The Cincinnati May Festival has appointed soprano Renée Fleming as its 2025 Festival Director, the second person to hold the position since the festival launched its new artistic leadership model in 2024. Fleming, a five-time Grammy Award winner and 2023 Kennedy Center Honoree, co-curated the 2025 programming with Director of Choruses Matthew Swanson.

The festival’s four programs include Kevin Puts’ “The Brightness of Light,” featuring Fleming and baritone Rod Gilfry in a work chronicling the romance of painter Georgia O’Keeffe and photographer Alfred Stieglitz, drawn from thousands of letters; “Voice of Nature: The Anthropocene,” featuring Fleming with film from the National Geographic Society; Verdi’s Requiem with the May Festival Chorus, Cincinnati Boychoir, and Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra; and “Chasing the Dawn: A Choral Journey,” a multi-chorus program.

Fleming will also lead a voice masterclass with area voice students and a panel discussion on music and neuroscience, extending her Sound Health initiative with the National Institutes of Health and the National Endowment for the Arts. Performances take place at Music Hall with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Juanjo Mena, Robert Moody, Ramón Tebar, and others.

Source: https://mayfestival.com/about/press-room/press-releases/may-festival-announces-2025-festival-director-and-programming/