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Opera star Renée Fleming on performing, music and the mind, and... pickleball?

Adam Bell, The Charlotte Observer -- 

For one of the world's best-known opera stars, Renée Fleming has sure popped up in some expected places. The soaring soprano is the only classical singer to perform the National Anthem at the Super Bowl (in 2014, where Seattle clobbered Denver). She has sung on movie soundtracks from "Piglet's Big Movie" to "Lord of the Rings: Return of the King." And she has been a long-time advocate for the arts and health, particularly in how music can help people heal. That led her to sing in an MRI machine a few years ago, so the National Institutes of Health could study her brain waves. One place she hasn't appeared in nearly 20 years is Charlotte. But that's about to change, as Fleming will perform with the Charlotte Symphony at its annual gala Sept. 20, singing with them for the first time since 2004. The next day, she will moderate a free panel at Queens University of Charlotte on music, neuroscience and health care.

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