done, and I know that the project has integrity. I've learned so
much, and whatever my role is in the future as it pertains to
helping singers, helping music, I'll have had this experience to
draw on.