I couldn’t believe the date when I looked it up last night. May of 2012. It’s been 14 years. Yet it’s still so clear in my mind.

I was driving home from Northbrook on a Sunday evening.

Alec Baldwin’s smooth voice was introducing Renee Fleming on his radio show, Here’s the Thing.

Baldwin has a way with introductions, and this one lives in my memory:
“Renee Fleming has a powerful effect on people. Conductor sir George Solti described the opera singer’s voice as double cream. Garrison Keillor said she made his nostrils twitch. NY Chef Daniel Boulud created a signature dessert to honor her.
But Renee Fleming is down to earth.
Renee grew up in Rochester, NY where both of her parents were high school music teachers. During the first two years of her life, while in her playpen, Renee would listen while her mother gave singing lessons.
One might say Renee Fleming was born into … [continue reading...] about Here’s to Great Beginnings