Danielle de Niese

Soprano

Danielle de Niese has been hailed as ‘opera’s coolest soprano’ (New York Times Magazine). A multi-faceted artist, de Niese has gained wide recognition for her superb stagecraft, assured singing, and her ability to communicate on every level. She regularly appears on the world’s most prestigious opera and concert stages and is a prolific recording artist, TV personality and philanthropist.

Engagements in the 2023/24 season include making her debut as Anna in Weill The Seven Deadly Sins with Edward Gardner and the London Philharmonic Orchestra. As a recitalist, de Niese appears in the King’s Place Master Series and at the Cumnock Tryst, performing the world premieres of two new works by Sir James MacMillan.

Recent operatic highlights include a feature film of Poulenc’s one-woman opera La voix humaine alongside Sir Antonio Pappano and the Royal Opera House Orchestra, Ciboulette in Offenbach In the Market for Love, the title role in Massenet Cendrillon, Rosina Il barbiere di siviglia, Concepción I L’heure espagnole, L’enfant L’enfant et les sortilèges, Norina Don Pasquale and Adina L’elisir d’amore all for Glyndebourne Festival Opera. She also made her return to Los Angeles Opera to sing the title role in the world premiere of Matthew Aucoin Eurydice, house debut as Cleopatra Giulio Cesare at Teatro all Scala, house debut as Norina Don Pasquale for Hamburg State Opera, Musetta La bohème for Lyric Opera of Chicago, Norina Don Pasquale for La Monnaie, Hanna Glawari The Merry Widow for Opera Australia, Norina Don Pasquale at the Wiener Staatsoper, Donna Elvira Don Giovanni at the Semperoper Dresden, Adina L’elisir d’amore at Opera National du Rhin, the title role in L’incoronazione di Poppea at the Teatro Real Madrid, the title role in Partenope and Susanna Le nozze di Figaro at San Francisco Opera, the title role in Semele at the Theâtre des Champs- Elyseee, the title role in La Calisto at Bayerische Staatsoper and Poppea Agrippina at Gran Teatre del Liceu.

On the concert platform, de Niese has performed Stravinsky Perséphone with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, made her debut at Edinburgh International Festival with Rodgers and Hammerstein A Grand Night of Singing, Bernstein Wonderful Town with Sir Simon Rattle and the London Symphony Orchestra, opera galas with RTE National Symphony Orchestra, multiple returns to the BBC Proms, and Proms in the Park, as well as appearances at the Ravinia Festival in Chicago, the Barbican and Snape Proms.

On the West End, de Niese has performed Aldonza and Dulcinea in Man of La Mancha at the London Coliseum and recently starred alongside Michael Ball in a new production of Andrew Lloyd-Webber Aspects of Love at the Lyric Theatre.

A prolific recording artist, her debut recording for Decca Handel Arias was awarded the prestigious Orphée d’Or from and the much-coveted ECHO Klassik award, as well as earning her a Classical Brit Award nomination for Female Artist of the Year. The Mozart Album, Diva, and Beauty of the Baroque followed.

A TV and media personality, de Niese won an Emmy at the age of 16 as host of a weekly art showcase for teenagers at a Los Angeles local television studio. Her BBC documentaries such as Diva Diaries, The Birth of an Opera and Unsung Heroines attest to her extraordinary passion for the art form she represents, and her tireless commitment to bringing new audiences to it.

Offstage, de Niese is passionate about music education, an advocate for children’s rights and has been named by Marie Claire magazine on its influential list of ‘Women on Top’. She is an Ambassador for HRH The Prince of Wales’ Foundation for Children and the Arts, a patron of Future Talent and Pegasus Opera, and is an Artist Member of the Mannes Board of Governors. De Niese also serves as an official Ambassador of Voice for the International Rescue Committee.