Her haunted heart is in the right place

Soprano Renée Fleming, target of a jibe or three on this site over the years, shows what finer stuff she’s made of on January 11 when she gives a recital for the benefit of Treatment Action Group in the intimate setting of a SoHo loft, recently dubbed “Carnegie Hall South” in the New York Times.

Fleming will be joined jazz pianist/composer Fred Hersch for a program of popular and classical selections. Here’s more information on tickets to the event.

Treatment Action Group, La Cieca is informed, is an AIDS research policy think tank that has its roots in ACT UP. In the 15+ years that TAG has been around, it’s been instrumental in setting the US and Global agenda for HIV research. In particular, TAG established the idea of expanded access whereby patients without other options could gain access to experimental medicines without being in clinical trials. They’ve been a constant force in demanding the types of basic research and clinical studies that meet the need of patients in the real world. Recently, their focus has expanded to include tuberculosis and hepatitis which are responsible for so many of the deaths due to HIV outside the US.