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Renee Fleming To Sing The National Anthem At The Super Bowl

Andrew Eccles
/
Decca

(AP&WXXI News)  The Super Bowl will have a touch of the classical this year: Opera star Renee Fleming will sing the national anthem.

The four-time Grammy winner will perform before the Denver Broncos and the Seattle Seahawks play at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., on Feb 2. Fleming, a graduate of the Eastman School of Music and a former Churchville resident, is the first opera star to sing the national anthem at the Super Bowl. In recent years, it has been performed mainly by a mix of pop and country stars.

Known as ``The People's Diva,'' the soprano is closely identified with the New York City region, having spent years singing on such iconic stages as Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall. Last year, she received the National Medal of Arts, the highest honor the government gives to artists.

Randy Gorbman is WXXI's director of news and public affairs. Randy manages the day-to-day operations of WXXI News on radio, television, and online.