Remembering Opera Singers Present For March On Washington 1963

In honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day today, which celebrates the birthday of the great civil rights leader, we bring you two performances from the Civil Rights March on Washington that took place at the Lincoln Memorial on August 28, 1963. This was the occasion for Dr. King's famous "I Have a Dream" speech:

Camilla Williams sings the National Anthem in Washington, D.C., 1963

Marian Anderson sings "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands" in Washington, D.C., 1963

Joyce DiDonato Goes Patriotic With National Anthem For World Series

Clad in Kansas City Royals-blue fingernail polish and knee-high black leather books, Joyce DiDonato delivered the National Anthem at the 2014 Worlds Series with quivering and deliberate tone that did the opera world proud. Looking as hip as any pop star, the mezzo-soprano is a Kansas City native and lifelong baseball fan. Watch the performance, and a special news feature about the event, after the jump.

Will Renée Fleming's Super Bowl Exposure Catapult Her To Next Level?

On February 2, 2014, Renée Fleming sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" for Super Bowl XLVIII to a stadium with a capacity of 82,566 people in addition to a home-viewing audience of 111.5 million (the largest in the history of American television). The response to an opera singer performing America's National Anthem for the first time in the sports event's history came swiftly from the Twitter crowd, Facebook followers and YouTube commentators. The general public, more accustomed to the likes of Christina Aguilera, Dixie Chicks, and Beyoncé Knowles warbling out the famous tune, was surprisingly supportive with positive feedback. What does all of this media exposure mean to Renée Fleming and her illustrious career? At the time of this writing, the video of the event on YouTube has been viewed over 800,000 times. Taking a look at the artist's Facebook page days before the Super Bowl appearance, she had just over 77,000 "likes" and now the page stands at 94,362. No official data has been released on whether record and MP3 sales have skyrocketed, but a quick glimpse at Amazon.com shows that the Decca-exclusive artist has three albums in the top-20 best seller list for opera & vocal (Guilty Pleasures, The Art of Renée Fleming, and her self-titled album from 2000). Next week's results may yield a more revealing story. Be sure to keep an eye on the Billboard charts. The opera star has already sung for the Queen of England, the President of the United States, and has even read the "Top 10 List" on Late Show with David Letterman. Two nights after the Super Bowl, the soprano was back at the Metropolitan Opera performing the title role in Dvořák's Rusalka to a crowd of 4,000. How large that number must seem to a young singer at the beginning of their career and how small it must feel after performing at the Super Bowl. Are there going to be stadium concerts in the future that will sell out the likes of "The Three Tenors" during it's most popular days? Unlikely. The real question: What is the next level? Write a book? Done. Appear in a movie? Done. Win a Grammy Award? Done (4 times). Act in a stage play? That's coming too. Perhaps she really isn't looking for more. After all the accomplishments, she might list happy wife and proud mother as her most cherished. And for the fashionistas that are wondering, she wore "...a custom Vera Wang black long sleeve gown with pleated accent at the waist, and an ivory silk faille floor length wrap coat with exposed shoulder and hand draped detail." [Source, Source]

Renée Fleming Dishes With Barbara Walters About Super Bowl Gig

Angela Gheorghiu Sings Romanian National Anthem In Celebration

Romania celebrates a Guiness Book of World Records victory as it drapes the largest flag out over
Clinceni Airfield just south of Bucharest. Read the story here and check out two more photos of
the soprano after the jump.

Lesley Garrett Surprises Cyclists With Operatic Rendition of Anthem

"Cycling champ Bradley Wiggins was in visible pain last night – as opera diva Lesley Garrett blasted Paris with the national anthem. Wiggins stood high on the winner’s podium as the classical singer warbled a particularly grating version of 'God Save The Queen.' The 32-year-old cyclist and Mod fan was handed the winner's trophy bowl then, with a pained expression, listened to Garrett, who was clad in a Union Jack dress. Teammate Chris Froome and Italian Vicenzo Nibali, who finished the Tour de France second and third respectively, looked on expressionless." [Source] See an image of Lesley Garrett singing, after the jump.

Tenor Jim Cornelison Scores With Touching National Anthem

As an example of the recent article written by Susanne Mentzer, watch this stirring rendition of the "The Star-Spangled Banner" sung by tenor (and former Lyric Opera of Chicago Young Artist) Jim Cornelison:

More about Mr. Cornelison after the jump.