Event
Renée Fleming
Voice of Nature – The Anthropocene Naples Philharmonic Special Performance
Naples Philharmonic
Alexander Shelley, artistic and music director
Renée Fleming, soprano
Renée Fleming, whose “voice floats and blooms with its customary beauty” (The New Yorker), is one of the most highly acclaimed singers of our day — a regular on the stages of the world’s great opera houses and concert halls.
Known for bringing new audiences to classical music and opera, Fleming has sung with some of the biggest names in music, including with Luciano Pavarotti, Andrea Bocelli, Elton John, Paul Simon and Sting, among many others. Her voice is also featured on the soundtracks of Best Picture Oscar winners The Shape of Water and The Lord of the Rings. A 2023 Kennedy Center honoree and recipient of the U.S. National Medal of Arts, Fleming has performed at the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony, Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee and even the Super Bowl.
In this highly anticipated program, Fleming joins the Naples Philharmonic to perform Voice of Nature – The Anthropocene, inspired by her recent Grammy-winning solo album exploring the peril and fragility of the natural world. An original film by the National Geographic Society accompanies a portion of the program, creating an unforgettable multimedia experience that spans the classical, romantic and contemporary eras, with music ranging from Handel to Björk.
The Artistic and Music Director position is generously endowed by Sharon and Timothy Ubben.
Naples Philharmonic
Naples Philharmonic
Founded in 1982, the Naples Philharmonic normally performs over 140 orchestral and chamber concerts, as well as opera and ballet, education, community and special event concerts from September through June each year.
Meet the Musicians
Alexander Shelley
Artistic and Music Director Meet Alexander
Jack Everly
Principal Pops Conductor Meet Jack
James Ehnes
Artistic Partner Meet James
Manuel López-Gómez
Associate Conductor Meet Manuel
Alvin Ho
Assistant Conductor Meet Alvin
Alexander Shelley
Alexander Shelley
A “natural communicator, both on and off the podium” (The Daily Telegraph), Alexander Shelley performs across six continents with the world’s finest orchestras and soloists. A passionate and articulate advocate for the role of music in society, he has spearheaded multiple award-winning and groundbreaking projects unlocking creativity in the next generation and bringing symphonic music to new audiences.
With a conducting technique described as “immaculate, everything crystal clear and a tool to his inborn musicality” (Yorkshire Post), Alexander is known for the precision and integrity of his interpretations, for his creative programming and for the breadth of his repertoire. He collaborates with artists such as Lang-Lang, Joshua Bell, Daniel Hope, Hélène Grimaud, Itzhak Perlman, Renée Fleming and Thomas Hampson alongside some of the finest orchestras of Europe, the Americas, Asia and Australasia.
As of January 2015, Alexander has served as principal associate conductor of London’s Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, with whom he curates an annual series of concerts at Cadogan Hall and tours both nationally and internationally. In September 2015, Alexander succeeded Pinchas Zukerman as music director of Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra, the youngest in its history.
In 2016, Alexander was awarded the ECHO prize for his second Deutsche Grammophon recording, Peter and the Wolf, and both the ECHO and Deutsche Grunderpreis in his capacity as artistic director of the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen’s Zukunftslabor, a visionary project of grass-roots engagement, which uses music as a source for social cohesion and integration.
He has a wealth of experience conducting and presenting major open-air events; in Nuremberg alone, he has, over the course of nine years, hosted more than half a million people at the annual Klassik Open Air concerts — Europe’s largest classical music event.
Meet Alexander
Renée Fleming
Renée Fleming
One of the most beloved and celebrated musical ambassadors of our time, soprano Renée Fleming captivates audiences with her sumptuous voice, consummate artistry and compelling stage presence as she continues to grace the world’s leading opera stages and concert halls, now extending her reach to include other musical forms and media. She has appeared with all the major orchestras of Europe and North America and collaborated with such renowned conductors as Daniel Barenboim, Christoph Eschenbach, Seiji Ozawa, Sir Antonio Pappano, André Previn, the late Sir Georg Solti and many others.
Renée Fleming has made numerous prize-winning recordings, having been nominated for 18 Grammy Awards and winning five. The “people’s diva” has been sought after for numerous distinguished occasions, from the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize ceremony to performances in Beijing during the 2008 Olympic Games.
Known for bringing new audiences to classical music and opera, she has starred in and hosted an array of television and radio broadcasts, including The Met: Live in HD and Live from Lincoln Center. Her voice is featured on the soundtracks of Best Picture Oscar winners The Shape of Water and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.
Fleming earned a Tony Award nomination for her performance in the 2018 Broadway production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Carousel.
