New Zealand-Tongan tenor 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 Filipe’s debut as Nemorino in The Elixir of Love at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona and his return to the Wiener Staatsoper and Opera Australia.
Recent highlights include debuts as Fenton (Falstaff) at the Glyndebourne Summer Festival, and appearances as Tamino (The Magic Flute) at the Royal Opera House, and Nemorino (The Elixir of Love) at the Glyndebourne Autumn Festival.
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 and acknowledges the support of both the Dame Kiri Te Kanawa Foundation and Dame Malvina Major Foundation.