Danielle Birrittella is a California-based performer, creator, and composer of new operatic work whose projects have been lauded as “a breath of pure creative power” (Opera Wire). Danielle’s extensive background in opera and experimental theatre yield an artist with an instinct for pushing the boundaries of contemporary classical music. 

As a creator of new works, Danielle bridges new music, devised performance, and film with a particular focus on collaborative engagement with poets, dancers, and visual artists. Her dual roles as creator and performer of her operatic projects deliver a unique level of authenticity and intimacy to her pieces. In addition, her work as a practicing depth psychotherapist heavily influences her creative endeavors. By weaving layers of symbolism, archetypal motifs, and emotional insight, she explores the psyche's capacity for healing and transformation.

Her work has been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Opera Wire, The Financial Times, and on NPR. She is the creator of Sonnets To Orpheus, an immersive song cycle set to Rainer Maria Rilke’s poetry, and co-creator of Magdalene, a chamber opera set to Marie Howe’s poetry scored by fourteen female composers. Her forthcoming project, Sentinel, tells the story of a woman confronting her traumatic memories in virtual reality and finding healing, and is on track to premiere in 2025/26. 

Danielle’s “high, crystalline soprano” has been said to be “mesmerizing… as hypnotic to watch as she is to hear” (The Wall Street Journal, Parterre). As a performer she is “exposed, intelligent, earnest… powerful and persuasive” and has a “radiant, nearly angelic presence” (The New York Times, The Financial Times). 

Performances include PROTOTYPE Festival, The LAX Festival, The Chautauqua Institute, The Standard, KCRW Desert NIghts, The Ace, SoFar Sounds, The Bootleg Theatre, Automata Arts, La Music Lirica (Italy), La Main d'Or (France), and The Ludwig Foundation (Cuba), and most recently the West Coast Premiere of Magdalene at the CalArts REDCAT located in Walt Disney Concert Hall. 

In addition to composing and performing classical music, Danielle records and tours with her experimental baroque-pop project, Dia, which sets her contemporary folk songs to ethereal vocal textures with organic instrumentation. Lauded as, "something of a nostalgic enigma… with a penchant for impeccably balanced songwriting," her approach to music is influenced by years of classical training and an early childhood spent on a Hindu ashram (The Line of Best Fit). Her debut EP, TINY OCEAN, was released with MANIMAL RECORDS and features songs produced by Joey Waronker (Beck, REM, Atoms for Peace) and Tim Carr (Perfume Genius, Hand Habits, HAIM). Her live performance of Covered In Light was highlighted on NPR’s Tiny Desk.

As an artist and a practicing psychotherapist, Danielle brings unique perspective to the intersection of creativity and mental health. She consults with organizations, artists, and communities to foster awareness and build spaces for healing and transformation through artistic expression. Her work emphasizes dialogue around the role of art in shaping and healing collective experiences to explore the potential for creativity to transform personal and societal narratives.

She holds degrees from California Institute of the Arts (MFA), Pacifica Graduate Institute (MA), and New York University (BA), and is a member of SAG/AFTRA and ASCAP. In addition to her artistic work, Danielle maintains a clinical depth psychotherapy private practice, The Intuitive Voice. She launched a jewelry line in 2016 that has been featured in Vogue, Elle, and InStyle and can be seen at Poe Jewelry.