Five-time Grammy Award–winning soprano Renée Fleming returns to the Festival that she’s called her “training ground,” having performed at Spoleto for several summers early in her career. In this thrilling homecoming, she joins 19-time Grammy Award–winning banjo virtuoso Béla Fleck for The Fiddle and the Drum, a radiant tribute to Appalachian folk traditions. Marking our nation’s 250th anniversary, the program journeys through America’s musical heritage, weaving the expressive beauty of Fleming’s voice with Fleck’s genre-defying brilliance and the support of his all-star band, My Bluegrass Heart, with Spoleto alum Aoife O’Donovan.  

Renée Fleming and Béla Fleck are perhaps a wonderfully unexpected collaboration, but one our audiences won’t want to miss. Spoleto is thrilled to host the pair for their debut performance of The Fiddle and the Drum at the Festival’s Opening Weekend. Through mountain songs, timeless ballads, and folk hymns, this performance celebrates the enduring spirit and strength of Appalachia. 

Renée Fleming
Renée Fleming, a 2023 Kennedy Center Honoree and five-time Grammy winner, is one of the most celebrated singers of our time.  Awarded the US National Medal of Arts by President Obama, she performs at the world’s leading opera houses and concert halls, and has sung for historic events from the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony to the Super Bowl. Renée began her relationship with Spoleto Festival USA early in her career. She has become a leading advocate for research at the intersection of arts, health, and neuroscience, presenting her live program Music and Mind in more than 75 cities around the world.

Béla Fleck
Béla Fleck has redefined the banjo over a five-decade career, blending bluegrass, jazz, classical, and global music into a singular, groundbreaking voice. A 19-time Grammy Award winner, he has earned worldwide acclaim for his innovative performances with the Flecktones, collaborations with other top artists, and his boundary-pushing explorations of the instrument’s possibilities.

Attendance at all events is subject to the Festival security policy.

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