Renée Fleming Hits the High Note

[@janetflier6192]

I love the big smile and, “Cooling off”, wave when she’s finished!!

[@grahamlawton8383]

There’s such a joy in her face when she hits it. So beautiful.

[@edd3356]

I have always loved to hear her sing! Absolutely beautiful voice.

[@schneevongestern9898]

You really can see that this E6 is the absolute and maximum limit of her range. It's nothing negative. It's crazy high. And you can see that it's well supported and correctly produced. But she couldn't possibly go any higher. It's fascinating what immense upper body work is needed to support this note. When she was young it had a brilliant and sharp edge. Fantastic. And here it's still nailed perfectly. She's a highly educated and skilled woman but also has a goofy and nerdy vibe to her. She's super cool.

[@janetflier6192]

Schnee von Gestern I totally agree with you!! She is so,so,so WONDERFUL!!!!!!

[@jimbuxton2187]

...she could go higher...but not supported and in this register.

[@schneevongestern9898]

@@jimbuxton2187 of course she could produce a higher pitch than this. But like you said. Not sustained and with zero projection.

[@jimbuxton2187]

@@schneevongestern9898 ...the extreme notes all have amazing projection. But not body or fullness. (Which is what I think you meant) Sutherland could sing an F when young, but it was thin, and Sills's high F in Lucia sounded squeaky and closed. Dessay pushed air though her high F and made it full and round, I had a student do this but it always made me uncomfortable. I think the highest register should be floated like Hallstein and Mesple, and Remola. Every voice has its own distinct beautiful characteristics! I think the first E Flemming wasn't vocalized quite enough....the second one however is perfect. You need to vocalize and hold at least a minor 3rd above the note to actually HAVE it.

[@WilConquer]

Renee can definitely go higher , her highest note is a G#6 , even though she didn’t stay in the fach long she started as a dramatic coloratura soprano, as Costanza .

[@barryisland5942]

Even if you don't like opera you will still love Renee!

[@playlistofsongs]

You mean because she slurs so much like she's Reba MacIntyre? 😂

[@WelshHomo87]

It's not a clean cut like the score asks for. There is no actual scale at the end of the bolero which means she pushes her voice up there

[@SteveL2012]

Wow, I didn’t know she had a sustained high E. And to those that say this is the limit of her “range,” you really don’t know anything about singing. To have this sustained note she must be able to vocalize above it. Love Renee! ❤

[@ninjettifire]

She can sing Magde from La Rondine perfectly, a lyric role that rivals a coloratura's range.

[@Highinsight7]

"If I take any time...IF I do... I don't make it"... the EXACT same words I use when trying to get to work... so no Starbucks... OR Doughnut Whole for me in the morning... JUST LOVE Rene!!! GREAT HIGH E...

[@windfall3838]

Saw this Queen twice live In Manon. Her matinee was even better! Brava Diva - you are a Messenger!” I don’t take time going up ;if I do I don’t make it” that’s a philosophical mouthful right there sister bravissima!!!!! I swear you sing like margret harshaw ! Full body , air , support and trust !

[@toddmurphy523]

From comments from all the conductors she has worked with, they all say what a hard worker she is. And have not heard a harsh word against her as far as being a "diva" and all that kind of nonsense. She is a colleague no matter whom she works with.

[@janetflier6192]

She is so adorable!

[@nonhlanhladube2398]

Splendid, no words to describe the way she finished the song just wow

[@jeffreymiller4814]

Well, that was certainly a success. Very smart of her to approach the high E via an ascending scale!

[@virginiarebyak6784]

It's hard to hit those high notes. Renee makes it seem.so easy and effortless. I love listening to her. Just simply a beautiful, strong and rich voice!

[@jonathanratliff4780]

She is absolute perfection... so cute and beautiful and so professional and talented!!! I just love this woman!

[@janetflier6192]

Me too!!!!❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@rugby8-Philadelphia]

I Vespri Siciliani - Verdi Mercè dilette amiche .....and she is Freaking Amazing!!! 😎😎😎

[@greatmomentsofopera7170]

Oh my god! Easily her best ever live E6! Incredible! The only live E6 on KZbin so far ended in a scream but this is proper proper! From the fashion/hair this is 2004 era - look at the Four last songs from that year too. THANK YOU FOR THIS!

