Danielle Matthews (born 16 December 1983) is an Australian singer, musical theatre and cabaret artist who resides in Melbourne.
Matthews attended McKinnon Secondary College then studied Musical Theatre at The Victorian College of the Arts .
In 2009 Matthews became the inaugural winner of the prestigious Rob Guest Endowment Award. [1]
She is best known for her portrayal of Shirley Bassey in the musical biopic Danielle Matthews sings The Songs of Shirley Bassey ) [2] [3]
Other theatre credits include Urinetown The Musical, Showboat, Respect The Musical, Motor-mouth Loves Suck-face, An Evening with Stephen Sondheim, Respect the Musical (Australia Tour), TRIBE (Anthony Crowley)
Danielle has featured in various concert and TV Performances including Carols by Candlelight at the Myer Music Bowl, The Art Centre's Morning Melodies, The Helpmann Awards, The Circle, Good Morning Australia, Mornings with Kerri Anne and the Today Show.
Danielle has performed the Australian national anthem at the MCG for the opening of one day cricket test series. [4]
In 2013 Danielle recorded her debut album ‘Dream Song‘ [5] with Move Records and more recently, recorded La Belle Epoque for the in-game soundtrack to one of the world's most popular video game series – Assassin's Creed Unity. [6]
Danielle performs and works closely with Opera singer/ choral conductor and Australian of the year Dr Jonathon Welch [7] and in 2019 became the Co Artistic Director of Aria,Logie and Helpmann award winning The Choir of Hard Knocks.
She is currently performing as a Soul Singer in the Australian tour of Jesus Christ Superstar.
Danielle is managed by Mark Gogoll. [8]
Dame Shirley Veronica Bassey is a Welsh singer. Known for her career longevity, powerful voice and recording the theme songs to three James Bond films, the only artist to perform more than one, Bassey is one of the most popular vocalists in Britain.
Lionel Bart was an English writer and composer of pop music and musicals. He wrote Tommy Steele's "Rock with the Caveman" and was the sole creator of the musical Oliver! (1960). With Oliver! and his work alongside theatre director Joan Littlewood at Theatre Royal, Stratford East, he played an instrumental role in the 1960s birth of the British musical theatre scene after an era when American musicals had dominated the West End.
Colin Stuart Lane is an Australian comedian, actor and TV host, best known for being one-half of comedy duo Lano and Woodley.
"Anything You Can Do (I Can Do Better)" is a show tune composed by Irving Berlin for the 1946 Broadway musical Annie Get Your Gun. The song is a duet, with one male singer and one female singer attempting to outdo each other in increasingly complex tasks.
David Joseph Campbell is an Australian singer, actor, and TV personality. He is the son of singer Jimmy Barnes.
Marina Prior is an Australian soprano and actress with a career mainly in musical theatre. From 1990 to 1993, she starred as the original Christine Daaé in the Australian premiere of The Phantom of the Opera, opposite Anthony Warlow and later Rob Guest.
"Big Spender" is a song written by Cy Coleman and Dorothy Fields for the musical Sweet Charity, first performed in 1966. Peggy Lee was the first artist to record the song, also on the album of the same name. It is sung, in the musical, by the dance hostess girls; it was choreographed by Bob Fosse for the Broadway musical and the 1969 film. It is set to the beat of a striptease as the girls taunt the customers.
"Almost Like Being in Love" is a show tune with music by Frederick Loewe and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner. It was written for the score of their 1947 musical Brigadoon. The song was first sung by David Brooks and Marion Bell, in the Broadway production. It was later performed in the 1954 film version by Gene Kelly.
Todd McKenney is an Australian dancer, theatre performer and TV personality. He first got is start on the Chanel 7 television show “Simon’s Battered Sav!” He is best known as a judge on the Australian television talent show Dancing with the Stars.
"Goldfinger" is the title song from the 1964 James Bond film of the same name. Composed by John Barry and with lyrics by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley, the song was performed by Shirley Bassey for the film's opening and closing title sequences, as well as the soundtrack album release. The single release of the song gave Bassey her only Billboard Hot 100 top forty hit, peaking in the Top 10 at No. 8 and No. 2 for four weeks on the Adult Contemporary chart, and in the United Kingdom the single reached No. 21.
