tavis: good evening. tonight, a conversation with renée fleming. singer.nown as an opera she studied at juilliard and performed with a jazz trio. she is starring in the l.a. "ara's production of streetcar named desire." we have that right now. ♪ captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org--

>> and by contributions to your pbs station. thank you. ♪ >> the four-time grammy winner has played at the opera house in london and on sesame street. she is considered one of the finest in the world. she is performing in need l.a. opera's production of "a streetcar named desire."

she is seeing the role of blanche. aria.take a look at the smell the seaan air." ♪ tavis: you have done everything with everybody at least twice. i cannot imagine what it feels like to have a piece written for you by andre.

this is renée fleming. >> it is exciting. typically, and classical music, we present works and are trying to fit into a template created by someone else. when it is for you and you are the template, there is freedom. i can say, it would be a better fit if i had a high note there. what a joy. it is like stage and stepping into a suit that fix perfectly. you you will come up with an idea. i have done this with a couple of composers. i will say, let's focus on this. lots able to say, i were a -- tour a lot.

can i have an aria to take with me? he gave me five. it is totally creative. tavis: have you figured out how you're getting this into the show? >> i do these all the time. i have been singing ever since. the young singers that are performing at, it has been successful. it has had different runs and i have been in five of them. voice works well in this play. why? >> they are all operas. it is so dramatic and the emotional content is so extreme in many of them. rich andes are really it lends itself well to opera. blanche is so complicated and fascinating. someone you -- somebody said last night that they wanted to

rescue her from the place. hand, she is not completely sympathetic. singing her gives her more of a range. the piece goes it really well with music. a lot of the play could easily be set to music. >> i never thought of his work as operatic. as i think about it, it makes sense. >> all of these would be great operas. some others have been. already. .his one worked so well shouting "-- we tella!"anley shouting, "s

i think the tragedy is that he had so much success early and young. he had this going out of fashion piece and struggled. it is a shame. he is one of the greatest lay rights ever. wrights ever. >> you have had a long and enduring career stop what is it m, always that -- u find you wanting to do something different. >> i am musically curious. an adventurer. some people want to do the same things. i want to do new things. ialso think that, because grew up with eclectic interests and tastes in music, from pop to jazz, that is american.

in my generation, i did not want to be pushed into a template. it was not a good fit for me. my madamey blanche is butterfly. i cannot sing those roles. this is my chance to be dramatic. i love the boys. everything there is about the voice. i did a project with the kennedy center. it was called american voices and it explores what we have in common with all john rock of singers. -- genres of singers. from technique, lifestyle issues, what our challenges are. holiday disc right now. i just recorded with wynton and other per -- fabulous performers. holiday tunes.

non-classical. another style of singing. tavis: i have had many conversations about this notion s wanting tor genre box artists and. -- in. this notion of a purism. they can be jazz purists. they can be opera purists. they want to box you when. -- in. critics will move you. you do not seem to be one of those artists. you have navigated that minefield well. what do you make of how you have been able to do that and not have people disdain you? ago, we did ade carefully. there was tremendous risk associated.

everything is generational. we see changes happening so quick to the and life -- quickly in life. i am finding a younger performer who is throwing things away. they are in a club with a leather jacket on. anything goes. whatever they want to explore. as long as there is quality and an audience for it, it is fine. i found that, even with myself, it is much easier now and i do not worry about it as much as i used to. tavis: you said it is good for the artist to be allowed to do it, so long as they do it well. the inverse of this is, is it good for the music? be.hey can a lot of it is the taste of the audience and find in the audience. .ometimes, it is quality

sometimes, it is not a fit. sometimes, i think that it does not go so well. the exploration of the adventure grows. it is important. stylistically, i started in just and did not learn how to saying technically until i was in a jazz club. in my freedomce and ability to communicate with an audience. all of that came through jazz. at the same time, i was studying classical music and opera. some people loved it and some people did not. it was me. tavis: what is the greatest gift. -- what is the greatest gift that you think just gave you -- jazz gave you? >> improvisational freedom. finding high notes through that.

dovoice teacher would say, you have any idea what you just sang? i would say, no. she would say, good. , everything i do, how you create tension is what makes music sexy. it is tension. i learned that by singing in clubs. said that so much was about taste. it is. i want to get in your head and heart. what do you hear when you hear something that you have tried that you do not think works? fan,u are a renée fleming we just love the fact that you do what you do. when you hear something that you try that isn't working, what are you hearing? >> i am critical.

we are all perfectionists. there are certain givens. pitch is one. repeated hearings, i do not want people to be your stated and i do not want to be originated. the language has to be perfect. how do you make an interpretation in something that sounds authentically -- that sounds real. that sounds honest. honesty is important. sometimes, i think that my voice does not do that well and i should not have tried that. sometimes it is one track. for the most part, i am very conservative about my choices. so, there have not been too many things where i thought it was horrible. a lot of times, i chalk it up to learning. maybe it was not the most successful thing. i grew inside of that. tavis: i take your point about

honesty in music. i'm turned on by the phrase. what youtalk about -- mean when you talk about honesty in music. --t you mean by the honest the music having to be honest? >> finding the emotional truth. it is important. otherwise, you are not communicating with the audience. doing,s just what i am that will not hit home and there is an emptiness to it. that is what i am trying for. i am always striving to find the most emotional moment in everything i do. how to find that line. you start crying and you cannot sing well. tavis: have you done performance where you have trip yourself up emotionally?

