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The opera singer with one of the rarest voices in the world: ‘Being on stage is not easy’

Samuel Mariño was bullied at school for his voice. But now the male soprano is storming the classical world – one sequin at a time

One of the rarest voices in the world of opera is now in Australia and its owner, Venezuelan-born Samuel Mariño, is set to charm audiences with his crystal pure natural soprano – and his four suitcases of frothy tulle, slinky sequins and towering heels. “I like to describe my voice as a light lyric soprano, with a bit of coloratura,” he says, speaking to the Guardian after a day’s rehearsal with the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra in Sydney earlier this week. Growing up in Venezuela’s capital, Caracas, as the child of academics working long hours under Hugo Chavez’s regime, Mariño and his two siblings were kept occupied with multiple after school activities.

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