Customer Reviews

Renee Fleming: A Film by Tony Palmer

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I thought this was just so touching! I could watch this fim again and again and I don't know if I'll ever grow weary of it. So much beautiful footage and very "artistically" put together. Some favorite moments include:

--"Chi il bel sogno di Doretta" live, where sings that high note unbelievably easy and on pitch
--"You'll Never Walk Alone" live, and in an AMAZING arrangement where she hits at least a high E flat!
--Renée's mother describes when Renée sung at the Richard Tucker Gala and Mom begins to tear up because "so was SOOO good!"
--She sings "Summertime" for the Clintons
--her being moved to tears while rehearsing for Otello
--The entire "Beim Schlafengehen" from Strauss' Four Last Songs

There's footage you missed and the footage you didn't even know existed! I also found touching all she said about worrying about how to balance her career with being a Mom. She actually discusses how she seriously said to herself one day that's it's been fun but now it's time to settle down, find a nice teaching job, and be a Mom. That was touching.

And of course there's just lots and lots of live footage: Desdemonda, Ellington standards, duets with Hvorostovsky, Domingo, Pavarotti, and more more more. Plus, her in some REALLY REALLY ravishing dresses. A little annoying were these clips of Renée lip-syncing some arias. That was a little corney and boring. And there was a lot of just uninteresting dialogue, even by Ms. Fleming! Was it important to tell us that her mother was pregant with her when her mother graduated as the first woman from some obscure college? It seemed like desperate small talk. One thing I would have added to this film is narration or maybe some sort of timeline of her career. And I think the DVD would have really been interesting if Fleming discussed some scandelous or not so great moments in her career, such as the criticism she has occasionally received about her singing or maybe some bad experiences in Europe like the whole Schwartzkopf ordeal. I mean, the entire DVD can't just be happy friendly cartoon happy colors. The good AND the bad will make a compelling and interesting film.

It's all just good fun and I'm glad to have gotten my hands on this. A must for a true Fleming fan!

Overall, this DVD is wonderful. The content and interviews with Renee Fleming, her sister, family, colleagues, and fans provided moving and keen insights about the world's renowned lyric soprano. The vignettes were my favourites (separate from the film) as Fleming provided personal details about her past/current struggles as a singer, mother, and person. Her honest descriptions are touching and reflect her self awareness (what a rarity!). In particular, the vignettes "Vocal Beginnings" and "Rehearsal and Recital" were my favourite and should be of immense interest to other voice students--the former includes Fleming's comedic performance of a song that parodies the relationship between a singer and a voice teacher. The film also captures beautiful candid shots of Fleming with her daughters and in rehearsals (one in particular where she must stop singing because the music has moved her to tears). This just goes to explain why she is such a communicative artist.

What I didn't like about the film was the way it was put together. It felt like a quilt made up of incongruent patches. Throughout the film, there are patches of Fleming singing/speaking stitched together with nature scenes. The inclusion of these nature scenes makes the film feel a little corny and choppy--almost like something one would envision in a New Age relaxation/meditation video. I also didn't care for the mini interviews with some of her fans. When asked what was so special about her voice, the opinions were oftentimes predictable and mundane. Why not ask the real experts? I suppose there is some merit in getting the audience's opinions but it does not make for interesting footage. More interviews with individuals like Sir Peter Hall (a stage director with whom Fleming works in the film) would have made the film more enlightening and insightful.

I must give credit to the director, however, for his touching personal note (in the enclosed DVD booklet). In it, he describes his observations of Fleming over the 9 months it took to make the film. Too bad he didn't interview himself in the film!

Overall, the film has wonderful CONTENT and it could have gotten the 5th star, had the film been put together more thoughtfully and aesthetically.

Many will know Tony Palmer from watching his movie on Maria La Divina Callas and IMHO it's nice for a change not to have merely a bio and a chart of big successes but fantasy and interesting footage such as the incredibly moving 911 tribute. Renee Fleming has become an American treasure, America's great opera diva, but here you can see what a charming and down to earth person she is. Sweet with her children, always working on herself, she herself is her own worst critic. Hearing her sing "Amazing grace" or Manon's big aria floored me, her exquisite Marschallin and Contessa are beautifully presented as is her rendition of Rusalka's song to the moon, the clip that was made after she won the Richard Tucker contest. This GORGEOUS clip is worth the entire money alone, this is a very enjoyable DVD, not just another boring singer-bio.

I am an extreme fan of Fleming and couldn't wait to find out more about her than I already knew in this DVD. However, I was able to see and hear a bunch of clips of CDs that I already own. It was great to see some of it live, but there was only about 10 seconds of each clip, but about 10 minutes of her rehearsing for the Verdi Requiem. Some questions that I would have liked answered were, who was/is her inspiration? When did she know she wanted to be a professional singer? Where all has she studied? What is her favorite role? With whom does she love to work? There could have been numerous questions answered. I also would have loved to see clips of her as a young singer and also in many different stages in her career. I also think that the film was boring at times and very choppy. I was extremely dissapointed with this DVD, but I still had to give it 3 stars because it is Renee Fleming after all. I am still a huge fan despite this poor DVD.

I could not disagree more with the below reviewer! I am a huge Renee Fleming fan; as a young singer myself (21), I look to her for inspiration. Yes, her voice is gorgeous ... but what this DVD does amazingly well is to capture a bit of Renee Fleming, the person. We see in this a woman who lives an incredibly hectic life with grace that most of us only dream of. It is an amazingly honest view of her talent and vocal versatility, as well as a tribute to an amazingly genuine, down to earth person. I watch this DVD over and over, just to observe what a marvelous actress she is (especially in the version of Otello that they show).

