Biography
Just 22 years old, Ms. de Niese is undoubtedly destined for a brilliant career. She completed her final year in the Metropolitan Opera's Lindemann Young Artist Development Program during the 2000-01 season. During her first season at the Met, in 1998, she appeared as Barbarina in the new Jonathan Miller production of Le Nozze di Figaro under James Levine. Following her debut at the Santa Fe Opera as Nanetta in Falstaff, Ms. de Niese opened the 2001-02 season at the Met singing the title role in L'Enfant et les Sortilèges under James Levine. In the past year, she has also made debuts both at the Nederlandse Opera singing her first Cleopatra (Giulio Cesare) under Marc Minkowski, and at the Los Angeles Opera as Lauretta (Gianni Schicchi), a production featuring Samuel Ramey. On the concert platform, she made her debut with the New York Philharmonic in A Midsummer Night's Dream under Kurt Masur in September 2000. She has also performed with the Cleveland Orchestra and the Baltimore Symphony in Händel's Messiah. Her active recital career includes performances at the Met and at Carnegie Hall (in the prestigious MET chamber music series) where she sang Ravel's Mallarmé songs under James Levine. Upcoming projects include debuts with the San Francisco Symphony in the Messiah, as well as her debut in Tokyo as Lauretta (Gianni Schicchi) under Seiji Osawa.