VOA标准英语2012--Opera Diva Entrances Audiences with Musical Variety

Opera Diva Entrances Audiences with Musical Variety

In the United States, where sales show country music is the most popular music genre¹, closely followed by pop and hip-hop, opera superstar Renee Fleming has managed to become well known outside the rarified world of classical song.

No wonder she is known as "the people's diva."

Although she has sung for royalty² and presidents, Fleming was not born to glamour³. She and her siblings⁴ were raised near Rochester, more than 500 kilometers from New York’s Metropolitan⁵ Opera House, the epicenter of classical song. 

Her parents taught music in the public schools.

“My parents both sang," Fleming says. "They sang duets together that they both taught. The discussion at the dinner table invariably was about the students and the vocal⁶ issues or the musicals. And when we would travel - and we took a lot of road trips - we would invariably sing in the car in perfect harmony in fact."

Fleming herself was shy and prone⁷ to stage fright. Help came from an unexpected quarter during her college days when she successfully auditioned⁸ for a jazz gig, and then became the trio’s regular weekend singer.

“I was expected to talk to the audience which was, for me, traumatic almost," she recalls. "But eventually, you rise to the occasion. Young people have a way of adapting. So that started me on a road that I now love.” 

Fleming is known for the warmth she brings to her performances. Unlike many classical artists, she engages directly with her audience and has won many new fans for classical music through that interaction. 

“Describing a little bit what I am doing and using humor in a way to bring down barriers, particularly of difficult music," she says. "It’s all music I love or I wouldn’t sing it. But that doesn’t mean it’s accessible to everyone." 

Fleming realizes many people view opera and classical song as esoteric. So she takes care to reel them in slowly.

“A lot of people are most appreciative⁹ of pieces they already know. Ideally, in a perfect world, it’s late 19th and early 20th century Romantic music," she says. "Puccini is the number one composer when it comes to concerts that I present. And then there is music that maybe isn’t known, but may be very beautiful.” 

“The Song to the Moon” by the Czech composer Antonin Dvorak was once obscure, but now has become one of Fleming’s signature pieces. 

Fleming admits that while mainstream¹⁰ audiences tend to think of opera as monolithic¹¹, opera fans tend to put non-classical vocal music, from Broadway show tunes¹² to folk songs and rock 'n roll, into one basket. 

“And they are enormously distinctive¹³ and not just from the sound of the voice but from the actual style." 

In fact, Fleming has recorded in a daring variety of styles, from Olivier Messiaen’s surreal French song-cycle "Poemes pour Mi" to the Blossom Dearie jazz number "Touch the Hand of Love" to "Stepping Stone from Dark Hope," her independent rock album. 

Although she will probably remain most at home with opera, Fleming works tirelessly to help others learn the joys inherent in all the arts and in every mode of creative expression.

1 genre   

n.(文学、艺术等的)类型，体裁，风格

参考例句：

• My favorite music genre is blues.我最喜欢的音乐种类是布鲁斯音乐。
• Superficially,this Shakespeare's work seems to fit into the same genre.从表面上看， 莎士比亚的这个剧本似乎属于同一类型。

2 royalty   

n.皇家，皇族

参考例句：

• She claims to be descended from royalty.她声称她是皇室后裔。
• I waited on tables，and even catered to royalty at the Royal Albert Hall.我做过服务生， 甚至在皇家阿伯特大厅侍奉过皇室的人。

3 glamour   

n.魔力，魅力；vt.迷住

参考例句：

• Foreign travel has lost its glamour for her.到国外旅行对她已失去吸引力了。
• The moonlight cast a glamour over the scene.月光给景色增添了魅力。

4 siblings   

n.兄弟，姐妹( sibling的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A triplet sleeps amongst its two siblings. 一个三胞胎睡在其两个同胞之间。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She has no way of tracking the donor or her half-siblings down. 她没办法找到那个捐精者或她的兄弟姐妹。 来自时文部分

5 metropolitan   

adj.大城市的，大都会的

参考例句：

• Metropolitan buildings become taller than ever.大城市的建筑变得比以前更高。
• Metropolitan residents are used to fast rhythm.大都市的居民习惯于快节奏。

6 vocal   

adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目

参考例句：

• The tongue is a vocal organ.舌头是一个发音器官。
• Public opinion at last became vocal.终于舆论哗然。

7 prone   

adj.(to)易于…的，很可能…的；俯卧的

参考例句：

• Some people are prone to jump to hasty conclusions.有些人往往作出轻率的结论。
• He is prone to lose his temper when people disagree with him.人家一不同意他的意见,他就发脾气。

8 auditioned   

vi.试听（audition的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• None of the actresses we have auditioned is suitable. 我们试听的这些女演员都不合适。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• What is that, from some script you auditioned for in the '40s? 什么玩意儿是你40年代试的那些剧本吗？ 来自电影对白

9 appreciative   

adj.有鉴赏力的，有眼力的；感激的

参考例句：

• She was deeply appreciative of your help.她对你的帮助深表感激。
• We are very appreciative of their support in this respect.我们十分感谢他们在这方面的支持。

10 mainstream   

n.（思想或行为的）主流；adj.主流的

参考例句：

• Their views lie outside the mainstream of current medical opinion.他们的观点不属于当今医学界观点的主流。
• Polls are still largely reflects the mainstream sentiment.民调还在很大程度上反映了社会主流情绪。

11 monolithic   

adj.似独块巨石的；整体的

参考例句：

• Don't think this gang is monolithic.不要以为这帮人是铁板一块。
• Mathematics is not a single monolithic structure of absolute truth.数学并不是绝对真理的单一整体结构。

12 tunes   

n.曲调，曲子( tune的名词复数 )v.调音( tune的第三人称单数 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调

参考例句：

• a potpourri of tunes 乐曲集锦
• When things get a bit too much, she simply tunes out temporarily. 碰到事情太棘手时，她干脆暂时撒手不管。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 distinctive   

adj.特别的，有特色的，与众不同的

参考例句：

• She has a very distinctive way of walking.她走路的样子与别人很不相同。
• This bird has several distinctive features.这个鸟具有几种突出的特征。