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 Got Rhythm.

Gershwin was inspired to write his Cuban Overture during a holiday in which he indulged, amongst other things, in Latin dance music. The MSO brass captured the Cuban sound, and the percussion created a mesmerising Latin beat with bongos, claves, maracas and gourds. A complex, soulful interlude featuring some stand-out wind solos, but ultimately the rumba prevailed.

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

De Niese returned to the stage in a flaming red gown and gave a charmingly tempestuous performance of I Hate Men from Cole Porter’s Kiss Me Kate. Her voice turned silky in I Get a Kick Out of You (Anything Goes); sassy in Jerome Kern’s Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat Man (Showboat) and gained a spiritual edge in the encore, Summertime.

Charismatic, De Niese’s performance went straight to the heart. MCO Chief Conductor Jaime Martín was clearly over the moon, and the chemistry between them added even more sparkle to this already glittering performance.

After interval, the mood was contemplative. Alberto Ginastera’s 12-movement Variaciones Concertantes opened with an ethereal soundscape (harp and cello solos, shimmering strings) that folded into a succession of colourful Variations featuring different instruments and showcasing the MSO’s talented principals.

The program came full-circle with Bernstein’s Symphonic Dances from West Side Story.

Martin said he felt Bernstein should have ended with a flourish, so the MSO struck up the ‘mambo’ again, the audience joined in on cue, and the evening ended on a high.