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: uma aria provocante

Filmed:
882,890 views

Pode a ópera ser sempre tão pouco sexy? A gloriosa soprano Danielle de Niese mostra como, cantando a sedutora aria "Meine Lippen, sie küssen so heiss." Que traduzido significa, como você pode adivinhar: "Eu beijo de forma ardente". De Giuditta por Frans Lehár. Acompanhamento: 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
(Music)
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(Música)
00:31
♫ I don't understand myself, ♫
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♫ Eu não entendo, ♫
00:34
♫ why they keep talking of love, ♫
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♫ porque eles continuam falando de amor, ♫
00:39
♫ if they come near me, ♫
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♫ se eles chegam perto de mim, ♫
00:42
♫ if they look into my eyes and kiss my hand. ♫
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♫ se eles olham em meus olhos e beijam minha mão. ♫
00:48
♫ I don't understand myself, ♫
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♫ Eu não entendo, ♫
00:51
♫ why they talk of magic, ♫
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♫ porque eles falam de mágica, ♫
00:56
♫ that no one withstands, ♫
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♫ que ninguém resiste, ♫
00:58
♫ if he sees me, if he passes by. ♫
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♫ se ele me vê, se ele passar. ♫
01:07
♫ But if the red light is on ♫
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♫ Mas se a luz vermelha estiver acesa ♫
01:13
♫ in the middle of the night ♫
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♫ no meio da noite ♫
01:16
♫ and everybody listens to my song, ♫
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♫ e todos ouvirem minha canção, ♫
01:20
♫ then it is plain to see. ♫
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♫ então é fácil ver. ♫
01:30
♫ My lips, they give so fiery a kiss, ♫
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♫ Meus lábios, dão um beijo tão ardente, ♫
01:39
♫ my limbs, they are supple and white. ♫
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♫ meus membros são maleáveis e brancos. ♫
01:48
♫ It is written for me in the stars, ♫
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♫ estava escrito para mim nas estrelas, ♫
01:55
♫ thou shalt kiss, thou shalt love. ♫
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♫ deverás beijar, deverás amar. ♫
02:02
♫ My feet, they glide and float, ♫
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♫ Meus pés, eles deslizam e flutuam, ♫
02:08
♫ my eyes, they lure and glow. ♫
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♫ meus olhos, eles atraem e brilham. ♫
02:17
♫ And I dance as if entranced, 'cause I know, ♫
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♫ E eu danço como se estivesse em transe, porque sei, ♫
02:27
♫ my lips give so fiery a kiss. ♫
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♫ meus lábios dão um beijo tão ardente. ♫
03:16
♫ In my veins, ♫
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♫ Em minhas veias, ♫
03:19
♫ runs a dancer's blood, ♫
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♫ corre um sangue de dançarina, ♫
03:23
♫ because my beautiful mother ♫
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♫ porque minha bela mãe ♫
03:26
♫ was the Queen of dance ♫
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♫ era a Rainha da dança ♫
03:29
♫ in the gilded Alcazar. ♫
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♫ na dourada Alcazar. ♫
03:33
♫ She was so very beautiful, ♫
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♫ Ela era tão bela, ♫
03:36
♫ I often saw her in my dreams. ♫
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♫ Eu frequentemente a vejo em meus sonhos. ♫
03:41
♫ If she beat the tambourine ♫
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♫ Se ela tocava o pandeiro ♫
03:44
♫ to her beguiling dance, all eyes were glowing admiringly. ♫
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♫ para sua dança sedutora, todos os olhos brilhavam em admiração. ♫
03:54
♫ She reawakened in me, ♫
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♫ Ela reacendeu em mim, ♫
03:59
♫ mine is the same lot. ♫
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♫ sou da mesma origem. ♫
04:02
♫ I dance like her at midnight ♫
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♫ Danço como ela à meia-noite ♫
04:05
♫ and from deep within I feel: ♫
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♫ e dentro de mim sinto: ♫
04:15
♫ My lips, they give so fiery a kiss, ♫
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♫ Meus lábios dão um beijo tão ardente. ♫
04:24
♫ my limbs, they are supple and white. ♫
35
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♫ meus membros são maleáveis e brancos. ♫
04:33
♫ It is written for me in the stars, ♫
36
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♫ estava escrito para mim nas estrelas, ♫
04:41
♫ thou shalt kiss, thou shalt love. ♫
37
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♫ deverás beijar, deverás amar. ♫
05:01
♫ And I dance as if entranced, 'cause I know, ♫
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♫ E eu danço como se estivesse em transe, porque sei, ♫
05:13
♫ my lips give so fiery a kiss. ♫
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♫ meus lábios dão um beijo tão ardente. ♫
05:30
(Applause)
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(Aplausos)
Translated by Christine Veras
Reviewed by Nadja Nathan

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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