Back in Melbourne for the MSO’s Winter Gala, beloved local girl Danielle de Niese showed her hometown audience the star quality that’s earned her accolades in both opera and musical theatre.

De Niese grew up in Melbourne, moving to the USA after winning Young Talent Time at the tender age of nine. Now based in England, De Niese was back in her hometown to sing classics from musical theatre’s golden era.

Danielle de Niese and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. Photo © Laura Manariti

Leonard Bernstein’s Overture to Candide was the ideal curtain-raiser and the MSO, under Chief Conductor and Artistic Advisor Jaime Martin, gave a sizzling performance.

De Niese made a first bracket featured songs by Leonard Bernstein and George Gershwin. The theme of course was love, and the emotional temperature increased with each song. In A Little Bit in Love from Bernstein’s Wonderful Town, de Niese became an innocent young woman infatuated with Frank, the drugstore manager. As West Side Story’s tragic heroine, Maria, she was euphoric; and as Crazy Girl’s irrepressible entertainer, Kate Fothergill, she gave a dynamic rendition of Gershwin’s I...