Renee Fleming in the role of 'Thais' at the Metropolitan Opera. (Photo by Brigitte Lacombe / Metropolitan Opera)

She’s one of the world’s most celebrated sopranos, with three Grammy awards and nearly a two-decade tenure at the Metropolitan Opera to her credit.

So what does Renee Fleming consider her really crowning achievement?

Having a dessert created in her honor by celebrity chef Daniel Boulud of New York and Palm Beach fame.

“It was so much fun,” Fleming recalls of the experience, noting that the idea was borne out of a discussion regarding other opera singers who have dishes named after them — namely, Nellie Melba (peach Melba) and Luisa Tettrazini (turkey Tettrazini).

But generally speaking, Fleming has music on her mind more than fine dining. And in what amounts to one of her busiest seasons in recent memory, replete with everything from a tour of South Africa to the Met premiere of a rarely performed Rossini opera, she’s still managing to work in an appearance at the Festival of the Arts Boca 2010 at Mizner Park this weekend.

Fleming will be singing a variety of works — Rossini and Bellini arias, Richard Strauss songs, even Broadway selections by Rodgers and Hammerstein — joined by the Russian National Orchestra and conductor Patrick Summers.

She says it’s always a special treat to perform with the Russian ensemble, since they tend to approach much of the standard operatic literature with a fresh perspective. That’s because until the end of the Cold War era, they played little else but Russian composers.

“They take nothing for granted,” says Fleming, speaking by phone from her New York apartment.

And based on a previous experience with the group, she’s also delighted at how they approach Broadway material. “They had never heard any of it before and yet they loved all of it,” Fleming adds.

On the Boca Raton program, the soprano is also including an aria from the neglected Rossini opera, Armida, that will be premiered at the Met later this season. So, what’s it like introducing audiences to a nearly 200-year-old opera for the first time?

“It’s a tremendous amount of pressure,” says Fleming, adding that her role is also “one of the most virtuosic I’ve ever sung.”

Not that the 51-year-old soprano has shied away from challenges throughout her career. She’s sung operas in just about all the languages of the standard literature — Italian, German, French, Russian, even Czech. She’s given the world premieres of works by such august contemporary composers as John Corigliano and Joan Tower.

And she’s even made some unusual forays into the crossover world, including an in-the-works project that will have her singing the music of indie rock bands. “It gives me an opportunity to bond with my children and their world,” says Fleming, who has two daughters.

Oh, and yes, she also has that Boulud dessert in her honor — a chocolate-rich affair called “La Diva Renee.” She notes the recipe is slated to appear in an upcoming cookbook.

But has she ever tried making it herself?

“Oh no, it’s way too complicated for me,” Fleming says. “When it comes to cooking, I’m really good at ordering out.”

Festival of the Arts BOCA 2010 Musical Highlights

Here are the major musical events scheduled to take place as part of this year’s festival at the Centre for the Arts at Mizner Park:

Saturday at 7:30 p.m.: Concert with soprano Renee Fleming with the Russian National Orchestra. Works by Bellini, Puccini, Rossini and others.

Wednesday at 7 p.m.: Film presentation of Alexander Nevsky with live musical accompaniment by the Russian National Orchestra featuring Kelley O’Connor mezzo-soprano, and Seraphic Fire, conducted by Constantine Kitsopoulos.

Thursday at 7 p.m.: Jazz concert with the Eldar Djangirov Quartet.

March 12 at 7 p.m.: Concert with pianist Conrad Tao and the Russian National Orchestra.

March 13 at 7 p.m.: Concert and dance performance with the Russian National Orchestra and artists from the American Ballet Theatre.

Nonmusical events include lectures by noted authors:

Sunday at 4 p.m.: Author Noel Riley Fitch, author of the only authorized biography of Julia Child, presents ‘Appetite for Life: Writing the Story of Julia Child’

Sunday at 7 p.m.: New York Times columnist David Brooks, lecture, ‘Political Outlook’

Monday at 7 p.m.: Distinguished Writer in Residence Doris Kearns Goodwin, presidential historian, lecture: ‘The Art and Craft of Biography: Living with Johnson, Kennedy, Roosevelt and Lincoln’

Saturday, March 13: Distinguished Writers in Residence Doris Kearns Goodwin and Richard Goodwin interview: ‘Inside the White House with JFK, Jackie, Bobby and LBJ’

Ticket prices vary by performance. For more information or to make a purchase, visit festivaloftheartsboca.org or call (866) 571-2787.