I had the good fortune to attend a Renee Fleming recital a few years ago, and it may have been the best musical experience I’ve ever had. The divine American soprano was accompanied by the French pianist Jean Yves Thibaudet, with whom she’d made a recording. Thibaudet was fantastic, and the two of them made quite a team, but Ms. Fleming was unbelievable.

Renee Fleming is one of the greatest singers of our time. She’s also – to my mind – one of the most fascinating (and maybe even under-appreciated).

If you’re an opera/classical music fan, you know what I’m talking about. But even though she’s had some mainstream exposure, she remains an unknown quantity to most people, and in a world where talent-less hacks regularly achieve household name status, this borders on the criminal.

She sings in French, Russian, German, Italian, Czech (and occasionally English), and has literally dozens of big, complicated operatic roles in her head – along with hundreds of songs by the great composers, many of them difficult and demanding in a variety of ways. It boggles the mind, truly.

And if all the opera repertoire weren’t enough, she even dips into jazz and folk on occasion (including this occasion, on Spectacle)

Ms. Fleming’s passion for music and for what she does is palpable, and her personality and sense of humor make her all the more appealing in this session with Elvis. And when she sings…well, whether it’s the Puccini aria or the more proletariat material, all I can say is get comfortable and let the astonishing instrument that is her voice wash over you because it’s really something.

Oh, and look out for a special guest who pops up and sings something gorgeous (in a foreign language, no less). If you appreciate the voice, you should enjoy this edition of Spectacle (starting with a great opening number by our esteemed host).

Thanks for watching.

Stephen Warden
Executive Producer/Creator
Spectacle: Elvis Costello with…

Back in the olden days of the 2000 election, there was a popular saying among Democrats: “A vote for Nader is a vote for Bush.” Nader supporters—many of whom were my hometown friends—countered that with the slogan: “A vote for Nader is a vote for Nader.”

Either way you sliced it, the unique circumstances of the Bush-Gore faceoff had turned Independent presidential candidate, Ralph Nader, into a household name.

Now, eight years later, not many people are aware that Nader is running again on the independent ticket, and most of those who do know, don’t care. Nader has become a smybol of sorts in American electoral politics. He represents idealism, the dream of a multi-partisan government, and foolishness.

By 2004, Nader’s support went from three percent of the vote to .03 percent and with that, his role in presidential elections have shifted. Even a few months ago during the primary [www.salon.com] season, Republicans were confident that Nader’s entry into the race could only boost their chances of winning.

But with early voting well underway in key swing state like Florida and Ohio, and with six days to go until Election Day, polls [www.latimes.com] are showing that Nader will not have an impact on the outcome.

Yet the 2000 controversy has made many Democrats angry and skeptical at Nader’s candidacy. As a result of that, and the relatively insigificant impact he is forecasted to have on on the outcome of the election this year, Nader’s camp is claiming [thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com] that the independent candidate may even take votes from McCain. Yet contradicting the campaign’s message to the media, a Nader spokesman told The New York Times [thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com] that the Nader camp is expecting the election to be a landslide for Obama, and that it will encourage liberal voters to vote for Nader.

Let’s just hope he doesn’t screw this one up.

–Jamie Wong