[@chaan280]

Great moments of opera So glad you stated that! You know I don’t have the knowledge to make such a statement. I did think it out loud though!😉😊

[@chaan280]

Great moments of opera Yes 2004ishm.kzbin.info/www/bejne/mX29nYptfr93pLs

[@wotan10950]

I’m sure you’re correct because after the Thais performances in 2009, Renée said she didn’t feel quite comfortable anymore with the extreme high notes.

[@jimbuxton2187]

And look how soft and relaxed her tongue is...her position is perfect.

[@jeffreymiller4814]

@@wotan10950 She knows best, I guess, but her high D’s in Thaïs were definitive. I think she may have meant the extreme high notes-Eb and E. Did you hear her broadcast of America the Beautiful in July 2020? After a stunningly beautiful performance, she nailed an effortless, GORGEOUS, long-held high B natural better than anyone in the singing business-at the end of a long phrase, without an extra breath. She was 61 years old, and sounded like she was 35. There are brainless idiots on KZbin who say she and Devia had faulty techniques. Je ne think so pas.

[@fabienfabustlse]

She did it on repetition and on stage front of public... she’s perfect

[@samiscat]

Perfect technique, perfect sound. Love her.

[@cozene35]

Fantastic!!!

[@dmitrybaronov1733]

Adore her

[@ЛюдмилаСевастополь-ы4у]

Браво!!! ❤❤❤

[@brianhoffmeister7987]

She just opens and BOOM! It’s there. Damn!

[@scottw6704]

On the first CD she put this aria on, she doesn't break between the Es and just sails up to it without taking a breath...worth checking out

[@ninjettifire]

That was impressive, Ms. Fleming Congratulations.

[@Tompughsinging]

I NEED the full recording of this

[@kofiaaronasante9202]

Please what's the title of the song

[@edwardgeorge4881]

What an instrument! 😀

[@brookemartin6101]

😃 INCREDIBLE!!.

[@sonocoleichesono2888]

Woooowww😮😮❤❤

[@rugby8-Philadelphia]

Brava Diva!!!!! Yet Again!

[@juandelacruzlopezgomez4619]

Que hermosa y Sexy es esta gran soprano, me encanta verla cantando

[@fabienfabustlse]

Definitely love it !

[@derrickharmon2]

I love the high note, but even more, I love the residual ring of her voice as it echoes through the empty hall at second 42. Brilliant!

[@adammadulski3304]

This is the end of the aria 'Mercè, dilette amiche' from 'I Vespri Siciliani'

[@daniel_5606]

Master

[@LohengrinO]

E6 omg????? Iive?? What year?

[@magicmonkichi]

2004, Madrid. If I am correct.

[@hans-jurgforrer8847]

❤❤❤ eine grossartige künstlerin und wunderbarer mensch ! ❤️

[@janetflier6192]

Where and when was this? What is the piece she is singing?

[@magicmonkichi]

2004, Madrid. Aria is Mercè, dilette amiche, from I Vespri Siciliani.

[@aplussexual]

Toronto with TSO!

[@0.68_11]

Nice woman...No " diva attittude "..very soft spoken

[@kennethwayne6857]

Yes, you've described her perfectly.

[@janetflier6192]

Yes. She does appear to be a “Normal person” in real life!

[@Shamsithaca]

Her tongue looks so nice and supple even on the high E. this woman is a true master.

[@wotan10950]

In a live stage performance, I heard Renée hit a top-D in Thais. A top-E is really unusual, and even high note specialists like Sutherland and Sills tended to avoid the high-Es.

[@schneevongestern9898]

That's true. But to my personal taste, the high Es generally tend to be unpleasant and somehow just useless and unfitting. There are a few recorded ones that I actually like. Most of them being sutherland around 1960. But generally I find that the Cs and Ds are much more vibrant, resonant, mighty and much more pleasant. I don't like it when high notes are shrill and small and narrow. And high Es almost always are, with any singer. Here with Renee Fleming you also here that it's much less resonant than her comfortable range. I'd always prefer a full bodied, resonant C or D over a high E. the final top notes are showoff that's not even composed in most of the cases. But if you do it you better have the true voice for it. Renee Fleming had it in the 90s. Comfortable. Here she still has it, but it's a lot of effort. And sutherland saved her high Es for Lucia from very early on. She sang Ds and maybe rarely Eb. But she maintained a full and resonant tone up until the top range. And around 1960 her Ds and Es must have sounded triumphant and thunderous when heard live at that time.

