Vocal virtuoso … one of the nation’s best tenors, Shanul Sharma will perform a recital with pianist Helena Kernaghan as part of the Murray River Fine Music’s 2025 concert series on 24 May. Photo: David Ng, Opera in the Market.
He was the lead singer of a heavy metal band who discovered a love for opera listening to YouTube videos of famous tenor Luciano Pavarotti.
Now he’s an internationally acclaimed tenor in his own right, selling out arenas of 60,000 people overseas with his vocal versatility and dazzling operatic performances.
Born in India, with “absolutely no exposure to classical music”, Shanul Sharma moved to Wagga in 2003 to begin studying a degree in Information Technology at Charles Sturt University.
It was there he first found his voice amid the electric guitars, thrash and crash of heavy metal band Sobrusion, which would go on to release three albums and open for major acts at music festivals and local pubs and clubs across the Riverina, including Albury’s Sodens Hotel.
On Saturday (24 May), Shanul will return to the Border to take to the stage for a very different kind of performance as part of the Murray River Fine Music’s 2025 concert series.
Accompanied by renowned Border pianist Helena Kernaghan, Shanul will perform timeless favourites from opera’s greatest composers, designed to ignite the power, passion and emotional intensity of his craft – from soaring high notes to tender, lyrical moments.
Looking back at his rather unconventional journey to becoming the first Indian born singer to perform a principal role with an Australian opera company, Shanul says even he still marvels at the transformation.
Yet, he reflects, even during those heady, head-banging days at Wagga, there was something about opera “that opened itself up to me”.
Listening to Pavarotti on repeat, the “slow burn” began.
“I think somehow because my heart was open to that, opera found its way in,” Shanul says.
“I fell in love with the technicality, the emotions … every note means something with every cell in your body.
“Nothing is able to transmit emotional quality better than opera can!”
A series of serendipitous events led to Shanul making his debut with Opera Australia in 2014.
Working in IT in Melbourne, he couldn’t read music – let alone Italian – but jumped at a rare opportunity to audition, encouraged by an Opera Australia coach who had “taken me under his wing”.
One aria, and two days later he was booked for a three-month tour with the company and the rest, as they say, is history.
Since then, Shanul has gone on to star in opera performances across the world including for the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow and the Rossini Opera Festival in Italy.
Many Australians might best know of Shanul from his performance of the Indian national anthem to a sold-out Sydney Cricket Ground and a global television audience of more than 50 million in January to kick off the ‘Pink Test’ between Australia and India.
And, indeed, he uses a cricketing analogy to best describe his leap from heavy metal to opera: “From rock and roll to opera might seem like a big jump, but to me rock and roll is like the T-20 cricket and opera is the full five-day Test match – you have to work on the delivery and stamina of the art form,” he says.
Shanul, who now says he calls a suitcase home, is passionate about making opera accessible to a wider audience but he is particularly excited about returning to his old stomping ground for this recital.
“I have a deep connection with the Border,” he says.
“A lot of my stage chops were sorted at Sodens. We spent a lot of time playing there and opening for huge bands because Albury was a great hub between Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.”
Those stage chops have stood him in good stead for his opera career, including a tour of 18 arenas in France, playing to audiences of up to 60,000 people.
While The Cube Wodonga will provide a much more intimate setting for his performance this Saturday, Shanul says it’s no less nerve-wracking.
“No audience is small – they all lend you their ears,” he says.
“An audience who gives you their time to listen is the biggest privilege and coming home the performance is just as important. It will be like singing for family.”
This Saturday’s 2 pm recital aims to showcase the different eras of opera “with a sprinkle of other things here and there”, according to Shanul.
“It’s a beautiful program that lends itself well to the tenor voice,” he says.
“For some people opera is like an addiction – a visceral high.
“For those who are potentially new to the genre, this performance in Wodonga is a wonderful introduction to an art form that has stood the test of time.”
Following the recital, patrons will have the opportunity to meet the artists and enjoy a selection of Cofields wines, gourmet canapes and intimate performances by talented student scholars William Paffen and Bianca Wijerathne.
Tickets for the Saturday 24 May performance at 2 pm can be booked online at The Cube Wodonga.
