 She studied voice privately with Ruth Falcon, and at the Mannes College of Music in Manhattan.Ridley Scott's 2001 film "Hannibal" features a scene from Dante's "La Vita Nuova"; in it, de Niese sings as the character Beatrice the song "Vide Cor Meum" by Patrick Cassidy.She was subsequently asked to perform the title role in the Met's production of Maurice Ravel's "L'enfant et les sortilèges".