THE expression “unsung heroine” is normally a cliché, but in the case of American soprano Marni Nixon, it was nothing less than the truth, and one ever-so-smart “Time” journo called her “The Ghostess with the Mostest”.

Nixon, always sworn to secrecy by the film studios for which she worked, is famous for having “ghosted” the singing voices of everyone from Ingrid Bergman and Sophia Loren to Marilyn Monroe. She also voiced for Audrey Hepburn in “My Fair Lady”, Deborah Kerr in “The King and I” and both Natalie Wood and Rita Moreno in “West Side Story” – no royalties for that, but to his credit, composer Leonard Bernstein gave her a small percentage of his own royalties.

Nixon was able to continue a long and productive singing career, but was never credited, nonetheless remaining philosophical. She has since praised Deborah Kerr, who actually broke the news to the press about the voicing.

But with Natalie Wood, the fact that her voice was being dubbed was kept a dark secret. As for Marilyn, Nixon has said: “She had a certain kind of voice that sometimes didn’t extend,” so she ghosted the top notes of “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend”.

Now Australian musical performer Melody Beck is bringing “Unseen: The Voice of Hollywood!” to Teatro Vivaldi, a one-woman cabaret show where she takes on the persona of Nixon. “I’m the ghost of Hollywood,” she tells her audience at one point.

There are no surprises in this cabaret and Beck plans to take her audience on a stroll down memory lane, exploring the life and career of Nixon, having a try at the many different accents and voice types she had to approximate and reprising a few of the songs that didn’t make her famous.

It’s been a busy few years for the young performer. Graduating from UNSW with double degrees in music performance and theatre studies, she won Australia’s 2014 Your Theatrics International Cabaret Contest.

In 2014 she also played Grace Farrell in “Annie” and Cathy in “The Last Five Years”. Later, in August 2015, she appeared at the New York International Fringe Festival in the new Australian work “Stalker: The Musical” and she is now working with musician Bernard Lagana on a new show about John Dankworth and Cleo Laine.

Still young and still learning, Beck performed “The Voice” in New York and guess what? Marni Nixon was there in person to applaud and pass on a few tips. It was her proudest moment so far.

“Unseen: The Voice of Hollywood!” at Teatro Vivaldi, 6.30pm, Friday, February 19. Bookings to 6257 2718.