At the age of 28, Venezuelan singing sensation Samuel Mariño has the world at his feet – clad as they usually are in glittering high heels – having sold two million copies of his album Sopranista since signing with the prestigious Decca label a few months ago. He is touring to packed houses all over the world and will shortly be making his debut at Glyndebourne as Iris in Handel’s Semele.

Samuel Mariño and the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra in The Soprano, Sydney, 2022. Photo © Keith Saunders

For the singer whose voice never completely broke, it has been a bumpy ride, from abuse and bullying at school to finally finding his place in a musical world, which is often conservative and slow to move with the times. Now, much delayed by the pandemic, Sydney and Melbourne audiences get to finally meet the man and hear the voice in a tour of nine concerts with Paul Dyer and the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra.

The opening night of arias by Handel, Vivaldi, Hasse, Porpora and Gluck brought frequent thunderous ovations and at the end of the evening the audience rose to...