Hope you had a grand time with fireworks and food and family and friends celebrating our country’s freedom and pursuit of happiness (and opera!)

In other news, Renee Fleming was featured on a special one-hour show on WNYC today. 

From the WNYC website:

“World-renowned opera soprano Renée Fleming has fulfilled a life-long dream: to return to her first love, Jazz. “The Heart of Song: Renée Fleming with Fred Hersch” features Fleming in a very personal and insightful conversation—and performing songs you wouldn’t usually associate with the world’s most beloved diva. Renée Fleming is a great jazz singer and you will hear it for yourself in this one hour special, hosted by WNYC’s John Schaefer.

In “The Heart of Song,” we join Fleming in an intimate performance setting, accompanied by collaborator Fred Hersch on the piano, and performing an eclectic set of favorites. The hour includes music from Joni Mitchell’s classic 1971 “Blue” release, to the standard “Love for Sale,” and features exclusive archival performances from Fleming’s earliest days as a young college student.

There is a link on the website to a recording of the show. Maybe La Cieca will podcast it!