ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Danielle de Niese - Soprano
Her voice described as a “sweet gleaming soprano,” Danielle de Niese breathes new life into opera, astonishing critics and making audiences sit up and listen.

Why you should listen

It’s not every day that an opera singer is deemed “cool.” But Danielle de Niese does look and act, at times, more like a pop singer than an opera star. Born in Melbourne of Dutch/Scottish/Sri Lankan parents, de Niese started classical voice lessons at 8, and moved at 10 to Los Angeles to attend a school of performing arts, while working as a television presenter on a teen show called LA Kids. But de Niese always knew she would be a singer. At the startlingly young age of 19 she made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera, singing Barbarina in Le nozze di Figaro. At 25, de Niese stunned audiences and garnered international acclaim with her sultry portrayal of Cleopatra in Handel’s Giulio Cesare at the 2005 Glyndebourne Festival in the UK.

Gracing the world’s great opera stages and an exclusive recording contract with Decca may seem an unlikely fate for a former teen TV host born Down Under, but de Niese embraces contrasts and challenges. She’s already starred in her own BBC4 reality show, Diva Diaries, and soon fans will be seeing her on the big screen, playing her first major film role in the Maria Callas biopic Master Class.

She says: "What I do demands the same kind of expertise as a professional athlete."

More profile about the speaker
Danielle de Niese | Speaker | TED.com
TEDGlobal 2011

