The Aussie bass triumphed at the 2017 Opera Awards, giving him the opportunity to hone his craft abroad.

Born Melbourne
Studied Singing privately (University degree is in Psychology)
Likes Coffee, The Ocean, Discovering new music
Dislikes Discrimination of any kind, Gossip, Apathy


What got you into singing, and what did you love about it as a kid?

When I started primary school my parents put me into piano lessons and soon after I joined the Victorian Boys Choir. I grew up in a close-knit Italian community surrounded by melodies and quickly discovered I was happiest when I was making music.

Adrian TamburiniBass Adrian Tamburini

Did your early involvement with choral music inform your operatic career?

Yes, definitely, although I knew nothing of opera until 1990 when the Three Tenors sang at the Italian World Cup. When I heard Pavarotti sing Nessun Dorma I had to know what it was. I was a chorister up until I left secondary school and that early education in choral singing afforded me the ability to sight-read music in both treble and bass clef. Also, by the time I had started studying solo singing, I had already sung in...