Who wants to visit Paris — without actually paying to go there? IMAX is here to help, presenting a live music experience titled Renée Fleming’s Cities That Sing, showing in its theaters this month. Grammy winner Renée Fleming has graced the world’s biggest stages — and now she’s debuting on the world’s largest screens. This fascinating, insightful documentary will win the hearts of opera lovers everywhere, while also intriguing newbies to the art form like myself. With the help of giant cinema-scope lenses, Fleming introduces viewers to one of the most majestic cities in the world and offers an appreciation of its music, performance, culture, art, and food. And more than that — she is joined by many of its notable residents.

Conceived and co-funded by Stage Access, Renée Fleming's Cities That Sing - Paris is the first of two immersive experiences by IMAX, with the second focusing on Venice. Directed by François-René Martin and produced by both Tripp Hornick and Elmar Kruse, Paris is a solid start to the musical series. It features gripping operatic performances from Fleming and others at historic theaters across the city. Over the course of its tight 85-minute duration, Fleming is joined on stage by special guest stars, such as the world-renowned tenor Piotr Beczala as well as performers Axelle Fanyo and Alexandre Duhamel.

Even if you're not an "opera buff," you'll instantly recognize some of the numbers — including Giuseppe Verdi’s "La Traviata." As IMAX's crystal-clear camera lenses take you on a smooth-sailing tour across famous locations in Paris, a bright and enthusiastic Fleming introduces special locations that have influenced arts and culture — and most importantly those with a personal connection to her. She is ultimately joined by leading Couturier Alexis Mabille and acclaimed opera director Robert Carsen in this love letter to the culture of Paris and the music born from it.

Movie theaters have been trying to bring in more audiences with unique big-screen offerings like this, and it’s fun to see them continue with something super entertaining and inspiring. Stroll along with Fleming and her contemporaries this month as they explore unique art, history, cuisine, and music.

IMAX's Involvement In The Production

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IMAX

“When you walk through the city, there’s a feeling, however grand the architecture is, that it belongs to whoever is looking at it, feeling it, experiencing it," opera director Robert Carsen tells Fleming at one point during the film. What better way to embrace and immerse ourselves into Paris than with the help of the large-scale cinema scope provided by IMAX? Besides simply screening the biggest films on the biggest screens, this premier global technology platform for entertainment and events has proprietary software, theater architecture, patented intellectual property, and specialized equipment. Top filmmakers, movie studios, artists, and creators utilize the cutting-edge visual and sound technology of IMAX to connect with audiences in innovative ways.

One good example is Cities That Sing, which is brought to life to an even more exciting level thanks to IMAX. Even watching on a non-IMAX screen, I felt engulfed in each scene. The elegant Steadicam movements throughout the streets of Paris will tickle any cinephile's fancy. One impressive traveling shot brings us right into a Parisian record store, where Fleming continues to mingle with familiar locals. Sure, it's a documentary — but the artsy cinematic moves throughout the film echo true narrative cinema techniques, creating the ultimate storytelling experience.

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Renée Fleming: A Closer Look At The Artist

Fleming has performed on the stages of the world's greatest opera houses and concert halls. Honored with four Grammys and the U.S. National Medal of Arts, she has sung for momentous occasions from the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony to the Diamond Jubilee Concert for the late Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace. In 2014, Fleming brought her voice to a vast new audience as the only classical artist ever to sing The Star-Spangled Banner at the Super Bowl.

Known for bringing new audiences to classical music and opera, Fleming has starred in and hosted an array of television and radio broadcasts. Renée's voice is featured on the soundtracks of Best Picture Oscar winners The Shape of Water and The Lord of the Rings. In November, she will star in the world premiere staging of The Hours, a new opera based on the award-winning novel and film, at the Metropolitan Opera.

The ending may bring you tears of joy, as Fleming is joined onstage to toast with authentic champagne as her group of opera comrades perform one last number: the iconic "La Traviata" by Giuseppe Verdi (another song you'll instantly recognize).

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Also Coming Soon: Cities That Sing - Venice

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IMAX

In the upcoming Venice film, Fleming welcomes Italian tenor Francesco Meli, baritone Mattia Olivieri and mezzo Paola Gardina to the stage of the fabled Teatro La Fenice. Offstage, Fleming visits the city’s signature canals and other destinations.

“We are honored to have been able to create this remarkable series reinventing how classical music can be enjoyed and connected to culture in the most immersive of experiences with the incomparable Renée Fleming,” executive producer Bruce H. Lipnick told Deadline. “Fleming’s ability to connect with audiences as both a performer and host is unmatched along with the intimacy and scale of Imax.”

In the meantime, Fleming's latest doc on the City of Light will surely impress moviegoers everywhere. The opera numbers are lengthy, but Fleming quickly takes command of the screen as the host of the film immediately following each dramatic performance. On Sept. 18, IMAX will feature a live Q&A for the film. Tickets are now available.