"Who Can I Turn To?" (alternatively titled "Who Can I Turn To (When Nobody Needs Me)") is a song written by English composer-lyricists Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley and first published in 1964.
The Choir of Hard Knocks is an Australian choir.
"Climb Ev'ry Mountain" is a show tune from the 1959 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The Sound of Music. It is sung at the close of the first act and is sung again in the epilogue of the second act by the Mother Abbess. It is themed as an inspirational piece, to encourage people to take every step toward attaining their dreams.
Paul Capsis is an Australian actor, singer and playwright who mainly works in cabaret and musical theatre. He has also released four albums, Paul Capsis Live (2004), Boulevard Delirium, Everybody Wants to Touch Me (2008) and Make Me a King (2010). His film work includes roles in Head On (1998) and The Boy Castaways (2013). Capsis appeared in the telemovie Carlotta (2014). At the Helpmann Awards he has won five accolades: Best Live Music Presentation for Capsis vs Capsis (2002), Best Performance in an Australian Contemporary Concert for Boulevard Delirium (2006), Best Male Actor in a Supporting Role in a Play for Diana in The Lost Echo (2007), Best Male Actor in a Play and Best New Australian Work for Angela's Kitchen (2012).
Jonathon Charles Welch is an Australian choral conductor, opera singer and voice teacher. As a singer, Welch has been a tenor for the Victoria State Opera, Lyric Opera of Queensland and Opera Australia.
Amanda Harrison is an Australian actress and singer, known for her roles in Wicked (Elphaba), We Will Rock You, and for originating the role of Paula Pokrifki in the world premiere of An Officer and a Gentleman. She has performed in cabaret several times, including her current production Up Close and Reasonably Personal which she is expected to perform at Melbourne Cabaret Festival in June 2014 and recently David Harris, Michael Ball, Lea Salonga and Marie Zamora for Enda Markey Presents Do You Hear The People Sing at Shanghai Grand Theatre. She voiced characters for Get Ace an animation series released in January 2014. She appeared with Mig Ayesa, Michael Falzon and Carly Thomas-Smith for three performances of The Music of Queen - Rock and Symphonic Spectacular. The concert series began on 7 February 2014, at Sydney Opera House supported by the Sydney Symphony Orchestra before three performances in Perth, Western Australia between 13–15 February.
Robert John Guest was a New Zealand-Australian actor, television personality and host and singer, who started his career in pop music in New Zealand, before becoming best known for his work in Australian musical theatre, particularly in various productions of The Phantom of the Opera. He played the lead for a record-breaking 2,289 performances over seven years, more than any other performer.
Keep the Music Playing is a 1991 album by Shirley Bassey. The album was recorded in the UK at the Westgreen Studios and in the Netherlands at Wisseloord Studios, Hilversum. The album is a mixture of contemporary pop ballads, such as "I Want to Know What Love Is" from Foreigner, the Jennifer Rush power ballad "The Power of Love", and the more gentle "Still" from Lionel Richie, combined with standards from the field of jazz and pop, such as "He Was Beautiful", the sweet jazz ballad from Cleo Laine. Several of the song arrangements reflect an operatic pop style influence, which may have roots in her 1984 album I Am What I Am, which she recorded with the London Symphony Orchestra, and the fact that in the latter mid-1980s she started working with a vocal coach, a former opera singer. Bassey returned to the Beatles with "Yesterday", as she had previously covered "Something" and "Fool on the Hill" successfully in the 1970s, and had performed "Hey Jude" frequently live. Another previously successful formula was used for the closing track "Dio, Come Ti Amo " an Italian original in the tradition of "This is My Life" and "Natalie"..
Esther Hannaford is an Australian singer and actor who has performed major roles in musical theatre in Australia. Her roles include Penny Pingleton in the original Australian cast of Hairspray, for which she received a Helpmann Award, Ann Darrow in King Kong, and Carole King in Beautiful.
Spinifex Gum is an Australian musical collective based in Cairns, a collaboration between the Indigenous ensemble the Marliya Choir, Felix Riebl and Ollie McGill of the Melbourne band The Cat Empire, Lyn Williams, and Deborah Brown. The performers share the stories of the Yindjibarndi people in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.