New Zealand-Tongan tenor Filipe Manu is one of the most exciting young talents to graduate from the world-renowned Jette Parker Young Artist programme at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Manu is the recipient of the New Zealand performer of the year award and winner of Australia’s most prestigious singing competition, the IFAC Handa Singing Competition and the Lexus Song Quest.

In the 2023/24 season, Manu makes company and role debuts at the Opéra National de Paris as Eduardo in Thomas Adès’ The Exterminating Angel in Calixto Bieito’s new production; Glyndebourne Opera as Nemorino L’elisir d’Amore; his company debuts at Wiener Staatsoper as Ferrando Così fan tutte in Barrie Kosky’s new production, and with Opera Australia; and his role debut as Ernesto Don Pasquale at Hamburg State Opera.

A recent member of the newly-formed ensemble at Konzert Theater Bern, his roles there included Tamino, Ruodi Guillaume Tell, Arbace Idomeneo, Tebaldo I Capuletti e i Montecchi and Froh Das Rheingold. During his time with the Royal Opera House, Filipe was seen as Gastone La Traviata, Erster Gefangener Fidelio and Father/Charlie in The Seven Deadly Sins / Mahogonny Songspiel.

Concert engagements include tenor soloist in Stravinsky's Pulcinella at the Edinburgh International Festival under the baton of Dalia Stasevska, and as Officer Ariadne auf Naxos, conducted by Lothar Koenigs. He has also appeared at the Royal Albert Hall in Handel’s Messiah and at Wigmore Hall in recital.

His formative training was gained at the University of Waikato through a Bachelors of Music and postgraduate diploma and on the Dame Malvina Major Young Artist programme with New Zealand Opera. He is a former member of the New Zealand Opera school, the Guildhall School of Music and Drama Opera School and both inaugural Opera programmes for the Dame Kiri Te Kanawa foundation and the Dame Malvina Major foundation.