Filipe Manu

Biography

The New Zealand-raised tenor of Tongan heritage, Filipe Manu, is increasingly establishing himself as one of the most versatile tenors of his generation. In 2024, he became the first singer from the Pacific region and Australasia to win the prestigious Tenor Viñas International Singing Competition. A graduate of the renowned Jette Parker Young Artist Programme at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Manu has since made important debuts at the Royal Opera House, the Vienna State Opera, the Opéra National de Paris, the Gran Teatre del Liceu, and the Hamburg State Opera.

Filipe Manu opens the 2026-27 season with his role debut as Nadir in Bizet’s Les pêcheurs de perles for New Zealand Opera. At the Opéra Royal de Wallonie-Liège, he appears as Jamal in the world premiere of Zombie Opera, a new opera by Andrea Battistoni inspired by The Walking Dead. He also makes his house debut at the Teatro Regio Torino as Alfredo in Verdi’s La traviata, returns to the Vienna State Opera as Ferrando in Così fan tutte, and sings Tamino in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte for Opera Australia in Melbourne.