Decca Signs its First Male Soprano Samuel Mariño

The Venezuelan male soprano Samuel Mariño has signed to Decca Classics and will release his first album for the label on May 27, 2022.

Mariño has always had an unusually high speaking voice. As a teenager, amidst bullying, he saw a voice specialist about the issue. The doctor told Mariño that it was possible to operate on his larynx, thus deepening his voice, but urged him to consider the possibilities of a singing career in light of the unique opportunities his voice could offer him.

Mariño's unusual range has led several musicologists to suggest that he is well-positioned to attempt repertoire from the eighteenth century that was originally written for castrati.

The castrato voice was first introduced in the 16th century when women were banned from church choirs and the stage. It reached its greatest prominence in 17th- and 18th-century opera.

While some modern-day countertenors have attempted to revive this music, Mariño is uniquely poised to bring repertoire that has long lain forgotten to the concert platform and into the recording studio.

Mariño's first album for Decca is entitled Sopranista and explores a range of this repertoire, including famous arias by Mozart and Gluck alongside less well-known works by Joseph Bologne and Domenico Cimarosa. Much of this music has never been sung by a male soprano on recording, and some of it (such as Cherubino's aria from The Marriage of Figaro) explores the fluidity and performance of gender.

"Whether someone feels like a man, a woman, non-binary, I want people to make music, Mariño says. "When I wear a dress and make-up on stage, I do it because I love fashion and it’s a statement. I get messages from transgender people who say thank you so much for being on stage like this. This encourages me to continue to make this art that I love so much."

"As a teenager and despite the bullies and crushing pressure to conform, Samuel found the strength to stand out," said Decca Records co-presidents Laura Monks and Tom Lewis. "As a result, he has traveled the world, charmed the musical world and become a extraordinary inspiring role model for acceptance and understanding. When Samuel sings, he transports you to another world. He is quite literally one-of-a-kind!”

Mariño first studied piano and voice at the National Conservatory in Caracas and had his first operatic experience with the Camerata Barroca in Caracas. There, he worked with conductors such as Gustavo Dudamel, Helmuth Rilling, and Theodore Kuchar, and was inspired to further his studies at the Conservatoire de Paris.

He is currently mentored by soprano Barbara Bonney and is the recipient of a scholarship by the Rotary Club of Salzburg.

In addition to his operatic and recital performances, in 2019, he founded Ensemble Teseo, which brings forgotten baroque techniques and works to the mainstream operatic and concert stages.