USA Today: Fleming ‘absolutely nailed’ national anthem
National news outlets and millions of fans agree—Renée Fleming’s gorgeous national anthem brought the house down before kickoff tonight.
The NJSO provided the orchestral accompaniment for the performance; the Armed Forces Chorus joined Fleming on the field.
USA Today writes that the “opera singer absolutely nailed the national anthem ... [Fleming’s] rendition was gorgeous.”
On television, Fox broadcaster Joe Buck said, “I’ve never heard it sung any better.”
The Tampa Bay Times went even further: “If I were a singer, I would refuse to do the national anthem at future Super Bowls because no one—and I mean no one—will ever do a better version than Renee Fleming did on Sunday ... Let’s just bring Fleming back every year.”
The Star-Ledger writes: “As the last note of ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ rang out, powerful and gleaming, soprano Renée Fleming kicked off Super Bowl XLVIII with an unconventional but fervent, strong performance. Her rendition could be considered unusual only because Fleming is the first opera singer to perform the national anthem at the event. The arrangement itself was stately yet fitting the magnitude of the stadium, without over-embellishment but with a fittingly grand backdrop, including recorded accompaniment by the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra and 32 singers selected from military choirs.”
The Chicago Tribune praised “Fleming’s lyrical, flowing version” of the anthem: “Backed by the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra and a chorus of singers from all four branches of the U.S. armed forces, the soprano performed a powerful version of ‘The Star-Spangled Banner,’ showing off her range with the high notes at the ‘land of the free’ lyric that is the song’s apex and poses singers a technical challenge.”
Sports website Bleacher Report writes: “With her fluttering, effortless high register, sheer power and impeccable control of her vibrato, Fleming was brilliant.”
Read what media, fans and arts groups are saying on social media.
When Fleming announced that the NJSO would provide the orchestral accompaniment for the performance, The Star-Ledger wrote: “Renée Fleming won’t be the only classical musician in the spotlight at Super Bowl XLVIII. Adding a dose of local pride will be the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, who will provide a recording of ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ to accompany the soprano.”
READ MORE: Read and watch pregame media coverage about the national anthem performance here.
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The national anthem performance was the subject of several prop bets—watch MSNBC discuss all of the interesting subjects on which people are wagering. We removed ourselves from tonight’s national anthem prop bets—but we knew the odds that Renée Fleming’s performance would be spectacular were 100%!
Watch Fleming’s official pregame press conference, at which, The Star-Ledger writes, “the People’s Diva” was introduced as “the Peyton Manning of the opera world.”
Watch Fleming’s appearance on “The View”: