Paul O'Neill
Tenor
Australian tenor Paul O’Neill has performed in leading opera houses and concert halls across Europe and Australasia. With Opera Australia, he has performed Pinkerton (Madama Butterfly), Alfredo (La traviata), Rodolfo (La bohème), Narraboth (Salome), and The Duke (Rigoletto).
A frequent principal with West Australian Opera — his home company — he has appeared as Pinkerton, Manrico (Il trovatore), the Prince (Rusalka), Don José (Carmen), Cavaradossi (Tosca), the title role in Otello, Alfredo, Rodolfo, Turiddu (Cavalleria rusticana), Canio (Pagliacci), and The Duke. He returns in 2026 as Lensky (Eugene Onegin) and Alfredo. Elsewhere in Australia, Paul has sung Macduff (Macbeth) for State Opera South Australia.
Formerly an ensemble member of the Berlin Staatsoper, his international engagements include the title role in Faust for Theater Münster, Theater Hagen and the Mainz State Theatre; Cavaradossi in Magdeburg; and Pinkerton in a touring production throughout China. He has also performed The Duke with Opera Holland Park and the state theatres of Karlsruhe and Mainz; Rodolfo with New Zealand Opera; Turiddu and Cavaradossi for Theater Bielefeld; and Jason in Médée for both Theater Bielefeld and the Mainz State Theatre.
He has appeared as Don José at the Glyndebourne Festival; Laca (Jenůfa) for Opéra de Lille; Rodolfo for Halle Opera; Elvino (La sonnambula) and Laca with Graz Opera; Radamès (Aida) at the St Margarethen Opera Festival; and the Prince (Rusalka) at the State Theatre of Saarbrücken.
His concert repertoire includes Mendelssohn’s Elijah under Seiji Ozawa and Haydn’s Orlando Paladino under Nikolaus Harnoncourt (Berlin Philharmonic); Beethoven’s Symphony No.9 (Rheinland-Pfalz State Philharmonic, Beethoven Orchestra in Bonn); Verdi’s Requiem, Mahler’s Symphony No.8 and Siegmund in Die Walküre (West Australian Symphony Orchestra); and Britten’s War Requiem (WASO, Düsseldorf Symphony).
He returns to WASO this season as Erik (The Flying Dutchman) and performs Verdi’s Requiem with the Canberra Symphony.