Fleming, LDS choir to join for Christmas

Renowned soprano Renee Fleming will be the featured guest artist for this year's Christmas concerts by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square.

"Renee Fleming is hailed as one of the leading sopranos on the greatest opera stages of today," said Craig Jessop, music director for the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in a news release. Jessop and Mack Wilberg will conduct the choir and orchestra.

The Christmas concerts will be held in the Conference Center Thursday, Dec. 8, at 8 p.m. (preview performance); Friday, Dec. 9, at 7:30 p.m.; and Saturday, Dec. 10 at 7:30 p.m.

Fleming will also be a guest performer during the weekly half-hour CBS radio broadcast of Music and the Spoken Word on Sunday, Dec. 11, at 9:30 a.m. in the Conference Center. Following Music and the Spoken Word will be a mini-concert with additional music from the concert program.

Free tickets for the concerts and the Music and the Spoken Word broadcast will be available in the Conference Center ticket office and on the Internet at www.lds.org/events, starting Saturday, Nov. 5, at 10 a.m.

Standby tickets for the event are not available but patrons can wait in a standby line for each of the performances. The line will form at the North Gate on Temple Square at 6 p.m. for evening performances and at 7:30 a.m. for the Sunday broadcast.

Seating for the events is limited to those 8 years and older. All guests are asked to be seated 30 minutes before each performance.