Kennedy Center Announces Renée Fleming VOICES: New Concert Season Featuring Leslie Odom Jr, Megan Hilty, Alan Cumming & More!
By: Rebecca Russo Jul. 25, 2016
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and Artistic Advisor at Large Renée Fleming today announced the artists for the inaugural season of Renée Fleming VOICES, a new concert series that heralds the power of the voice across a wide range of genres. The series includes Broadway favorites such as Hamilton Tony Award® winner Leslie Odom Jr., Tony® winner Alan Cumming (Cabaret), and Tony® favorite Megan Hilty, plus acclaimed jazz vocalist Jane Monheit, opera sensation Lawrence Brownlee, multidisciplinary performance artist Rinde Eckert, and composer and jazz pianist Billy Childs, who will bring to life his Grammy Award® Treasure: Reimagining Laura Nyro.
"The range of human vocal expression is virtually limitless-there are as many kinds of voices as there are kinds of people. My goal for this new series at the Kennedy Center is to celebrate the best singing in styles that may be familiar, and also to expose audiences to types of vocal music that might be totally new to them," said Ms. Fleming. "From the classical song nominee and Kennedy Center audience -winning recording Map to the recital, to cabaret, bluegrass, rap, and world music, the common thread will be vocalism of exceptional quality or innovation, representing a diverse range of styles."
The performances offered in Renée Fleming VOICES will take full advantage of the Kennedy Center's wealth of performance spaces. Each concert has been scheduled in a venue with the size and acoustic character that best suits the music; featured performance spaces range from the intimate 324-seat Family Theater to the expansive 2,465-seat Concert Hall.
Tuesday, October 18, 2016 at 7:30 p.m.
Family Theater
"Lawrence Brownlee is one of the great tenors of our time. I can't say enough about the quality of his singing. No one has better vocal mastery, and he is equally at home singing Bel Canto or new music, as witnessed by his triumph as Charlie Parker in the opera Yardbird. I've sung opposite Larry at the Met, and to hear his beautiful sound in the intimacy of the Family Theater will be a rare treat."
Thursday, December 8, 2016 at 7 p.m.
Friday, December 9, 2016 at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m.
Family Theater
"I first saw Megan Hilty in the television show Smash and was dazzled by her singing. Musical theater lovers have been following her since her 2004 debut as Glinda in the Broadway production of Wicked."
Friday, February 3, 2017 at 7 p.m.
Family Theater
"I first heard Rinde Eckert wandering through a dinner event as a performance artist, singing and playing the accordion, and I was mesmerized. I admire artists who push the envelope, and Rinde merges gesture, language, and song in utterly original ways. I think his audiences experience something similar to what people must have felt centuries ago when the very first operas were created."
Saturday, March 11, 2017 at 8 p.m.
Eisenhower Theater
"Imagine a performer who could edge out Lin-Manuel Miranda for a prize, any prize. Last month, Leslie Odom Jr. won the 2016 Tony Award® performance in Hamilton, which I was fortunate to see. I also heard him at the Kennedy Center Spring Gala. He is a consummate, elegant artist, and this is a performance not to miss."
Friday, March 31, 2017 at 8 p.m.
Eisenhower Theater
Billy Childs-Map to the Treasure: Reimagining Laura Nyro
"It was a thrill to join Billy Childs on the recording of Map to the Treasure with my Kennedy Center Artistic Advisor colleague Yo-Yo Ma. Billy is a brilliant pianist, composer, and arranger, and Laura Nyro was a truly great American songwriter. Billy's interpretations of her songs are fresh and deeply moving."
Saturday, April 29, 2017 at 8 p.m.
Concert Hall
Alan Cumming-Alan Cumming Sings Sappy Songs
"Alan Cumming is that rare kind of actor, who is convincing in any kind of role, but also invests everything he does with his own personal stamp. He is famous for his virtuosic Macbeth onstage, and his role on television's The Good Wife, but now he's tackling another discipline. As amazing as he was in the Broadway musical Cabaret, his performances in the genre of cabaret are becoming known for their fearless honesty."
Friday, May 5, 2017 at 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.
Family Theater
Jane Monheit-The Ella Fitzgerald Centennial Celebration
"One of our greatest living jazz vocalists, Jane Monheit combines the virtuosity of the most highly trained classical singers with the sensibility of a jazz stylist and a truly gorgeous, uniquely beautiful sound. To hear her celebrate Ella Fitzgerald, a legend of this genre, will be amazing."
Tickets for most engagements in the Renée Fleming VOICES series will go on sale to Kennedy Center members on Monday, July 25, 2016, and to the general public on Monday, August 1, 2016. Patrons can purchase tickets in person at the Kennedy Center Box Office, call Instant Charge at (202) 467-4600, or visit the Kennedy Center website at www.kennedy-center.org. Ticket information for the Lawrence Brownlee performance on Tuesday, October 18, 2016 will be announced soon.
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