FLEMING E "NORMA"

The Associated Press, 30 November 2007

NEW YORK — Renee Fleming has decided to ditch plans to performBellini's opera "Norma" because the role "just didn't fit," herpublicist said.The 48-year-old star soprano had planned to sing the title role forthe first time next summer at the Tanglewood Music Center with theBoston Symphony Orchestra and conductor James Levine. It was supposedto be a warmup for performances in Zurich, Switzerland, and a newRobert Wilson production at the Metropolitan Opera in the 2011-12season.But the opera wasn't included in the Tanglewood schedule beingreleased Friday. Instead, Fleming was listed for the Aug. 2 concertperformance of Tchaikovsky's "Eugene Onegin.""The part just didn't fit as she had hoped it would after living withit," Fleming publicist Mary Lou Falcone said Thursday. "Sometimes youcan sing it through, sing it through perfectly, it's not a problem.But I think that she lived with it and realized that when you infuseit with the drama and everything else that goes with it, it justwasn't the best choice for her."Tanglewood's season opens June 26 with the Mark Morris Dance Group.The Boston Symphony's season at the Lenox, Mass., music center openswith Levine conducting a concert performance of Berlioz' monumentalopera "Les Troyens" in two parts, July 5 and July 6. It closes Aug.24 with Christoph von Dohnanyi conducting the BSO in Beethoven'sNinth Symphony.