PS -- Reading her book, "The Inner Voice," really enhanced the DVD viewing for me.

Renee Fleming is one of the few singers who can give me a natural high!!! Her voice is so beautiful that if I hear her sing on a good quality sound system, I literally will feel a rush of endorphins.
I appreciate Renee's honesty about her insecurities and initial vocal difficulties. To think that one of the most beautiful voices in the world (and THE most beautiful in my opinion) claims NOT to be a natural singer (according to her very helpful and inspiring book, "The Inner Voice").
Though I in no way begrudge Renee her transcendentally gorgeous voice, I will admit that I am jealous! :-) She's so lucky to be the bearer of such an instrument--she also is highly intelligent, reflective, and deeply devoted to her family.

We know Fleming rocks. A highly talented artist who gets some serious flack from those who don't like and some major adoration from the rest of us. But then didn't Callas, Domingo, Ponselle etc?
The DVD is ok, we get a wonderful moment seeing her on the muppets and some touching insight into her personal feelings, the intense shyness she dealt with as a teen and indeed now, how she deals with being a devoted mum as well as a hard working musician and we also get some wonderful rehearsal footage.
However, this director puts no energy and sparkle into this DVD, it becomes bland and at times boring (the 9/11 memorial service and Mme Fleming meeting the Clintons being particular low lights) and rather emotional interviews with her mother may leave one not knowing where to look. It is seeing Ms Fleming herself, rehearsing, performing (there are some wonderful excerpts of arias and opera's where we get to indulge in her creamy tone and vocal gold) and sharing her thoughts that we need more of in this DVD.
You have to be a Fleming fan to sit through the 20-30% of this DVD that is uninteresting or flat but rest assured Fleming is Fleming and that's why it's worth buying.

This DVD is pathetic. I love Renee Fleming with all my heart and there is nothing I would rather do than listen to her sing. It is too bad we didn't get more of that in this film. What is good in this film are a few clips of Renee singing and rehearsing. What is bad are a many useless interviews with the people around her (probably due to the interviewer asking all the wrong things), long interviews with people who have no more insight into Renee and her music than an enthusiastic fan might, incredibly tacky editing (including an instantaneous jump from Renee on Sesame Street to Renee singing at the site of the 9/11 attacks), a bunch of very gratuitous shots of Renee rubbing elbows with big names, a slow pace, random still shots of oceans and sunsets thrown around as filler, some ghastly boy soprano filler music, and just a general sense of taking a long time to say very little. I learned just about nothing from this DVD. Renee is lovely throughout it...she is not the problem. The problem is in the direction. Tony Palmer, shame on you. Renee Fleming deserved a classy, informative tribute full of singing and insight instead of this pile of junk.

Well, I cannot have everything. This is a very so-so documentary with some interesting off-stage moments and interviews with the wonderful Renee Fleming. However, it's just too short coming in at 1 hr. Left me wanting more for both our magnificent diva and my money. Renee deserved a much better documentary and so did her fans.
I wish Renee had discussed some of the more controversial moments in her career. It was fun to see her early childhood pictures (very cute) and the Muppets performance which had me cracking up. I question why the director followed this amusing clip with the heartbreaking performance of "Amazing Grace" at a Ground Zero tribute. It was lack of taste by Tony Palmer.
Personally, I would have liked to see more archived rehearsal and stage performance footage. Renee's two daughters are adorable and make a few appearances. I think if more additional performance footage had been added and brought the documentary to over 2 hrs then I'd feel not so shorted out of $.

I was not familiar with Opera, never heard of Renee Fleming until I saw the Mormon Tabernacle Choir a couple Xmas's ago. Renee Fleming was the guest. She walked out and was a vision! gorgeous blonde with sparkling blue eyes. When she sang I was blown away and an instant fan! In following days I bought several items of hers, including this dvd. I'm not sure what I expected, but this wasn't it. I watched once and it has been on the shelf gathering dust ever since. Thanks to my new surround sound home theater, I decided to watch all my music related dvd's again!! I'm glad I waited till now to review this. I liked this much better the second time. You can't just be a fan of opera though, you must really like Renee, and we see her warts and all.

It's odd to see how uncomfortable she seems in her own skin, and doubtfull of her insanely perfect voice. Very little "Biography" type info, which was disappointing. Tony Palmer was trying to be too artsy as well. It opens with an old "Muppets" clip with Renee singing to them about counting, then immediate flash to Renee singing at the still smoldering 9-11 site. Then somber Ingmar Bergman type music as we see some pictures of Renee as a child. Then flash to what looks like a homeless man directing an orchestra while Renee, looking haggard with wild hair sings and spits. On second viewing though, I appreciated her really letting her guard down as they filmed all.

Her version of "Never walk Alone" gives me the chills. I had the stereo SO loud and watched five times in a row. That brings us back to the artsy complaint....what's with the guys playing soccer during that stirring performance?? and why did Tony think we wanted to see them instead of Renee? I say if you are new to Opera, and are starting with one of it's big stars, don't buy this. If you really like Renee specifically and can get it for a good deal, get it and watch twice. Especially before reviewing. It's better the second time... AND buy Renee's Xmas with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir which was filmed for dvd! It's the BEST.