>> sure. sure. you have to rein it in to keep going. that is a great fine line to the on. .- be on tavis: because you have performed all over the world, give me two or three takeaways that you have learned from performing before live audiences. i think the answer applies to anyone who stands in front of a live audience. what are some of the lessons you have learned? >> we have two more performances and i suffer a lot to perform. i am really one of these crazy people who has to suffer to perform. tavis: after all these years? >> it's worse now. i am at a whole new level of suffering.

i think about why i am still doing this. there is something magical about the audience relationship. they are all different. we were stunned by how much people laughed and how funny they thought the first act was. then, it wasn't funny anymore. there is a high you can get addicted to. that response. it is a life with a lot of mountains and valleys. tavis: as you look back, what do you see as valleys? i see a lot of mountains. >> the valleys have to do with the lifestyle. i have beautiful girls who are fabulous. iey made sacrifices for what do, as well. that is a lot to ask your children. that is the big valley for me.

the degree to which you have to leave the people you love. also, to take care of the instrument within you that you cannot put in a closet or case is a big responsibility. it is a trial when you are traveling. tavis: how do you think -- nevermind what the critics are saying -- your instrument is holding up? >> i can still technically do most of what i have always done. i cannot do it as consistently and i do not like that risk. i am conservative in my choices. there is still a lot of music to going, as i can keep long as i find things that are nice for the audience and that i enjoy doing. tavis: i have mentioned the critics. what is your view of being criticized by so many?

what is your take on the work of the critic? say.have two things to i think that critics can be incredibly useful to help an audience understand what they are hearing. i think they can educate to a great degree. we do not have time to research what we are seeing anymore. we have something that can sum it up and gives us some history. some of the interesting history. think a great degree of negativity is not helpful for classical. we are struggling to find and maintain an audience, with all of the competition out there. reviewsarge, if you see of the mainstream, use a whole different point of view on it and a different take on it. the classical arts have become in the naval.

not as constructive as i wanted to be. we want enthusiasm and we want to help people to come to these things. i am working on the other side. i'm the first creative consultant to the opera of chicago. i'm trying to develop the audience and help the company think more broadly about what we present and how we present it with a world premiere, bringing second city to the opera, these kinds of projects. i love that. that is important. it is a way in which we can get new audiences. tavis: this raises two questions for me. i'm curious as to your take -- i have asked others this question -- not an artist of your stature -- what it will take for the

classical arts, and the most multiethnic, multiracial america ever to survive. if you do not connect to an audience that is multicultural, multiethnic, at some point, in this america, the classical arts are going to suffer to a greater extent. how do you, in chicago or beyond, help. >> chicago presented a marriott iachi opera. mar the latino culture can really saying. mostly in that area. domingo. i think it is incredibly

important to reach out and find communities. gone are the days where you build a spectacular all and open are sors and say, you fortunate to come into this temple of art. we would know what to wear. the internet is helpful. having broadcasting cinema is helpful. definitely going into the community and figuring out how and why people saying and why they care about storytelling in music. culturally, do we want to say about our lives? art is the muse of history. the super bowl was a huge game changer. tavis: we were talking about this, in advance of your arrival. every one of us still has chills from the performance.

>> thank you. tavis: that was amazing. >> sleepless nights. two minutes that have to be perfect. tavis: i am glad you did not sleep. you nailed that. the smithsonian just took the amazing dress for me and it is exciting. people think differently about how we sang. bad.say, it is not so hopefully, that will make people think in a more broadway. i love to sing. tavis: what kind of response did you get from everyday people when they saw you walking down the sidewalk in new york after the super bowl performance? >> a lot of people are so emotional about the national anthem. it means a lot about them -- to

them. i can't believe the mail i got. we love it. we are so glad that there is a more formal version of it. incredibly positive response. really positive. as keys imports go -- go, how chords difficult is it to nail the national anthem? >> this is not for amateurs. it is 1.5 octaves. you add the high note that people come to expect and it is to octaves. it is challenging for everybody. it is basic for us to have range. still, it is not a no-brain or. -- no-brainer. that is why ray

charles did it. i am almost out time. you come out to elena and i'm trying to make the most of my time. it is great to have you on the set. turned out to be what you thought or hoped to be, given where you started? >> absolutely. first of all, when you are young, you dream everything. when you're young, you think you are going to be the world. it is reality that teaches you. not that long that beverly sills posted johnny carson for a week and people were on the television all the time who sang like i do. the three tenors changed the playing field. that said, there is nothing i could wish for.

i have sung all over the world. my children have traveled with me all over the world. i am going to japan in a few weeks. i love what i do. it is a privilege and an honor to do what i do. seasons forh for 11 this moment to happen. it finally happened. this fleming appeared on program and i could not be more tickled to sit and talk with her. free car named desire. tennessee williams stop the opera stars renée fleming as blanche. >> thank you. tavis: good to have you. that is the show for tonight. thank you for watching. as always, the faith. ♪

>> for more information, visit pbs. tavis: join me next time for two conversations. rand paul and jim parsons. that is next time. we will see you then. ♪

>> and by contributions to your pbs station by viewers like you. thank you.

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