ADRIAN TAMBURINI
Music Educator | Singer | Pianist | Director | Producer | Language Coach
A chorister with the Victorian Boys Choir from the age of 5, Adrian has always had a passion for music and singing. At the age of 10 he was awarded a scholarship to sing with the St Patrick's Cathedral Choir, Melbourne where he stayed until 1992 as the assistant choir captain under the direction of John Mallinson. Deciding to concentrate on solo classical singing, Adrian commenced vocal lessons with Bettine McCaughan, with whom he achieved great success winning awards in vocal eisteddfods (including the Royal South Street Competition and the City of Geelong Eisteddfod) and competitions (1996 - Finalist in the Victorian Liederfest, 1997 Winner of the Ernest Schilberger Award for Singing and Winner of the Inaugural Diamond Valley Aria Award). Adrian was awarded the Robert Salzer Vocal Scholarship in 2002, as well as the winner of the Lygon Street Festa Aria Competition in 2003 and was in the finals of the Australian Puccini Foundation Award 2006.
In 2007 Adrian had won the inaugural Royal Melbourne Philharmonic Aria Competition, the Lythgo Trust Operatic Aria Award and the Melbourne Welsh Male Voice Choir Singer of the Year Competition. In 2008 Adrian accepted a full-time position to sing with Opera Australia. In 2010 Adrian was the recipient of the Acclaim Awards Scholarship and a finalist in the German Australian Opera Grant. In 2017, Adrian was the winner of the Australian Opera Awards (YMF, MOST), which offered him the opportunity to study in Italy with Richard Barker and Floriana Longo. During his time in Europe he has sung in Italy, Germany and the United Kingdom.
His singing has featured on cinema releases of opera, DVD, international recordings, motion picture soundtracks, radio, and television. His Operatic debut was in 1997 and ever since has had a varied career as an operatic soloist (Opera Australia, Pinchgut Opera, West Australian Opera, Melbourne Opera, Lost and Found Opera, Short Black Opera), a concert performer (Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, West Australian Symphony Orchestra, Zelman Symphony Orchestra, Sydney University Graduate Choir, Melbourne Bach Choir, Inventi Ensemble, Canberra Symphony Orchestra), musical director, producer and educator.
Adrian has returned to Melbourne to continue his work as a music educator opening the Pure Harmony Music Studio where he teaches singing and piano while juggling his performance career.
Over the years, Adrian has championed new Australian works and world premieres including Nicholas Buc’s Origins, Chistopher Bowen’s Redfern Oratorio and Luke Styles’ No Friend but the Mountains, which is based on the award-winning book of the same name by Behrouz Boochani which has been made into a documentary screened on ABC Television. 2024 sees Adrian working on the world premiere of two operas by Australian female composers, Jane Hammond’s The Spare Room, and May Lyon’s Pieces of Marjery.
Most recently, Adrian has been the recipient of two Green Room Awards, the first for his performance as Fasolt in Das Rheingold (Wagner) and the second as Hagen in Götterdämmerung (Wagner), both for Melbourne Opera Company.
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In 2025, Adrian will sing the role of Hades in the Australian premiere production of Hadestown for Opera Australia and Jones Theatrical. Visit his social media channels for more details.
