Biography
New Zealand-raised tenor of Tongan heritage Filipe Manu is rapidly establishing himself as one of the most compelling tenors of his generation. In 2024, he became the first singer from the Pacific and Australasia to win the prestigious Tenor Viñas International Singing Competition. A graduate of the esteemed Jette Parker Young Artist Programme at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Manu has made significant debuts at Covent Garden, Wiener Staatsoper, Opéra National de Paris, and the Staatsoper Hamburg.
The 2025/26 season brings a new wave of international engagements, including Manu’s eagerly anticipated debut at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona as Nemorino (L’elisir d’amore). He returns to the Wiener Staatsoper as Ferrando (Così fan tutte) and travels with the company for his house debut at the Opéra de Monte-Carlo in the same role. Manu also makes a highly awaited return to Opera Australia, making his role debut as Alfredo in La traviata in Melbourne, Regent Theatre. On the concert stage, he rejoins the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra for his first-ever performances of Rossini’s Stabat Mater.
Full Biography
New Zealand-raised tenor of Tongan heritage Filipe Manu is rapidly establishing himself as one of the most compelling tenors of his generation. In 2024, he became the first singer from the Pacific and Australasia to win the prestigious Tenor Viñas International Singing Competition. A graduate of the esteemed Jette Parker Young Artist Programme at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Manu has made significant debuts at Covent Garden, Wiener Staatsoper, Opéra National de Paris, and the Staatsoper Hamburg.
The 2025/26 season brings a new wave of international engagements, including Manu’s eagerly anticipated debut at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona as Nemorino (L’elisir d’amore). He returns to the Wiener Staatsoper as Ferrando (Così fan tutte) and travels with the company for his house debut at the Opéra de Monte-Carlo in the same role. Manu also makes a highly awaited return to Opera Australia, making his role debut as Alfredo in La traviata in Melbourne, Regent Theatre. On the concert stage, he rejoins the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra for his first-ever performances of Rossini’s Stabat Mater.
Recent seasons have featured debuts as Fenton (Falstaff) at the Glyndebourne Summer Festival, Paris (La Belle Hélène) in Toulon, and Ernesto (Don Pasquale) with Scottish Opera. Other highlights include appearances as Eduardo in Thomas Adès’ The Exterminating Angel at Opéra National de Paris, Tamino (Die Zauberflöte) at the Royal Opera House, and Nemorino (L’elisir d’amore) at the Glyndebourne Autumn Festival. He has sung Ferrando for both Opera Australia and the Staatsoper Hamburg, as well as in Barrie Kosky’s new production of Così fan tutte at Wiener Staatsoper. From 2021 to 2023, Manu was a member of the ensemble at Bühnen Bern, where his repertoire spanned Tamino, Ruodi (Guillaume Tell), Arbace (Idomeneo), Tebaldo (I Capuleti e i Montecchi), and Froh (Das Rheingold).
On the concert stage, Manu has performed at venues including the Edinburgh International Festival, Royal Albert Hall, and Wigmore Hall, collaborating with such leading conductors as Dalia Stasevska, Lothar Koenigs, Sir Antonio Pappano, and Mark Wigglesworth. He has also performed alongside Lisette Oropesa and Gerald Finley.
Manu is the recipient of the New Zealand Performer of the Year Award, the Dame Heather Begg Memorial Award, and first prizes in both the IFAC Handa Australian Singing Competition and the Lexus Song Quest.
His early development was supported by the Dame Malvina Major Young Artist Programme at New Zealand Opera. He is a former member of the New Zealand Opera School, the opera programme at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, and the inaugural programmes of both the Dame Kiri Te Kanawa Foundation and Dame Malvina Major Foundation. As a Sir Edmund Hillary Scholar at the University of Waikato, he completed his Bachelor of Music and Postgraduate Diploma before earning a Master’s degree from the Guildhall School of Music & Drama.
Filipe Manu is increasingly recognised as a leading representative of Pacific and Australasian talent and music on the world’s major opera stages.
