Who is Danielle Bavli?
An American coloratura soprano and singing actor from New York City, now living between Sydney and London. I caught the opera bug as a child in the Metropolitan Opera Children’s Chorus and never recovered.
What would you do differently from what you do now?
I’d carve out more time for the many hobbies I’ve collected along the way. I took up roller skating a few years ago and don’t get out on wheels as often as I’d like, and a long-held dream of mine is to attend circus school and learn aerial silks. I’ve always been drawn to anything with a bit of a thrill to it – opera and the trapeze strike me as a perfectly reasonable career combination!
Who inspires you and why?
The mentors who believed in me before I believed in myself, and who continue to guide me so gracefully through this unpredictable career. Behind every artist is a lifetime of teachers, coaches, directors, and managers who have poured their wisdom and patience into shaping who we become, and I have been extraordinarily lucky in mine.
What would you do to make a difference in the world?
I believe we each make a difference in our own small way: showing up for the people we love, small kindnesses to strangers, and, as an artist, hopefully moving an audience now and then. Giving back to the arts community matters deeply to me.
I was a child who had the privilege of a free arts education through the Met Children’s Chorus and a public performing arts high school, and I genuinely would not have this career without it. I also work with an arts non-profit that provides free music lessons and mentorship to under-resourced youth, which feels like the most meaningful way I know to say thank you.
Favourite holiday destination and why?
Living in Australia has felt like an extended holiday of a lifetime. The landscapes and wildlife here have been incredible for a city girl like me. A few months ago, my partner and I took a campervan from Perth to Exmouth: Rottnest Island during joey season, swimming with whale sharks and sea lions, and encountering wild kangaroos, wallabies, and emus around every bend. We also ran out of petrol in the middle of the highway and were rescued by a very patient employee of the Billabong Roadhouse; a true adventure in every sense of the word!
When friends come to town, what attraction would you take them to, and why?
As a non-native, Australian wildlife is always the headline act (and yes, that includes the majestic bin chicken). My ideal visitor day combines animals, a coastal walk, and of course, the iconic harbour view: the Balmoral-to-Taronga trail (kookaburra sightings mandatory), an afternoon at Taronga Zoo, and a sunset ferry back across the harbour as the Opera House catches the last of the light. Sydney does most of the work for you.
What are you currently reading?
I recently finished Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro, which was an astonishingly gentle read for such heavy material. I’m deeply drawn to work that quietly rearranges one’s sense of humanity, morality, and reality. I also couldn’t shake the feeling while reading it that it would make a great opera… any composers out there fancy stepping up to the plate?
What are you currently listening to?
I’m always listening to a little bit of everything: music I’m working on, music for pleasure, and a steady rotation of podcasts. On the work side, these days, a great deal of Gilbert and Sullivan and Rigoletto. I’ve just returned from New York, where I had my fill of Broadway shows, so Ragtime and Maybe Happy Ending are currently in heavy rotation.
I also took an entirely shameless trip down memory lane with the Hannah Montana twentieth anniversary, for which I refuse to apologise. And because I have an incurably curious mind, there is almost always a podcast running in the background: Science Vs., Radiolab, Hidden Brain, and The Happiness Lab are some of my favourites, to name a few.
Happiness is?
Australian coffee, music and art that moves you, quality time with the people I love, being fully present, and a generous scoop of Gelato Messina’s latest special.
What does the future hold for you?
If there’s anything I’ve learned over the last few years, it’s that the future is rarely predictable, and that life is best when one stays open, authentic, and curious, allowing the adventure to unfold. I’d love to continue building the kind of career that keeps surprising me; one that makes room for opera, new work, musical theatre, and the occasional strange and wonderful project I didn’t see coming.
Following my Australian debut as Mabel in The Pirates of Penzance, I couldn’t be more thrilled to be joining Opera Australia this fall Melbourne season for Gilbert and Sullivan: A Musical Celebration. After that, I return to Sydney to cover Gilda in Rigoletto, a role I’ve dreamed about for as long as I can remember.
Danielle stars in Opera Australia’s Gilbert and Sullivan: A Musical Celebration – which will be presented at Melbourne’s Regent Theatre from 22 – 24 May 2026. For more information, visit: www.opera.org.au for details.
Image: Danielle Bavli (supplied)