Nashville Symphony with Renee Fleming and Rod Gilfry: An evening of great diction.
The Nashville Symphony's concert "The Brightness of Light" (Kevin Puts: Composer) with Renée Fleming and Rod Gilfry on Wednesday, May 20, 2026 at Schermerhorn Symphony Center, was a testimony for excellent diction. As a former singer, I can tell you that one of the biggest challenges opera singers face is being understood from the stage. It has become one of the rarest found today and I was beginning to lose hope that it was even possible.
My first opera director in Germany was Johannes Felsentstein, son of the "Father of Deutsche Regietheater" Walter Felsenstein. His number one goal in his productions, and I did 12 with him, was that you must be understood. We did everything in German and I was basically just off the boat and while I could sing pretty well enough in German, the intense training in German I got in those first 3 years of my career later became one of my hallmarks. So, this is naturally an area that I am very attuned to.
The first half of the program was the Kevin Puts composition "The Brightness of Light". It is a 12 movement piece that flows together seamlessly throughout featuring texts from letters between Georgia O'Keefe, visual artist, and her husband, Alfred Stieglitz, photographer. The work was commissioned by The Eastman School of Music for a collaboration with Renée Fleming and Kevin Puts, both alumni of the school. They centered their choice to be on an iconic American woman.
The composition "The Brightness of Light" is an orchestral "Ohrenschmaus", a sort of smorgasbord of sound for the ears. There is no denying Puts' skill as an orchestrator and composer. Each movement is a unique and aural kaleidoscopic, describing the texts in intimate detail as accurately sung by Fleming and Gilfry. I must admit that I am not sure whether the mikes present were used to amplify the general sound into the hall or just to make an archive recording. To most this wouldn't matter, and it probably doesn't, but to me the true measure of a voice is in the ability for it to project clearly into the hall. There is little doubt that Fleming and Gilfry have voices which have been ample for large halls the world over, and I witnessed her "Manon" at the Met years ago, and it was beautiful. It sounded natural to me and so I'll refer to it as such. Obviously, the second half of the concert was miked for the Broadway portion.
What most people don't understand about opera is that when you hear an opera live in a theater opera singers should just sound like normal people. The quality of a singer in a hall is what makes an opera singer an opera singer and not that they should sound like what recordings have given us the idea that an opera singer should sound like. There is no way to capture it on a recording of any kind. The only place to hear music is live...everything else is just not anything like it. I appreciated Rod Gilfry's comment about this during the concert, and it was heartily applauded by the audience. PREACH!
The Singers
Renée Fleming has one of the most 'normal' sounds in all of opera. She doesn't gunk it up with a lot of operatic gestures that is often the case used by singers to 'impress' the audience. She is completely honest in her singing and it is absolutely beautiful to hear in all areas of her voice. Her high notes dance with all of the glitter of a soprano and her low notes wisely and effectively cheat in some chest voice to give it adequate presence. The result is a midrange which is balanced and rich with a slightly sultry quality amidst a presentation that is both humble and dramatic at the same time. Above all of this is her dedication to 'text' clarity. I'm not saying you could understand every word, that is almost impossible given that things move by so fast, but I understood darn well near all of it. The parts I didn't understand from both was mostly because they were somewhat covered up by the orchestra behind them at times. Fleming is completely devoid of all "Diva" allure and is as close to an ideal singer as I can imagine.
Rod Gilfry, baritone, has a wide ranged and rich baritone voice. His presentation is somewhat more typical operatic singing but still remains honest and also textually comprehendible for the audience. He possesses a natural charm, and isn't afraid to give it the little extra hambone when necessary. I was impressed by his ability to sing the various ranges in the musical literature so well. For a musical "Baritenor" he is well healed for sure. I'd love to hear him sing Gaston from Disney's Beauty and the Beast. He would be ideal for that. His "Some Enchanted Evening" was beautiful, especially considering it was composed for the bass Ezio Pinza, before musicals were miked.
My reviews are not meant to be critiques as such, but rather to give the reader an idea about the performance. I have been the topic of critiques many times, both good and bad, and don't really think it helps much either way.
The Concert
What lies near and dear to my heart was the character of this concert. I sang in many 'gala' concerts over the years in Germany. One of the abilities I possessed was crossover. I could do all of the opera you'd want, and still be able to turn around and perform operetta, musical and jazz/pop things as well. So, seeing the first half of serious music and the second half of 'show' music, is something that I am completely familiar with.
Starting the second half off with the overture to Candide by Leonard Bernstein is always a great thing to do. It is such a show piece and I have heard it performed many times. Maestro Giancarlo Guerrero whipped up the Nashville Symphony to a furry to the delight of the audience. Usually, that position of the concerts are reserved for such pieces, many from operetta. The traditional American musicals could be compared to operettas as they also possess rich orchestral writing, and really, one would have to give American musicals the nod from a purely orchestral standpoint. The full symphonic sound from the Nashville Symphony with this music is simply stunning. Coordinating the singers with the orchestra with all of the rubato and dynamic variations is no small task.
Generational Memory
Above all I think what came to mind in this concert is something that was discussed during the lecture on Monday about 'generational memory' and how that affects us more than we realize. Granted, much of the audience was my age and older, but still, there were many younger folks there and they were also moved by the familiar sounds of the musicals from an era long past. It is something that needs to happen more often today. We are moved by the deep messages that music from our common past that sort of resonates within us, it almost feels like a heart massage. It is something I also experienced in the Memphis concert a couple of weeks ago and reflected in the Ives' piece in Louisville when the chorus dispersed throughout the audience stood up to sing an old hymn. Music like that aren't just memorable melodies, but even if you didn't even know the music, there is something inherited in it we have that we can't escape. It 'restores' the soul. Well, it restores my soul...
Go to your symphony
As I was contemplating the evening at the side of Schermerhorn Symphony Hall, I overheard a passersby, from the "Super Bowl Announcement Party" that was held just a few blocks away on Broadway, ask his friend, "Have you ever been to a concert here?" and he answered "No". I was talking with the Uber driver on my way back to my hotel and commented about how incredible Nashville had become and he answered, "The people who come here for the first time are all amazed at Nashville. They have in their minds it's just a little town that has some country music going on. They have no idea what it has become." I asked a waiter at a restaurant, "Are you a musician?" He answered, "Most everyone in Nashville is." So, the term Music City USA really holds true. The fact that there is so much classical music going on here can only lift it up even more. I can't believe this town. It is sort of a "Music City Miracle" of its own. That anyone could think that they wouldn't enjoy a symphony concert here is beyond me.
In closing...
Musiterania is all about lifting up the genre of live, unplugged, classical music in the form it was meant to be performed. It is a world unto itself, and a wonderful world to step into in this time of global craziness. The journey continues!