This past Sunday’s Super Bowl (XLVIII) was one to remember with various highlights and lows that happened throughout the whole duration. With many so concentrated on the different teams’ performances, along with the commercials, the music of the Super Bowl helps create the explosive atmosphere of this once-a-year event. The American National Anthem is also one of the pieces performed during the Super Bowl that helps set the tone for the whole event, and this year, it was performed by well-known opera singer Renée Fleming.

Fleming is an American classical soprano singer who has been performing since the 1980s during her graduate studies at Julliard, and she currently serves as the Creative Consultant for the Lyric Opera of Chicago. Her musical concentration consists of: Mozart, Richard Strauss, Handel, and other classical opera composers. Fleming has also been the recipient of various prestigious musical awards, such as: the Richard Tucker Award, the National Medal of Arts, and the Swedish Polar Music Prize.

Fleming has also recently become visible in the media with various performances at media-attended events, such as: her performance of “You’ll Never Walk Alone” at We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial back in 2009, along with an appearance on The Dave Letterman Show in 2013, where she sang The Top 10 Opera Lyrics.

On Sunday, February 2nd, 2013, Fleming gracefully performed the American National Anthem “The Star-Spangled Banner” (assisted by the Armed Forces Color Guard) at the 48th Super Bowl at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7etXoNrwP8c

Prior to the game, Fleming announced via Twitter that she would be performing the National Anthem and invited viewers to tune in for her performance.

Before the @Broncos & @Seahawks square off in the #Superbowl, I’ll be performing the national anthem. Tune in to @FoxTV at 6 EST to watch

— Renee Fleming (@reneesmusings) February 2, 2014

According to The New York Times, Fleming was the first opera singer to perform the National Anthem at the Super Bowl. This makes a milestone for both the Super Bowl’s history, as well as how far opera music has come.

A day later, Fleming tweeted a picture of her and Queen Latifah, who had earlier performed “America The Beautiful.”

Last night at the #superbowl with the dazzling @IAMQUEENLATIFAH, whose America the Beautiful was exactly that! pic.twitter.com/jkdawaaaBO

— Renee Fleming (@reneesmusings) February 3, 2014

Various celebrities who watched the Super Bowl tweeted their appreciation for Fleming’s outstanding performance.

Hooray for Renee! Fantastic. Notes that trick others she glided by.

— Steve Martin (@SteveMartinToGo) February 2, 2014

NAILED IT #reneefleming just absolutely killed it!!!! #natiomalanthem. Can u believe she was nervous? http://t.co/zgLkgwGurS

— Jim Axelrod (@JimAxelrod) February 2, 2014

Image via YouTube (0:53)