Renée Fleming has hit some important pop-culture markers in the past few months. In September, she went on David Letterman’s show to sing the Top Ten list. Now, she’s going to sing the national anthem at the Super Bowl. Musical attention at the Super Bowl usually focuses on the halftime show, but since this kind of attention is so rare in classical music these days, and since Fleming is the first opera singer ever to be accorded this, well, honor, the announcement has caused quite a stir.
