Freddie De Tommaso, one of the world’s most exciting young tenors, is about to make his Australian debut with two recital performances – and audiences can thank London-based Australian soprano Alexandra Oomens.

The British-Italian tenor has been making waves since scooping the top prizes at the 2018 Tenor Viñas International Singing Competition. Oomens, whom he met when they were both studying at London’s Royal Academy of Music, is now his wife.

Freddie De Tommaso. Photo © Craig Gibson

“Alexandra was raised in Sydney, and I also have an uncle and aunt who live in Perth, so I have a couple of links to Australia,” says De Tommaso. “Ali will already be here singing Despina in Così [fan tutte] at Opera Australia; that’s why I timed my Australian debut so that we’d be in her hometown at the same time.”

De Tommaso was born in Tunbridge Wells in the south of England. His Italian-born father Franco (who died when De Tommaso was 18) ran an Italian restaurant where he serenaded diners with Luciano Pavarotti recordings. His mother Emma took De Tommaso and his two...