Danielle De Niese: How my parent’s helped shape my opera career-By Jane Rocca
What I know: Danielle De Niese, opera singer, 38, married,
My dad, Chris, migrated to Australia with his family from Sri Lanka as a teenager. He is a Burgher and my mum, Beverly, is from the same community. They met at a party in Melbourne. Their families knew of each other in Sri Lanka but the connection was only made here. My parents love to travel and they live in New Jersey now.
I didn’t grow up as a Daddy’s girl, but we have a very special relationship. He told me a story about when I was a newborn, being washed and me grabbing his little finger before anyone else’s. It’s a sweet memory and formed a nice bond between us.
I started singing when I was four. When I turned eight, my parents found me a teacher who trained me classically. It was because my parents really saw something in me as a kid that they made sure I was enrolled in singing and dance classes. In 1988, I was the youngest to win Young Talent Time.
Dad was always whistling a tune when I was a kid. He is a very happy go-lucky guy. In Australia he worked in travel tourism and for the Australian consulate, and he also worked in New York. He is retired now and never misses my shows when I perform.
I have a younger brother, Andrew, whom I adore. As kids we were two peas in a pod. I could entertain him for hours: he was wide-eyed for his big sister. He suffered asthma as a kid and I would chase him around school to check he was okay. We would skateboard and ride bikes with the local boys.
I was a tomboy dressed as a girl. I always hung with the boys in Glen Waverley where we grew up. I tried to keep up with them and we loved one another’s company.
We went on a holiday to the United States in 1990 and ended up settling in Los Angeles. Mum got a job with the Australian Consulate, so we stayed. I was in grade 5 and a little nervous making new friends. Because I could sing, making friends was a lot easier for me.
My paternal grandfather, Douglas, died in the first year we migrated to America, which was very sad. He sang classically and played the ukulele; I would sing songs with him. He would dress up as Santa at Christmas time.
My mother’s father, Albert, was a blue-eyed man and an extremely dapper dresser. He never had a hair out of place. When we lived in Australia, we’d go to his house every night after school. He’d nurse a small drink and always wore a crisp white shirt, blue slacks and a neckerchief. He ate burnt toast with butter and jam and gave us chocolate.
My first kiss was with Jeffrey Buckle when I was 13. His dad was a math teacher at my school, Hancock Park Elementary, in Los Angeles.
I had a massive crush on Jeffrey, but his best friend, who was a few years older than us, was madly in love with me. He even tried to carve my name in his arms and would write me poetry
The kiss happened when Jeffrey and I were in a play, The Little Mermaid, at school. He planted it on me backstage just as the sunlight came through the door. He told me he liked me and we started dating.
I made my debut with New York’s Metropolitan Opera when I was 19, playing Barbarina in Jonathan Miller’s production of Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro. It was a huge achievement for a young singer.
I dated an Italian singer for 6½ years from the age of 20. Italians wear their hearts on their sleeve. They fall in love in five minutes – just as it happens on the stage, it is the same in real life. They become besotted with the one they love, tell you you’re the most beautiful woman they ever laid eyes on and court like crazy. They are passionate beings.
I felt a powerful chemistry when I met my husband, Gus Christie, in 2005. We were just friends initially and didn’t start dating until 2006. Being so deeply English, Gus has this very different charm about him that is certainly more restrained.
I was living and performing in Amsterdam at the time I met Gus and told him if he wanted to date me he’d have to come to me. He said that wouldn’t be a problem. He has a comfortable personality and is easy to be around, but at the same time our relationship is very passionate.
Gus proposed to me on Valentine’s Day in Ohio after 2½ years of dating. We married in 2009. I always knew I wanted to get married, even as a young girl. It was something I didn’t want to miss out on. We live in England.
Gus has been married before and has three grown children. I knew he would make a great dad again but I was apprehensive in some ways because I felt he’d already done it and wouldn’t be into it again. But that didn’t stop him feeling the wonder when we had our first child, our son Bacchus, in 2015. Gus is a euphoric father and a great husband. I feel very lucky.
Opera Australia’s The Merry Widow opens on November 15 at Arts Centre Melbourne.
