Opera star Renée Fleming to sing Arcade Fire, Muse, Death Cab on new album

(AFP PHOTO/Stan Honda)

Soprano superstar Renée Fleming will release an album of pop covers this spring, announced Decca Records on February 24. Included on Dark Hope will be songs originally performed by Arcade Fire, Band of Horses, Death Cab For Cutie, Peter Gabriel, Muse, and Leonard Cohen, and many others.

In an interview for Decca Records, Fleming said of the album, "I've always been inspired by artists who have shown musical and intellectual curiosity and the courage to take risks. Because everything about the voice interests me, I felt it would be fascinating to learn a completely different style of singing."


'Dark Hope' setlist:

"Endlessly" (Muse)
"No One's Gonna Love You" (Band of Horses)
"Oxygen" (Willy Mason)
"Today" (Jefferson Airplane)
"Intervention" (Arcade Fire)
"With Twilight As My Guide" (The Mars Volta)
"Mad World" (Tears for Fears)
"In Your Eyes" (Peter Gabriel)
"Stepping Stone" (Duffy)
"Soul Meets Body" (Death Cab For Cutie)
"Hallelujah" (Leonard Cohen)

Fleming's previous nonoperatic endeavors have included a guest performance on Joe Jackson's 1994 album Night Music and the 2005 album Haunted Heart, a jazz commaboration with pianist Fred Hersch and guitarist Bill Frisell.

A three-time Grammy award winner, Renée Fleming has performed at leading opera houses and concert halls around the world and released numerous albums from her wide opera repertory. In 2009, the American soprano was a featured performer at the inauguration celebration for US President Barack Obama.

http://reneefleming.com