Robert Macfarlane
International Operatic Tenor, Vocal Pedagogue and Stage Director
Summary
Accomplished Operatic Tenor, Vocal Pedagogue and creative director with nearly 20 years’ international experience in performance, stage direction, and vocal coaching, recognised for acclaimed performances in opera and concert engagements across Australia, Europe and Asia. Demonstrates expertise in music education, event planning, and budget management, with a proven record of mentoring emerging artists at venues such as Opera Hong Kong and Melbourne Opera and leading successful productions as a stage director praised for his “fantastically inventive theatrical transformation". Poised to contribute advanced vocal technique, artistic vision, and pedagogical excellence to the Vocal Faculty at Zhejiang Conservatory of Music.
Overview
18
18
years of professional experience
5
5
Languages
Work History
Freelance Opera Singer
01.2008 - Current
- Operatic roles for: Opera Australia, Opera National de Lyon, Göttinger Barockorchester, Les Talens Lyrique, Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, Opera Queensland, Western Australian Opera, State Opera of South Australia, Melbourne Opera, Lyric Opera of Melbourne, Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, Lost and Found Opera
- Concert engagements with: Gewandhaus Orchestra, Collegium 1704 Prague, Choir of St. Thomas’s Leipzig, Sistine Chapel Choir, Amici Musicae (Leipzig), Berliner Kantorei, St. George’s Cathedral Perth, Ensemble Gombert, Adelaide Chamber Singers, Canberra Choral Society, Australia Sydney Philharmonia, Royal Melbourne Philharmonic, Consort of Melbourne, The Song Company, Perth Symphonic Chorus, Auckland Chorale
- Festival engagements: Canberra International Music Festival, Wratislavia Cantans Poland, Halberstädter Domfestspiele, Adelaide Festival, Peninsula Music Festival, Woodend Winter Arts Festival, Brisbane Festival, Perth Festival
- Conductors: Alejo Perez, Simone Young, David Robertson, Pietari Inkinen, Christoph Rousset, Gunter Brick, Uwe Grodd, Arvo Volmer, Eckehard Stier, Georg Christoph Biller, Arvo Volmer, Benjamin Northey, Graham Abbott, Brad Cohen, Paul Dyer, Philippe Forget, Luke Dollman, Vaclav Luks, Brett Weymark, Nicholas Braithwaite
- Directors: Robert Lepage, Bruce Beresford, Suzanne Chaundy, Kasper Holten, Lindy Hume, Kobie van Rensburg, Sigrid T’Hooft, Jean Lacornerie, Goran Jarevfelt, Rachel McDonald, Matthew Barclay, Gale Edwards, Andrew Sinclair, Andy Packer, Miki Oikawa, Janice Muller
- Prestigious venues: BBC City Halls Glasgow, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, de Singel Antwerp, St. Thomas Leipzig, Chapelle Royales Versailles, Basilica di San Nicola, Sydney Opera House Concert Hall, St. Paul’s Cathedral, Melbourne, Perth Concert Hall, Melbourne Recital Centre
- Recent Operatic Roles: 2026 – Faust – Faust (Gounod), 2026 – Max – Die Freischutz (Weber), 2025 – Peter Quint – The Turn of the Screw (Britten), 2025 – David – Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg (Wagner), 2024 – Cavaradossi – Tosca (Puccini)
- 2024 – Arturo – Lucia di Lammermoor (Donizetti), 2024 – Japanese Envoy – The Nightingale (Stravinsky), 2023 – Mime – Der Ring Des Nibelungen (Wagner), 2022 – Malcolm/Macduff – Macbeth (Verdi)
- Important Concert Works as soloist: Bach – St. John Passion, Bach – St. Matthew Passion, Bach – Mass in B Minor, Bach - Magnificat, Beethoven – 9th Symphony, Beethoven – Christus am Olberge, Beethoven – Missa Solemnis, Beethoven – Mass in C, Britten – St. Nicolas, Buc – Origins (World Premiere), Handel - Messiah, Haydn – Creation, Mozart – Requiem, Schubert – Song Cycles, Tippett – A Child of our Time
- Critical Acclaim: ‘Macfarlane’s rich Tenor voice, exuberant personality and clear diction brings Mime to life’ Theatre Matters (Wagner’s Siegfried, Melbourne Opera)
- ‘The soloists were equally impressive. Tenor Robert Macfarlane opened proceedings with the aria Ev’ry Valley and set the bar high with crystal-clear diction, forceful projection and fine breath control. His recitatives, He that Dwelleth in Heaven and Thou Shalt Break Them, were highlights.’ Canberra City News (Handel’s Messiah – Canberra Symphony Orchestra)
- ‘tenor Robert Macfarlane’s shining and clarity-sung Arturo’ ArtsReview (Lucia di Lammermoor)
Voice Teacher
Freelance
06.2009 - Current
- - Voice teacher and vocal physiology consultant for amateurs and professional voice users both in person and online via zoom and Microsoft teams
- - Students include professional singers in the Lion King (Toronto), MDR Radio Chorus (Germany), The Australian Brandenburg Choir, Melbourne Opera, Opera Hong Kong Young Artists and Pacific Opera Young Artists
- - Teaching the ‘old italian school’ of singing originating in the vocal science of Manuel Garcia and culminating in the teachings of Arturo Melocchi
- - singing instructional videos have received more than 100,000 views on YouTube and Instagram
- Contracted positions as a voice lecturer include:
- 2025 – Co-Leader of Vocal Masterclasses (with Elena Xanthoudakis, Soprano) Opera Hong Kong, Young Artist Program, Hong Kong
- 2023 – Sessional Voice Teacher The House of Voice, Melbourne, Australia
- 2019 – 2020 – Lecturer in Voice (Classical Performance) Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
- 2008 – 2010 – Voice Teacher and Male Choir Director Trinity College Gawler, Adelaide, Australia
Stage Director (Freelance)
02.2018 - Current
- 2025 – Director of iOpera’s production of Britten’s The Turn of the Screw in Melbourne, Australia
- 2022 – Co-Creator and Stage Director of ‘Arms of Love’ – a collaboration between the Song Company, Kurdish author Beyrouz Boochani and indigenous dance group Karul Projects, featuring the Membra Jesu Nostri of Buxtehude and I Pray the Sea by Chris Williams. Australian National Tour
- 2022 – Stage Director of Genesis Baroque’s production of Handel’s Acis and Galatea in Melbourne, Australia
- 2020 – Creator of the Viral YouTube hit ‘My Opera Career’s Over’ with Tenor Kanen Breen.
