Samuel Piper, baritone, has a strong reputation as a soloist and chorister in opera, oratorio, song, and chamber music.
In 2018 he made his principal debut for Opera Queensland as Masetto in Don Giovanni. This lauded production was directed by then OQ Artistic Director, Lindy Hume, and conducted by esteemed Johannes Fritzsch. He has since joined the company for numerous productions, including as Antonio in Le Nozze di Figaro (2021), also covering the role of Barone while performing Il Commissario in La Traviata (2022). Recent engagements have included Opera Queensland under the Stars at Riverstage, and the Verdi Gala with QSO. In 2017 he performed in the Helpmann nominated Mozart Airborne, a collaborative project which saw arias, ensembles, and songs by Mozart sung and danced to by Opera Queensland’s singers, and Australasian Dance Collective (formerly known as Expressions Dance Company).
“…Masetto was brilliantly played by Piper... It was a performance that evoked sympathy and compassion from the entire audience...”
He has performed as a soloist for Queensland Symphony Orchestra on multiple occasions, including as Moralès in Carmen, 2017.
Prior to the emergence of COVID-19, Samuel was undertaking a period of study in Treviso, Italy, as the recipient of funding from Arts Queensland and the Brisbane City Council. He was engaged to make his debut at the Monteverdi Festival, Cremona - understandably cancelled.
His operatic repertoire also includes Sid (Albert Herring), Papageno (Die Zauberflöte), The Gamekeeper (The Cunning Little Vixen), The Father (Hansel and Gretel), Antonio (Le nozze di Figaro), and multiple roles in Purcell's King Arthur. Alongside these roles, he has also performed scenes from Eugene Onegin, Don Giovanni, A Streetcar Named Desire, Così fan tutte, L'elisir d'amore, Pagliacci, L'incoronazione di Poppea, and Il barbiere di Siviglia. His repertoire also extends to the solos in oratorio repertoire such as Mendelssohn’s St. Paul, Jenkins’ The Armed Man, Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, Cantata 4 Christ lag in todes banden and 82 Ich habe genug, Handel’s Messiah, Puccini’s Messa di Gloria, Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle, Bruckner’s Te Deum, Mozart’s Coronation Mass and Schubert’s Mass in G.
Alongisde his solo performances, he also joined Opera Australia in seasons of La bohème on the Harbour, Aida and Shostakovich’s The Nose. Samuel performed with Cantillation and Pinchgut Opera in their acclaimed production of Handel’s Athalia at the City Recital Hall.
Samuel has worked with many organisations, including Queensland Symphony Orchestra, Queensland Conservatorium, Opera Queensland, Expressions Dance Company, Brisbane Baroque Festival, 4MBS Festival of Classics, Bach Society of Queensland, The Queensland Choir, Noosa Chorale, Southern Cross Soloists, Newcastle University Choir, Brunswick Heads VOYCE Festival, and Bangalow Music Festival.
A graduate of Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University, Samuel is the recipient of numerous scholarships and prizes and has furthered his training through opportunities with Lisa Gasteen National Opera School, Southern Cross Soloists, Goethe Institut Berlin, and as a recipient of the Pellegrino Scholarship through the Italian Consulate. Since 2017, Samuel has been supported as a scholar with Melba Opera Trust. He is the recipient of the John and Elizabeth Wright-Smith Scholarship, and the inaugural recipient of the Ryman Healthcare Opera Scholarship.
