Renée Fleming & Josh Groban Concert Featured on PBS, 4/6

Tune in to PBS on Friday, April 6, 2012 at 8:00p.m. for Live From Lincoln Center's telecast of Renée Fleming in a special intimate concert from the Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse. 

Featuring the rarely-performed American masterpiece, Knoxville Summer of 1915 by Samuel Barber, the program also marks the first New York concert performance of songs from Ms. Fleming's acclaimed new pop and indie-rock album, Dark Hope. A favorite of this Emmy Award-winning series as both performer and host, Ms. Fleming will also perform Broadway favorites and duets with popular vocalist Josh Groban.

One of the most beloved and celebrated musical ambassadors of our time, soprano Renée Fleming has appeared at numerous distinguished occasions, from the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize ceremony to performances in Beijing during the 2008 Olympic Games. In 2010, she was named the first ever Creative Consultant at Lyric Opera of Chicago. An additional distinction was bestowed in 2008, when, breaking a precedent, Ms. Fleming became the first woman in the 125-year history of the Metropolitan Opera to solo headline an opening night gala. In 2010, she was named the first ever Creative Consultant at Lyric Opera of Chicago. In the 2011-12 season, Renée Fleming reprises her celebrated portrayal of the title role in Stephen Wadsworth's production of Handel's Rodelinda at the Metropolitan Opera, conducted by Harry Bicket. She began the season as Donizetti's Lucrezia Borgia under the baton of Riccardo Frizza at San Francisco Opera; sang Strauss'sAriadne auf Naxos at Baden-Baden in a new production by Philippe Arlaud, under the baton of Christian Thielemann; and will appear in title role of Arabella at both the Vienna State Opera, conducted by Franz Welser-Möst, and at the Paris Opera, conducted by Philippe Jordan.

A three-time Grammy winner, Ms. Fleming won the 2010 Grammy Award for Best Classical Vocal Performance for Verismo (Decca/September 2009), a CD featuring a collection of rarely heard Italian arias. In February, she was awarded the Victoire d'Honneur, the highest honor given by France's Victoires de la Musiques. In recent years, this thirteen-time Grammy nominated artist has recorded everything from Strauss's complete Daphne to the jazz album Haunted Heart to the movie soundtrack of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Ms. Fleming is a champion of new music and has performed works by a wide range of contemporary composers, including recent compositions by Henri Dutilleux, Brad Mehldau, André Previn, and Wayne Shorter. Among her numerous awards are the Fulbright Lifetime Achievement Medal (2011); Sweden's Polar Prize (2008); the Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur from the French government (2005); Honorary Membership in the Royal Academy of Music (2003); and Honorary Doctorates from the Eastman School of Music (2011) and The Juilliard School (2003), where she was also commencement speaker.