- 2019 - Stage director for Apollo Opera Collective’s production of Handel’s Radamisto in Sydney, Australia
- 2018 - Music director, co-creative director and co-stage director of More Guilty than the Poet, presented at the Adelaide Festival Centre, a collaboration between Adelaide Festival Centre and the South Australian Circus Centre (Adelaide, August 2018)
- 2018 Recitative coach and presenter of stage interpretation masterclasses for singers in Apollo Opera Collective’s production of Handel’s Ariodante (Sydney, Feb 2018)
- Critical Acclaim: ‘Ingenious and thought-provoking’ LimeLight Magazine (More Guilty Than the Poet)
- ‘Fantastically inventive theatrical transformation’ Classic Melbourne (Acis and Galatea)
- ‘A revelation in musical programming, breaking all the rules of performing old music and arriving somewhere truly exhilarating’ LimeLight Magazine (Arms of love)
Artistic Director
Australian Bach Society
01.2017 - 01.2020
- Key responsibilities:
- - Curating Australian Bach Society’s 2018 & 2019 concert seasons
- - Engaging musicians to perform in Bach Society events
- - Working with and managing board members, society volunteers
- - Booking concert and rehearsal venues for each concert
- - Booking and managing flights and accommodation for interstate/overseas musicians
- - Managing $40 000 yearly budget
- - Organising and timetabling rehearsal and concert schedules
- - Planning and initiating advertising campaigns (including paid/unpaid social media, physical flyers/posters, radio/print media)
- - Meeting and communicating with principal sponsors and donors
- - Presenting pre-concert talks
- - Writing and designing printed concert programs
Education
Master of Music Teaching -
Victoria University Online
01.2025 - 1 2026
Graduate Certificate - Public Health (Global Health Leadership)
Victoria University
01.2024 - undefined
120 Hour TESOL Certificate - Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages
International Open Academy
01.2019 - undefined
Peter Schreier Masterclass - undefined
Schubertiade
01.2015 - undefined
Opera Studio - undefined
National Opera de Lyon
01.2014 - 1 2015
Postgraduate Vocal Studies - Opera
Hochschule für Musik und Theater ‘Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy’
01.2012 - 1 2014
Diploma of Languages - German and Italian 1a/1b
The University of Adelaide
01.2009 - undefined
Bachelor of Music - undefined
Elder Conservatorium
01.2004 - 1 2007
Skills
Vocal Pedagogy
Operatic Performance
Vocal development
Music Education
Artistic Administration
Creative Direction
References
- Philip, Chan, Adjunct Associate Professor,University of Hong Kong, Philip@hku.hk, 3917-7281
- Graham, Lieschke, Director of Music, St. John's Southgate, Graham.Lieschke@monash.edu, +61 3 9902 9720
- Graham, Abbott, Conductor, Presenter, ABC Classic FM, grahamrabbott@mail.com, +61 414 845 753
Awards
Awards:, 2020 Wagner Society Victoria Young Artist Award, 2013 Lortzing Wettbewerb Finalist of National Singing Competition held in Leipzig, Germany, 2012 Thomas Elder Overseas Scholarship Recipient for Postgraduate Studies at the Hochschule für Musik Leipzig, 2012 Adelaide Critics Circle Individual Award Awarded for performances as the Evangelist (Bach’s St. John Passion) in 2012 Adelaide Festival
Timeline
Master of Music Teaching -
Victoria University Online
01.2025 - 1 2026
Graduate Certificate - Public Health (Global Health Leadership)
Victoria University
01.2024 - undefined
120 Hour TESOL Certificate - Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages
International Open Academy
01.2019 - undefined
Stage Director (Freelance)
02.2018 - Current
Artistic Director
Australian Bach Society
01.2017 - 01.2020
Peter Schreier Masterclass - undefined
Schubertiade
01.2015 - undefined
Opera Studio - undefined
National Opera de Lyon
01.2014 - 1 2015
Postgraduate Vocal Studies - Opera
Hochschule für Musik und Theater ‘Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy’
01.2012 - 1 2014
Voice Teacher
Freelance
06.2009 - Current
Diploma of Languages - German and Italian 1a/1b
The University of Adelaide
01.2009 - undefined
Freelance Opera Singer
01.2008 - Current
Bachelor of Music - undefined
Elder Conservatorium
01.2004 - 1 2007
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