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.  

Renée Fleming and Béla Fleck are perhaps a wonderfully unexpected collaboration, but one our audiences won’t want to miss. A few weeks after debuting this music at the Grand Ole Opry, they will bring their live album show to 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. She has performed at the world’s leading opera houses and concert halls, and for historic events including the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony, the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and the 2012 Diamond Jubilee Concert at Buckingham Palace. In 2008, she became the first woman to solo headline a Metropolitan Opera opening night gala, and in 2014 was the first classical artist to sing the national anthem at the Super Bowl. Renée began her relationship with Spoleto Festival USA in the late 1980s and continues to captivate audiences with her artistry and presence.

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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