Renee Fleming’s vocal talent is acclaimed worldwide as “the gold standard of soprano sound.” An international artist for more than a decade, she is recognized for her compelling artistry, beautiful sound, and interpretive talents. Fleming is one of the most sought-after performers onstage and in recordings, and has been nominated for eight Grammys and won the award twice.
Through the hard work of relentless practice and a thorough attention to learning the smallest details of operatic roles, Fleming developed her voice and acting ability to perform masterpieces throughout the world. She is a great example to all performers about how to develop their talents by continually doing the hard work needed to hone the techniques and fundamentals of their trade. For Fleming, this lesson of doing the hard work needed to develop technique started at a very young age, as she explains in her autobiography, The Inner Voice: The Making Of A Singer. “I spent my infancy in a playpen beside the piano where my mother gave voice lessons at home while my father went off to teach music at the nearby high school. I remember her students warbling through their lessons. One girl wore a body brace and sang ‘When Love Is Kind,’ committed forever to my memory in the sparrow-light voice of this girl who stood unnaturally erect in front of my mother in the afternoon.”“I have to wonder now what aspect of that exposure would be more beneficial to a baby opera singer: the music itself or the constant repetition, the never-ending drill of practice. My life might have turned out entirely differently had I been born the daughter of ticket takers at an opera house and so had grown up seeing opening nights, glamorous, glittery productions of the sort that would fill a child’s head with big ideas. I count myself lucky to have aligned my own beginning with the beginning elements of music: notes, scales, the constant hunt for the right pitch. I feel certain that if I absorbed any lessons at all in the first months and years of my life, they must have been about the work that went into making a beautiful sound.”Like Fleming, performers in any field need to stay focused on doing the hard work each day to develop the techniques of their art, education, sport or professional field. Success is built on the small tasks of practice, studying and rehearsing for larger performances. Success is built on the small details of improving your technique.The hard work to improve technique comes down to two key factors: Having a formal plan each day, week, month and year to practice and improve, and dedicating the time each day to work at your craft. With these elements in place, you can develop the focus needed to keep your development on course. To help you get started, answer each question below to evaluate whether you have a plan and are dedicating the time needed to “make a beautiful sound” with your talent:By answering these questions, you take an important step along your path to develop a plan and free up time to do the hard work needed to become a talented performer.
