In case you haven’t heard, David Letterman is retiring from his late-night hosting duties on May 20th. That’s tonight! So, I went to work finding some opera on the Late Show, as my small but mighty nod to Letterman and his 33-year career (22 years on CBS, 11 on NBC).

First up: Renée Fleming sings Letterman’s Top 10.

On a more serious note, Letterman had Jessye Norman on last year. The interview is below, and you can click here to watch her sing “Midnight Special.” How fun would it have been for her to bust out some Wagner? Maybe a few years earlier…

That’s sort of it for opera and Letterman, unless you count this impersonal (and poorly excerpted) promo spot for the Metropolitan Opera’s 2007 Il barbiere di Siviglia.

I can’t really argue with the three-decade career in show business, though. Letterman isn’t my favourite late-night host, but I think there’s something to be said for longevity. Maybe some more of this “fine arts” stuff will make it on to The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, set to succeed Letterman post-retirement. Colbert likes opera, after all.

We’ll miss you, David!