Bullseye with Jesse Thorn is a production of MaximumFun.org and is distributed by NPR.

I'm Jesse Thorn, it's Bullseye.

René Fleming is America's Diva, one of our greatest surprised. You don't need to be

an expert in opera or classical music to know that. All you need to do is just, you know, listen

to her sing.

We sing the last song of the world for the most important day of the world.

In a career that spanned three decades, Fleming has performed at venues around the world,

singing in acclaimed productions of operas composed by Mozart, Puccini, Verity,

Vorgiak and more. And even outside of the classical world, she is the only classical singer

to have ever sung the national anthem at the Super Bowl. She performed at Barack Obama's

inauguration in 2009. And lately, she's been working in musicals, one musical in particular,

the light in the piazza, just wrapped in Los Angeles with productions on the way in Chicago

and Sydney. It's based on a 1960s novella by Elizabeth Spencer. And during its Broadway

run, the show won six Tony Awards, including best original score and best orchestrations.

It's set in Italy and the summer of 1953. Renee plays Margaret a wealthy American. She's

touring the country with her daughter Clara. Clara is 26 and something of a free spirit.

And in Italy, she falls in love. But Margaret's worried about her daughter, who's never really

been in love before. She doesn't know if Clara can handle living without them. It's a beautiful

story about love, trauma, and the fluid nature of family relationships. Here's a song from

the light in the piazza performed by Renee Fleming. It's from one of the final moments in the

show when Margaret explains to Clara that love isn't always a fairy tale. It's something

worth seeking out, even if it means risking everything. It's called Fable.

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