Dark Hope Review
Dark Hope Feature
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 recording 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 recording of this album, "Singing in a small, acoustic booth, with a microphone that s very close, in this very intimate style, is the complete opposite 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.
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