Soprano Renée Fleming has earned the devotion of audiences worldwide with the irresistible beauty of her voice, her remarkable artistry as a musician, and her unswerving commitment to dramatic integrity. One of today's most versatile and courageous singers, she has achieved noteworthy success in a wide range of operatic styles, taking on the challenges of Massenet in Paris, Rossini in Pesaro, Mozart in Vienna, and even Wagner in Bayreuth. Her graciousness as an individual, amply evident in the many interviews she has granted in her role as one of America's best loved singers, has further endeared her to the public.

Fleming grew up in Rochester, N.Y., where both of her parents were high school vocal music teachers. Initially unsure of her desire to pursue a career as a performer, she graduated with a degree in music education from SUNY-Potsdam in 1981. She went on to do graduate study in voice at the Eastman School of Music and the American Opera Center at Juilliard (1983-87), where she studied with Beverley Peck Johnson, and spent a year studying Lieder with Arleen Auger on a Fulbright Scholarship. (Ms. Johnson remained Fleming's primary teacher until her death in 2001.)

Renée Fleming Photo by Decca/Niels Busch

By now convinced of her desire to perform, in 1986 Fleming made her professional opera debut in Salzburg in the notoriously difficult role of Konstanze in Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail. Dissatisfied with her performance, Fleming worked on her technique with renewed determination and was rewarded two years later when she won the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and the George London Prize in the same week. That same year, Fleming began a long association with the Houston Grand Opera when she appeared as the Countess in Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro. She made her Met debut in the same role in 1991, stepping in for an indisposed Felicity Lott. The Countess became her signature, with additional debuts in San Francisco (1991), the Vienna State Opera (1993), Glyndebourne (1994), and a reprisal of the role at the Met in 1998.

Further distinguishing herself as a Mozart interpreter, Fleming made her La Scala debut in 1993 as Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni and received a Grammy nomination for her 1996 recording of Mozart arias with the Orchestra of St. Luke's, conducted by Sir Charles Mackerras.

In 1997, Fleming sang the role of Manon in Paris at the Opéra de la Bastille to great acclaim, and repeated the role at the Met later that year. Other roles for which she is noted include Amelia in Verdi's Simon Boccanegra; the Marschallin in Richard Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier, which she performed at the Met in 1999 and Covent Garden in 2000; and the title role in Dvorák's Rusalka, in which she was most recently heard in a new production with the Opéra National de Paris last summer. Fleming recently gave her first performance as Violetta in the Houston Grand Opera production of Verdi's La traviata (April-May 2003).

Also admired for her performances of contemporary American opera, Fleming created the roles of the Countess in John Corigliano's The Ghosts of Versailles (1991), Madame Tourvel in Conrad Susa's Dangerous Liaisons (1994), and Blanche in André Previn's A Streetcar Named Desire (1998). Her 1998 recording I Want Magic, with James Levine and the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, features arias from Candide, Porgy and Bess, Susannah, and other American operas; another recording from the same year, The World So Wide, features songs and arias by American composers.

Other highlights of Fleming's many recordings include The Beautiful Voice (1999), which won a Grammy for Best Classical Performance, and Bel Canto (2002), a collection of works by Bellini, Donizetti, and Rossini that earned Fleming her second Grammy. The latter recording's title echoes that of the best-selling novel by Ann Patchett for which Fleming, according to the author, served as the inspiration for the book's main character. Fleming's most recently released recording, Under the Stars, with Bryn Terfel (2003), features selections from Broadway musicals by Stephen Sondheim, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Rodgers and Hammerstein, and others.

Fleming has received numerous awards and honors, including Musical America's Vocalist of the Year (1997) and France's Commandeur de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (2002). Other notable tributes include master chef Daniel Boulud's creation of a chocolate dessert, "La Diva Renée," in her honor and the "Renée Fleming" iris, which will be unveiled at Japan's Pacifica Flora international exhibition in 2004.

In recognition of her outstanding artistry, Fleming will be awarded an Honorary Doctor of Music degree at Juilliard's 98th commencement on May 23.

—Lisa Robinson