Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Will Host 2026 Winter Gala Featuring Danielle De Niese
Conductor Jaime Martín will lead the concerts at Hamer Hall, featuring works by Bernstein and Gershwin.
Australian-American lyric soprano Danielle De Niese will return to Melbourne for her MSO debut at the 2026 Winter Gala. De Niese will reunite with Chief Conductor Jamie Martín, who, in January 2023, conducted The National Orchestra of Ireland and de Niese in a ‘searing performance' (Bachtrack) of Poulenc's opera, La Voix humaine. The event will take place Thursday 30 July, 7.30pm & Saturday 1 August, 2.00pm at Hamer Hall, Arts Centre Melbourne.
The 2026 Winter Gala celebrates composers from the Americas with de Niese singing classic favourites from early 20th century legends Leonard Bernstein, George Gershwin, Cole Porter and Jerome Kern. The program continues with an orchestral performance of Bernstein's Symphonic Dances from West Side Story, and concludes with Alberto Ginastera's Variaciones Concertantes, written by the revered Argentine composer during the rule of Juan Perón (better known as Evita's husband).
Chief Conductor Jaime Martín said he is looking forward to the reunion.
“Danielle is a rare performer whose incredible storytelling abilities are equally powerful for both opera and musical theatre. The Winter Gala will showcase her versatility, passion and commitment to exploring life's stories through music. Audiences will no doubt be moved by Danielle's sublime skills.”
De Niese last appeared in Australia in 2025 performing the titular role in the Opera Australia production of Bizet's Carmen, and at Melbourne Recital Centre with members of Australian Chamber Orchestra and Australian Contemporary Opera Company. Earlier this year, de Niese received the prestigious Olivier Award for her Outstanding Contribution to Opera. The award acknowledged her ‘extraordinary global career on the world's most prestigious opera and concert stages', along with her extensive recording collection and philanthropic work.
Before arriving in Melbourne for her performances with the MSO, De Niese will make her directorial debut with The Marriage of Figaro for the Wild Arts Summer 2026 Opera Tour of England.
Danielle De Niese first gained public attention in 1988, when, at nine years old, she became the youngest winner of Young Talent Time's ‘Talent Discovery of the Year'. Since that fateful performance of a Whitney Houston medley, de Niese has built a remarkable career that has taken her from Melbourne to the Metropolitan Opera in New York, the Glyndebourne Opera Festival in England, multiple performances with English National Opera and, in 2026,
Alongside her opera career, de Niese won an Emmy at 16, made her Broadway debut at 18 in Les Misérables, appeared in Ridley Scott's 2001 film Hannibal, and in 2012 performed a high-profile "hip-hopera" collaboration with rapper LL Cool J at Carnegie Hall, earning herself the mantle of ‘Opera's Coolest Soprano' (New York Times).
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