The soprano with the rarest voice in the world: “If I sing in falsetto, I sound like Mariah Carey or Prince”

Samuel Mariño trained as a ballet dancer before taking vocal lessons as a teenager. During puberty, his voice did not undergo the usual transition - unlike his peers, it didn’t break, but retained its prepubescent high pitch.

That, along with the fact that he had come out as gay meant that Samuel suffered from regular bullying in his home town of Caracas.

But opera was a way out. Mariño used his soprano voice to his advantage, and took up vocal training at the National Conservatory before setting out on his operatic career.

In 2013, he relocated to to France to continue his studies at the Conservatoire de Paris.

In 2022, Samuel debuted with the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra and the following year, he joined the Versailles Royal Opera Orchestra in a tour of South Korea.

He is currently on tour with the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra with dates in Sydney and Melbourne.

Samuel Mariño’s unique voice take the opera world by storm

With his unique gender-defying voice, Mariño continues to challenge the conventions and boundaries of the opera world and in a recent interview with The Guardian, he explained: “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. If I sing falsetto, I sound like Mariah Carey. Or Prince.”

“It wasn’t easy when I was growing up. I had this high voice - before it was even higher. I didn’t want to be different, I just wanted to be normal - like everyone else,” he explains. “We’re taught that being different is something bad. I was 14 and I talked to my mother and asked her to take me to the doctor because the bullying at school was so hard.

“The doctor looked at my vocal chords and told me that my larynx had broke completely, so he told me that we could do some surgery but why don’t you try to sing opera? Which delighted my mother! It was not my choice but my mom pushed me to do it!”

Brandenburg’s co-founder and artistic director Paul Dyer is one of the many authoritative figures who have been won over by Mariño’s unique vocal style: “It’s exquisite to hear a male singing that high. And it’s even more breathtaking to watch other males in the audience see this handsome young man walking out on stage – they don’t know what’s going to come out – and then suddenly this rare jewel of a voice.”

Get your game on! Whether you’re into NFL touchdowns, NBA buzzer-beaters, world-class soccer goals, or MLB home runs, our app has it all.

Dive into live coverage, expert insights, breaking news, exclusive videos, and more – plus, stay updated on the latest in current affairs and entertainment. Download now for all-access coverage, right at your fingertips – anytime, anywhere.