For 120 years, the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra has been a fixture of Australia’s cultural scene, bringing world-class music to audiences across generations. This year, the orchestra is celebrating the milestone at its premier event and one of the highlights of the 2026 season, the Winter Gala.The gala brings together the orchestra’s chief conductor, Jaime Martín, and the internationally acclaimed soprano Danielle de Niese for an evening of music spanning classics, Broadway favourites and orchestral showpieces.
Chief conductor, Jaime Martín and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. Photograph: Samantha Meuleman
For Melbourne-born de Niese, dubbed “opera’s coolest soprano” by the New York Times Magazine, it’s a homecoming she’s embracing. “I am so excited to return to my birth country to perform in my hometown with the Melbourne Symphony,” de Niese says. “My dreams were born in Melbourne so it’s incredibly fitting to be returning home to sing this program.”The concert marks a reunion between de Niese and Martín, who has led the orchestra as chief conductor since 2022. Together with the orchestra, the pair will perform a broad-ranging program that aims to capture the power, emotion and excitement of live orchestral music.“Something that we both share and appreciate in each other is musical versatility,” de Niese says. “We both wear our hearts on our sleeves musically so it is absolutely infectious to share the stage together, and I’m sure that audiences will feel the palpable joy that we feel performing together.”
