Tenor Shanul Sharma, celebrated for his ‘dazzling fireworks’ (The Age), ‘laser-like precision’ (Limelight Magazine), ‘radiant high notes’ (Opera Libera) and ‘resplendent clarity’ (Sydney Morning Herald), has been described as ‘Gandhi reincarnate’ (Oper! Magazin) and is recognised as the first Indian-born Australian to perform as a principal artist in an Australian opera (SBS News).
Born in Jabalpur, India, Shanul relocated to Australia to pursue a Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology and during this time began his musical journey as the lead vocalist in heavy metal bands, releasing three original studio albums. Seeking new artistic avenues, he turned to classical singing and moved from Wagga Wagga to Melbourne in 2013 to start training privately as an opera singer. Since then, he has performed in opera houses, concert halls, and arenas across Europe, Australia, Russia and the UK.
Shanul made his operatic debut in 2014 with Opera Australia as Don Ramiro in Rossini’s La Cenerentola. He later joined the company's Moffatt-Oxenbould Young Artist Program (2018-2021), where he earned critical acclaim for roles such as Il Conte di Libenskof in Rossini’s Il viaggio a Reims (2019), Der Student Arkenholz in Reimann’s Die Gespenstersonate (2019), Il Conte d’Almaviva in Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia (2023), MK Gandhi in Philip Glass’ Satyagraha (2023) and Tamino in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte (2024). In January 2025, Shanul returned to Opera Australia to reprise his role as Il Conte d'Almaviva in Elijah Moshinsky’s renowned production of Il barbiere di Siviglia at the Sydney Opera House and the Regent Theatre, Melbourne.
Shanul has also performed in major roles at other prestigious houses, including the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, where he sang Il Conte di Libenskof in Il viaggio a Reims (2020, 2019), and at the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro, Italy (2018). In September/October 2024 he appeared as MK Gandhi in Staatsoper Hannover’s new production of Philip Glass’ Satyagraha directed by Daniel Kramer, where his portrayal of the iconic figure was critically praised for its sincere and authentic delivery. Other notable appearances include the title role in Mozart’s Mitridate, Re di Ponto at Teatro Olimpico for Festival Vicenza in Lirica (2021), Il Conte d’Almaviva in Il barbiere di Siviglia at Teatro del Giglio, Lucca (2018), Lindoro in Rossini’s L’italiana in Algeri for Fondazione Rete, Italy (2022), and Gennaro in Donizetti’s Lucrezia Borgia for Melbourne Opera (2022). In December 2023, he created the role of Papa Urbano VIII in the opera Galileo, composed and conducted by Richard Mills AO and directed by Stuart Maunder AM for Victorian Opera.
On the concert stage, Shanul has represented the Rossini Opera Festival as the tenor soloist in Rossini’s Stabat Mater at LaVerdi Auditorium in Milan, conducted by Claus Peter Flor, and at the Norwegian National Opera in Oslo (2018). He performed with the Welsh National Opera Orchestra at the Llangollen Festival in Wales under the baton of Christopher Tin for his Grammy Award-winning composition Calling All Dawns (2017), and with the Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra for Mazda Opera in the Domain under the direction of Brian Castles-Onion AM (2019). He collaborated with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra in 2023 for excerpts from Galileo at the Perth International Festival, conducted by Richard Mills AO and appeared as Arnold and the tenor soloist in Rossini's Guillaume Tell and Petite Messe Solenelle with Sydney Philharmonia Choirs at the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall in 2025. These performances were broadcast on S4C TV (UK) and ABC Classic (Australia). In October 2026, Shanul will make his debut with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Simone Young and starring alongside Sir Bryn Terfel as the tenor soloist in Mendelssohn’s oratorio Elijah.
Demonstrating his versatility, in late 2022, Shanul toured as the lead vocalist with Eric Lévi’s French new-age group +eRa+, appearing across France, Belgium, Switzerland, and Luxembourg to audiences totalling over 60,000. The tour featured Grammy Award-winning and multi-platinum artists Rob Harris and Paul Turner of Jamiroquai, Ged Lynch of Peter Gabriel, Nicola Montazaud and Eric Lévi himself. In January 2025, Shanul performed an a capella version of the Indian national anthem at a sold-out Sydney Cricket Ground and a global TV audience of over 50 million to kick-off the Pink Test between Australia and India.
A Master’s graduate in Advanced Vocal Studies from the Wales International Academy of Voice, Shanul is the only artist to have won both the Canto Lirico and Rossini International Award in Pesaro, Italy in the same year (2017). He was also honoured with Broadway World Sydney’s award for Best Performer in an Opera – Male for his role as Der Student Arkenholz in Die Gespenstersonate (2019) and was nominated for Outstanding Performance in a Lead Role at the 2024 Green Room Awards for his portrayal of MK Gandhi in Satyagraha.