The Metropolitan Opera presents Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice
Conducted by James Levine
Production and Choreography by Mark Morris
Costumes by Isaac Mizrahi
Orfeo- Stephanie Blythe
Euridice- Danielle de Niese
Amor- Heidi Grant Murphy
The Metropolitan Opera's LIVE HD broadcast of Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice was presented on Saturday Jan 24th, live in movie theaters across the world!! This is fantastic way of viewing opera more close-up than ever before, and movie theaters were sold out across the country!!
For some countries it was a live broadcast (like the US and UK), for others it was delayed due to the time difference.
HOWEVER, there will be an encore presentation in movie theaters across the globe on Feb 4th in the US and on specified dates around the world!!
If you are in the US and want to go and check it out, click HERE to find a theater near you!
If you are somewhere else in the world, you can click HERE to find your country, theater, and dates of the encore presentation
Hope you enjoy the Opera and please spread the word about Opera in Movie Theaters to all your friends- it's a great experience to view it close-up!!
Lots of love to you all.
Danielle
“This is Handel in all his unabashed glory, and there is nothing restrained about Ms. De Niese’s warmly voluptuous and passionate singing.” The New York Times
“De Niese, a native of Australia but raised and musically trained in America, has really assimilated Cleopatra's complex character, not…A high point of Friday's performance was the soul-searching aria "Se Pieta di me non senti," in Act 2, just one of many examples of de Niese's artistry.” Daily Herald
“One of the liveliest and most enjoyable nights at Lyric in recent memory…As Cleopatra, De Niese might tempt even a castrato. She's young, she's beautiful, she's funny, she's sexy, she's clever, she dances very well and she sings even better.” Associated Press
“Not only is the Australian-born, American-trained soprano strikingly beautiful to look at and to listen to, she dances with the lissome pizazz of a showgirl. De Niese was such a magnetic presence at the Lyric premiere of Handel's 1724 masterpiece Friday at the Civic Opera House that you couldn't take your eyes off her if you tried…It is hard to imagine this production working half as well with any other singing actress as Cleopatra. De Niese sang, danced and vamped up a storm while modeling a succession of body-hugging outfits. She also brought heart-stopping emotional depth to the heroine's more introspective arias.” Chicago Tribune
“Giulio Cesare" is a continuous feast of melody and opportunities for vocal artistry. And Lyric has assembled a dream cast to execute it. As Cleopatra, soprano Danielle de Niese manages not only to navigate and tame every florid passage, she does so most of the time while dancing. This Cleopatra is entirely believable as a love object, a lover, and a fiercely political leader as well.” Chicago Sun-Times
“Making her Lyric Opera debut, the young soprano Danielle de Niese was an extraordinary presence as Cleopatra. She sang with power and clarity, and imaginatively ornamented intricate lines even while engaged in Mr. George’s playful dances. Ms. de Niese subtly captured every facet of a role that required her to be a ruthless schemer, a ravishing seductress, a pitiable victim and a fierce opponent.” New York Times
Click here to read an article about Danielle written in the Wall Street Journal.
“.a creature of superhuman beauty and talent” Slate MagazineRead More!
“Not just a superb performer, but a phenomenal one” Opera News
“star quality” The Sunday Times
“Her singing is utterly delectable and completely assured” The New York Times
“opera has an exciting future” Evening Standard
“Handel Arias” debuted as Number 4 on the Classical Billboard Charts and was Number 1 on iTunes Classical!
OFFICIAL WEBSITE www.danielledeniese.com
Danielle de Niese - biography
“And in the lore of showbiz cliché, a star was born”(The Evening Standard)
“A performer of charismatic good looks and stage presence”(Opera News)
Danielle de Niese's "sweet, gleaming soprano", "phenomenal
musicality" and "sharply comic, yet utterly moving" acting,
combined with youth and physical presence, have brought her
to the edge of a spectacular career. At only thirty years of age,
the Australian-born American singer regularly graces many of
the world's most prestigious opera and concert stages, and has
released her first solo album as part of her exclusive contract
with Decca, Handel Arias.
Ms de Niese's career got off to a prestigious start when, at age
eighteen, she became the youngest singer ever to enter the
Metropolitan Opera's Lindemann Young Artist Development
Program. A year later she made her house debut as Barbarina in
a new Jonathan Miller production of Le nozze di Figaro in a cast
featuring Renée Fleming, Bryn Terfel, and Cecilia Bartoli, and
led by James Levine. Soon after came important operatic debuts
with the Netherlands Opera, the Saito Kinen Festival, and the
Paris Opera. But it was her portrayal of Cleopatra in a David
McVicar production of Handel's Giulio Cesare for her 2005
Glyndebourne Festival debut that brought her to true
international acclaim. The New York Times hailed De Niese’s
performance, writing, "Her singing is utterly delectable and
completely assured … Sheer 'joie de vivre' and mastery come
spilling across, to the eyes as well as the ears."
Since then Ms de Niese has enjoyed operatic successes on the
stages of the Paris Opera, Zurich Opera, Netherlands Opera, and
Lyric Opera of Chicago among many others. Orchestral
engagements have included appearances with the New York
Philharmonic, The Cleveland Orchestra, National Symphony
Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, and the Academy of
St Martin in the Fields.
In the 2009–10 season Ms de Niese returns to the
Metropolitan Opera in the same production of Le nozze di
Figaro in which she made her house debut but this time as
Susanna. Other important opera engagements this season
include L'incoronazione di Poppea with the Teatro Real, Semele
with Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, as well as Susanna in Le
nozze di Figaro with Lyric Opera of Chicago under the direction
of Edward Gardner. Additionally, Ms de Niese will tour Europe
with the period instrument group Il Giardino Armonico with an
all-Handel programme with performances in Amsterdam,
Vienna and Berlin among others. She will make her debut in
Prague with the Philharmonia under the direction of Jakub
Hrusa.
Australian-born to parents of Sri Lankan and Dutch heritage,
Danielle de Niese grew up in Los Angeles. The soprano has been
captivating audiences since childhood, when she was a fixture
of Los Angeles local television hosting a weekly arts showcase
for teenagers, for which she won an Emmy Award. Trained in
dance and piano as well as music at the famed Colburn School
in Los Angeles, she participated in the Tanglewood, Aspen and
Marlboro summer programmes before coming to New York in
1997 to attend the Mannes School for Music.
Recently the Netherlands Opera awarded Ms de Niese their
"Prix d'Amis" which is an honour bestowed upon the artist who
their audience votes as the past season’s favorite performer. Ms
de Niese is also the recipient of the 2008 Echo Award's New
Artist of the Year, as well as the 2008 Orphée d'or given by the
Académie du disque lyrique for her debut album, Handel Arias.
