Michael Pertucceli

Returning home after several busy seasons with Oper Frankfurt, Australian tenor Michael Petruccelli is in demand for roles ranging from early music to contemporary Australian opera, and appears regularly with orchestras and festivals around the country.

For Opera Australia, he has appeared as Stephen Goldring in The Eighth Wonder, Pedro in Two Weddings, One Bride, and Septimius in Handel’s Theodora—a collaboration with Pinchgut Opera. Having previously sung Goro in the company’s touring production of Madama Butterfly, he reprised the role on the main stage for their 2026 season, alongside performances of Pang in Turandot.

Elsewhere, Michael’s roles with Victorian Opera have included Tichon in Kátya Kabanová, Pirelli in Sweeney Todd in Dubai, Arturo in Lucia di Lammermoor, Beppe in Pagliacci, Le Héraut in Cendrillon, Monsieur Taupe in Capriccio and The Minister in The Princess and the Pea. For West Australian Opera he performed Almaviva in The Barber of Seville, and with Pinchgut Opera he sang Jason in Medée and Aquillo in Farnace. Michael was a member of Oper Frankfurt’s principal ensemble, appearing as Basilio and Don Curzio in Le nozze di Figaro, Remendado in Carmen, The Italian Singer in Capriccio, Graf von Lerma in Don Carlo, Lucio in Rossini’s Otello, and the Voice of a Young Sailor in a new production of Tristan und Isolde.

An accomplished interpreter of contemporary opera, Michael has been closely associated with new Australian works. He won a Green Room Award (Outstanding Performance in a Lead Role) for starring as The Stranger in Jonathan Mills’ opera Eucalyptus, a co-production between Opera Australia, Victorian Opera, Perth Festival and Brisbane Festival. He was also involved in productions of Richard Mills’ Galileo and Deborah Cheetham’s Parrwang Lifts the Sky for Victorian Opera, Voss for State Opera South Australia, and Mary Finsterer’s Antarctica for Sydney Chamber Opera’s collaboration with the Holland Festival.

On the concert platform, Michael has performed with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra in Handel’s Messiah, the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra in Haydn’s The Creation, and the Sydney Philharmonia in Bach’s St John Passion. His repertoire also includes Verdi’s Requiem, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, Bach’s St Matthew Passion and Magnificat, Bruckner’s Te Deum, Mozart’s Coronation Mass and Missa Brevis in D major, Dvořák’s Mass in D Major, Saint-Saëns’ Oratorio de Noël, Haydn’s Missa Sancti Nicolai, and Schubert’s Missa Brevis in G major. He has collaborated with orchestras and ensembles such as the Royal Melbourne Philharmonic, Melbourne Bach Choir, Bendigo Symphony Orchestra, and Festival of Voices Hobart.

Looking ahead, Michael will give the world premiere of Jonathan Mills’ Songs for a Stranger with the Australian World Orchestra, make his New Zealand debut as Goro in concert with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, and sing in Handel’s Messiah with the Sydney Philharmonia.