Danielle de Niese
Danielle de Niese
© DECCA Chris Dunlop
Danielle de Niese’s “sweet, gleaming soprano,” “phenomenal musicality” and “sharply comic, yet utterly moving acting,” combined with an entrancing physical presence, have launched her into a spectacular career.
The Australian-born American singer who “looks like a pop diva but sings like a real one” (St. Louis Post Dispatch) regularly appears on the world’s most prestigious opera and concert stages and has an exclusive recording contract with Decca. For her debut solo album, Handel Arias, released in 2007, de Niese was named New Artist of the Year at the 2008 ECHO Awards, received the 2008 Orphee D'Or by the Academie Du Disque Lyrique, and was nominated for the 2009 Classical Brit Award for Female Artist of the Year. The Mozart Album followed in 2009 while Diva was released in July 2010 throughout the United Kingdom. Beauty of the Baroque, de Niese’s latest Decca release of favorite arias from the English, German, and Italian traditions, accompanied by The English Concert under Harry Bicket was released in summer 2011 in the UK and in early 2012 in the US.
Ms. de Niese’s 2011-12 season included the role of Ariel in the Metropolitan Opera’s world premiere production of The Enchanted Island – which was shown in movie theatres worldwide on January 21st, 2012 as part of the Met’s HD Broadcast series. She received spectacular reviews for her role debut as Norina in Don Pasquale for her San Diego Opera debut, and triumphed in Vienna as well when she debuted the role of Atalanta in Handel’s Xerxes at Theatre an der Wien. She returned to her native Australia for a highly acclaimed six-city tour with Richard Tognetti and the Australian Chamber Orchestra which included the world premiere of Carl Vine’s Tree of Man. Summer performances included concerts in the Metropolitan Opera’s popular Parks series and this fall will see debuts in Hamburg as Susanna, and Brussels as Adele in Die Fledermaus, as well as recitals both in Europe and the US.
Born to parents of Sri Lankan and Dutch heritage, Danielle de Niese grew up in Los Angeles. The soprano has been captivating audiences since childhood, when she was a fixture of Los Angeles local television hosting a weekly arts showcase for teenagers, for which she won an Emmy Award at the age of 16.