Danielle de Niese: A flirtatious aria

Danielle de Niese: Un'aria civettuola

Filmed:
882,890 views

Può l'opera essere anche solo velatamente provocante? Il magnifico soprano Danielle de Niese ci mostra come, cantando l'amoreggiante "Meine Lippen, sie küssen so heiss" che, tradotta, significa, come potete immaginare: "Bacio ardentemente". Da Giuditta, scritta da Franz Lehár. Accompagna al piano: Ingrid Surgenor.
- Soprano
Her voice described as a “sweet gleaming soprano,” Danielle de Niese breathes new life into opera, astonishing critics and making audiences sit up and listen. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:16
(MusicMusica)
0
1000
13000
(Musica)
00:31
♫ I don't understandcapire myselfme stessa, ♫
1
16000
3000
♫ Non capisco me stessa, ♫
00:34
♫ why they keep talkingparlando of love, ♫
2
19000
5000
♫ perché continuano a parlare d'amore, ♫
00:39
♫ if they come nearvicino me, ♫
3
24000
3000
♫ quando mi avvicinano, ♫
00:42
♫ if they look into my eyesocchi and kissbacio my handmano. ♫
4
27000
6000
♫ quando mi guardano negli occhi e mi baciano la mano. ♫
00:48
♫ I don't understandcapire myselfme stessa, ♫
5
33000
3000
♫ Non capisco me stessa, ♫
00:51
♫ why they talk of magicMagia, ♫
6
36000
5000
♫ perché parlano di magia, ♫
00:56
♫ that no one withstandsresiste a, ♫
7
41000
2000
♫ a cui nessuno resiste, ♫
00:58
♫ if he seesvede me, if he passespassaggi by. ♫
8
43000
9000
♫ se mi vede, o mi passa accanto. ♫
01:07
♫ But if the redrosso lightleggero is on ♫
9
52000
6000
♫ Ma se la luce rossa risplende ♫
01:13
♫ in the middlein mezzo of the night ♫
10
58000
3000
♫ in piena notte ♫
01:16
♫ and everybodytutti listensascolti to my songcanzone, ♫
11
61000
4000
♫ e tutti ascoltano la mia canzone, ♫
01:20
♫ then it is plainpianura to see. ♫
12
65000
10000
♫ allora è facile capire. ♫
01:30
♫ My lipslabbra, they give so fieryFiery a kissbacio, ♫
13
75000
9000
♫ Le mie labbra, baciano appassionatamente, ♫
01:39
♫ my limbsArti, they are supplesupple and whitebianca. ♫
14
84000
9000
♫ il mio abbraccio è morbido e innocente, ♫
01:48
♫ It is writtenscritto for me in the starsstelle, ♫
15
93000
7000
♫ E' scritto per me nelle stelle, ♫
01:55
thoutu shaltSarai kissbacio, thoutu shaltSarai love. ♫
16
100000
7000
♫ sarò baciata, sarò amata. ♫
02:02
♫ My feetpiedi, they glideGlide and floatgalleggiante, ♫
17
107000
6000
♫ I miei piedi, scivolano e fluttuano, ♫
02:08
♫ my eyesocchi, they lureadescare and glowbagliore. ♫
18
113000
9000
♫ i miei occhi, lusingano e brillano, ♫
02:17
♫ And I dancedanza as if entrancedestasiato, 'causePerche ' I know, ♫
19
122000
10000
♫ E ballo come rapita, perché so, ♫
02:27
♫ my lipslabbra give so fieryFiery a kissbacio. ♫
20
132000
12000
♫ le mie labbra baciano appassionatamente. ♫
03:16
♫ In my veinsvene, ♫
21
181000
3000
♫ Nelle mie vene, ♫
03:19
runspiste a dancer'sdi ballerino bloodsangue, ♫
22
184000
4000
♫ scorre sangue di danzatrice, ♫
03:23
♫ because my beautifulbellissimo mothermadre
23
188000
3000
♫ perché la mia meravigliosa madre ♫
03:26
♫ was the QueenRegina of dancedanza
24
191000
3000
♫ era la regina della danza ♫
03:29
♫ in the gildeddorato AlcazarAlcazar. ♫
25
194000
4000
♫ nell'Alcazar dorata. ♫
03:33
♫ She was so very beautifulbellissimo, ♫
26
198000
3000
♫ Era così bella, ♫
03:36
♫ I oftenspesso saw her in my dreamssogni. ♫
27
201000
5000
♫ l'ho vista spesso nei miei sogni, ♫
03:41
♫ If she beatbattere the tambourinetamburello
28
206000
3000
♫ mentre suona il tamburello, ♫
03:44
♫ to her beguilingseducente dancedanza, all eyesocchi were glowingincandescente admiringlycon ammirazione. ♫
29
209000
10000
♫ con la sua danza accattivante, tutti gli occhi brillano di ammirazione. ♫
03:54
♫ She reawakenedrisvegliato in me, ♫
30
219000
5000
♫ E' tornata a vivere in me, ♫
03:59
mineil mio is the samestesso lot. ♫
31
224000
3000
♫ condivido lo stesso destino. ♫
04:02
♫ I dancedanza like her at midnightmezzanotte
32
227000
3000
♫ Ballo come lei a mezzanotte ♫
04:05
♫ and from deepin profondità withinentro I feel: ♫
33
230000
8000
♫ e nel profondo sento: ♫
04:15
♫ My lipslabbra, they give so fieryFiery a kissbacio, ♫
34
240000
9000
♫ Le mie labbra, baciano appassionatamente, ♫
04:24
♫ my limbsArti, they are supplesupple and whitebianca. ♫
35
249000
9000
♫ il mio abbraccio è morbido e innocente, ♫
04:33
♫ It is writtenscritto for me in the starsstelle, ♫
36
258000
8000
♫ E' scritto per me nelle stelle, ♫
04:41
thoutu shaltSarai kissbacio, thoutu shaltSarai love. ♫
37
266000
8000
♫ sarò baciata, sarò amata. ♫
05:01
♫ And I dancedanza as if entrancedestasiato, 'causePerche ' I know, ♫
38
286000
12000
♫ E ballo come rapita, perché so, ♫
05:13
♫ my lipslabbra give so fieryFiery a kissbacio. ♫
39
298000
17000
♫ Le mie labbra baciano appassionatamente. ♫
05:30
(ApplauseApplausi)
40
315000
18000
(Applausi)
Translated by Anna Cristiana Minoli
Reviewed by Elena Montrasio

▲Back to top

ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Danielle de Niese - Soprano
Her voice described as a “sweet gleaming soprano,” Danielle de Niese breathes new life into opera, astonishing critics and making audiences sit up and listen.

Why you should listen

It’s not every day that an opera singer is deemed “cool.” But Danielle de Niese does look and act, at times, more like a pop singer than an opera star. Born in Melbourne of Dutch/Scottish/Sri Lankan parents, de Niese started classical voice lessons at 8, and moved at 10 to Los Angeles to attend a school of performing arts, while working as a television presenter on a teen show called LA Kids. But de Niese always knew she would be a singer. At the startlingly young age of 19 she made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera, singing Barbarina in Le nozze di Figaro. At 25, de Niese stunned audiences and garnered international acclaim with her sultry portrayal of Cleopatra in Handel’s Giulio Cesare at the 2005 Glyndebourne Festival in the UK.

Gracing the world’s great opera stages and an exclusive recording contract with Decca may seem an unlikely fate for a former teen TV host born Down Under, but de Niese embraces contrasts and challenges. She’s already starred in her own BBC4 reality show, Diva Diaries, and soon fans will be seeing her on the big screen, playing her first major film role in the Maria Callas biopic Master Class.

She says: "What I do demands the same kind of expertise as a professional athlete."

More profile about the speaker
Danielle de Niese | Speaker | TED.com