Whatever you make of discussing musicians’ concert dress choices, it takes an unusual level of fame before a singer’s jewellery gets its own credit in the programme book. But few living performers can claim to have sung at the Super Bowl, Buckingham Palace and a Nobel peace prize ceremony as well as the world’s major opera houses – never mind four Grammy wins, an indie-rock album and a Tony award-nominated Broadway appearance. US-born soprano Renée Fleming has done it all and more, becoming that rare phenomenon: the classical superstar.
No wonder her appearance with the London Philharmonic Orchestra was an exercise in delayed gratification. Billed as a “gala evening” with the singer, the programme drip-fed Fleming to the packed auditorium, each half opening with the LPO alone. Various audience members crept into their seats not only partway into the first half but also midway through the second.