[@jeffreymiller4814]

Schnee von Gestern Sutherland sang only 1 high E in Lucia, ever, and it was on the second complete Decca recording. Milnes and she sang the act 2 duet in the French score key of A instead of the standard G. She sings a high E as the penultimate note. She never sang above an Eb in any live Lucia. From 1983 on she took the first half of the mad scene down a full tone to Db, but she always sang a thrilling final Eb in the second half, in which she went back to standard score pitch. I say standard because the original is in F major not Eb. Back in the 1930s everyone said Lily Pons transposed the mad scene up, but she was just singing it in the original key. Caballé also sings it in F on the recording with Carreras (who, btw, absolutely nails a HIGH Eb in the act 1 duet!!).

[@schneevongestern9898]

@@jeffreymiller4814 aha. I hate know-it-alls. And my point remains valid. The information about what pitch she sang in at what times may have been wrong. Nothing more.

[@jeffreymiller4814]

Schnee von Gestern whoever you are, I hate people who hide behind stupid pseudonyms. You’re a freaking coward.

[@schneevongestern9898]

@@jeffreymiller4814 its called fucking coward.

[@onigbajamo]

See how happy she is with hitting it.

[@brookeggleston9314]

She didn't hit it; she sang it!!✨

[@caseymccormick840]

What is this clip from?

[@FerdisonMusic]

She’s just unbeatable when she was in her prime 🤯

[@evelynminer5605]

She still is

[@janetflier6192]

For me, she is STILL unbeatable!!!

[@weiliu3623]

That is a exaggeration. You just insulted many great sopranos whom I am sure that she worships.

[@weiliu3623]

That is a exaggeration. You just insulted many great sopranos whom I am sure that she worships.

[@Wolfsky9]

Am so in love with this woman ! --------------------------WolfSky9

[@danarzechula3769]

Clearly knows her instrument and in command

[@brookemartin6101]

Can I save this as a Favorite?.

[@antoniovisioli4460]

Grande!!!!!!

[@ecceben]

anyone know who the conductor is?

[@aplussexual]

Peter Oundjian with the TSO!! 🎻🎶

[@pugh.joseph]

@@aplussexual thanks

[@wotan10950]

@@aplussexual I knew he looked familiar. He used to be the violinist in the Tokyo String Quartet. I saw him in a concert at Ramapo College with the Quartet, and got his autograph on one of their albums.

[@Grzegorz1972]

Jest moc

[@audreymclaren2827]

Does anyone know what opera this is from?

[@davidalbro2009]

'Mercè, dilette amiche' from 'I Vespri Siciliani'

[@10reubenl]

Which song is this?

[@baritonebynight]

God I love her.

[@jrwilliams5509]

Gorgeous and exciting!

[@walterrobertson9507]

🙏🎶🎶🎶

[@ecceben]

I keep coming back to this, and agree with the other commenters that her resonance is PHENOMENAL. Was this arrangement altered from that which is usually performed? She's speaking with the conductor in the opening of the video about some form of alteration, but not being trained musically, I'm not sure what exactly they did. Compared to other arrangements online, Callas, Sutherland and Netrebko, this particular version seems truncated at the end to me. Maybe that's what she was speaking of when she takes no time when going up to the high E. I even tried watching it along with a score animation, and still can't make heads or tails of what's happening here, haha. The libretto isn't matching up really for me. To me, it seems as though she's producing "cheeee--tu------ti-isen-----ahhhHHHHH to the E6, instead of really che tutti i sensi inebrio. Granted there has to be a smoothing of the libretto in places, but the diction is just lost to my ear. But to be able to sustain that without screaming, and not as a one-off obviously, the luminous Ms. Fleming at her best.

[@brookemartin6101]

I'm going to post one more time to ask the question, Can someone tell me what key the High note IS that Renee hits?.

[@brookeggleston9314]

E6

[@brookemartin6101]

@@brookeggleston9314 Renee Fleming is a Brilliant soprano vocalist, I heard her name mentioned a few years ago by another singer I Really like, but honestly didn't give [her] a second thought. Oy Such a HUGE mistake!. 😣☺️💖

[@MartinManweiler]

Just starting to appreciate Opera more at 27.

[@calvinstaley0123]

0:36 - 0:48

[@OperaMyWorld]

Wow!!! For me it’s maybe 2014-17??

[@wotan10950]

I don’t think so. In an interview for the 2009 Thais, she said was done with anything beyond high-D. Another commenter suggested 2004, and that’s probably correct. Fleming said she reached her limit with Armida, so she actually continued singing the extreme high notes until 2011.

[@michaellazzeri2069]

WOW ! THE " OLD GAL " CAN STILL PULL IT OFF ! -----------------------MJL, 76 Y/O

[@amycollins2429]

How does she do it?

[@davidalbro2009]

Must have made a deal with the devil

[@marymarth7298]

Like a fine wine. The older she gets........

[@LiamPorter2005]

I hit low voice in shake your tail feather

[@RionPhotography]

Ooph the look of terror on her face - I feel ya girl

[@TheMRfly1998]

Yea because you can sing e6 notes too !

[@RionPhotography]

@@TheMRfly1998 relax

[@davidalbro2009]

@@RionPhotography Damn, they beat me to it. I was going to make a joke about hitting an E6, but in a way that was actually funny.

[@joshuamcpherson007]

Renee has quite a wide range, including impressive low notes below the low C. The high E is exciting to hear, occasionally beautiful, but more often a bit shrill. That said, I applaud her courage to go for it.

[@11calman]

the absolute and maximum limit of her range. Schnee von Gestern Totally wrong mate what you have written,, We just know that she has the power waiting in the wings to hit a higher note if she wanted to.. By what authority did you arrive at that, have you been to all her rehearsals are you a vocal coach are you her vocal coach do you even sing (produce something for me on youtube please-)-- regards gib

[@mugrad25]

The recording is better..she hits it dead on

[@djgualtiermaldeCO]

This is Vespri 's bolero...I'm pretty sure about it

[@ЕкатеринаКаурова-й9ъ]

Мишник хороший

[@MariaSilvaHelena]

DIVA

[@SilfredoSerrano]

Vespri Siciliani. Most sopranos who sing this role will not sing it with the high E. This is a full Verdi soprano role.

[@wotan10950]

You are correct. Verdi didn’t write a high-E, and the rest of the Elena role calls for a fuller voice. In a concert or recording, well, if you’ve got a good high-E, then give the public something thrilling like Renee does.

[@ransomcoates546]

Compared to the young Radvanovsky in NY this is a mouse’s squeek.

[@wuaaron808]

Radvanovsky has this terrible vibrato. I saw her singing Norma in San Francisco. Utterly a nightmare, every note is with annoying vibrato, almost pitchy as minor second， breaking and destroy the legoto lines，it was a torture of Bel Canto. I also saw her Tosca in L.A, it is a horror. she changed quite a lot of notes into high pitch and sustained long screaming. I know she is good at screaming. but does she need to scream all the time? Her Aida in Paris is vocally OK, but she doesn’t look nor sound like Aida at all. she doesn’t have the tone to sound like an princess. She sounds like a corporate executive woman from Vancouver, or one of those ladies from Trudeau’s cabinet.

[@ransomcoates546]

@@wuaaron808 She definitely provokes strong feelings pro or con. I’ve seen her a lot from the start of her career. People call me an opera troll in these comment boxes, but I’ve always been a fan. Surely no one in our time has sung ‘Quel sangue versato’ better. Callas is said to have opened the score of ‘Roberto Devereaux’ and promptly closed it.

[@aaronmalone7065]

Different voices, and that kind of comparison is toxic and ridiculous. When you can have a career as long as hers, as successful as hers, with a voice as intact as hers, then maybe this will be valid. Until then, put your money where your mouth is and let’s see you at the very top of YOUR range in front of a full theater. 😂😂😂 What a troll.

[@davidalbro2009]

@@ransomcoates546 Or "Depuis le Jour" from Louise. Absolutely incredible. I love it when people say they don't like her because I know not to take anything they say after than seriously. I know I'm talking to a buffoon. The richness of her voice is like none other.

[@jotge.3444]

Schwarzkopf würde sich im Grabe herumdrehen bei so einem schrillen hohen Ton. Gar nicht schön.

[@peterlewis1061]

Perhaps you can post a video of your performance with an orchestra of an operatic aria demonstrating how to sing this note with fuller, rounder tone.

[@aaronmalone7065]

And Schwartzkopf was hardly the best soprano who ever lived, even if she t thought differently. Every account I’ve ever read of her was that she was an un-generous bitch.

[@spenzur]

Where is this from?

[@magicmonkichi]

2004, Madrid.

[@aplussexual]

Toronto!!!