— Biography

The story behind the voice.

Iranian-Australian lyric tenor Sam Elmi has completed a Master of Music Studies degree (Opera Performance) at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.

His opera roles have included Alfredo (Opera Hunter, Pocket Opera/Pacific Opera), Don Jose (Opera Hunter), Anichino (London Bel Canto Festival, with London Philharmonic Orchestra) and Frederic (Opera Hunter). In addition to his studies, in 2025, he has sung Lensky (IVAAP Austria) as well as Ismaele for The Cooperative, Sydney. For the Sydney Conservatorium of Music/NIDA, he created four roles in new one-act operas under the overall title of Mother and in 2025 Sam sung Pluton/ Aristée in NIDA-SydCon production of Offenbach’s Orphée aux enfers. In concert performances, Sam has been tenor soloist in Mozart’s Mass in C minor, Haydn’s Creation, and Handel’s Messiah.

Sam was a semi-finalist in the Sydney Eisteddfod’s prestigious Opera Scholarship (2021) and in the Enrico Caruso Concorso (2024) as well as in Premiere Opera Foundation 2025. In 2025, he was also awarded second place in New Zealand’s Nicholas Tarling Aria Competition and the Nicholas Tarling Cup.

Studies & Teachers

MMus, Opera Performance — Sydney Conservatorium of Music

Studio of Dr Rowena Cowley; coaches Donna Balson, Ingrid Sakurovs, Estella Roche
Private study & masterclasses — Vladimir Chernov

Met, Royal Opera House, La Scala, Vienna State Opera
Masterclass — Chris Merritt

Association Helvetia Lyrica, Geneva
Masterclass — Giancarlo Del Monaco

Accademia Mario Del Monaco, Roma
Masterclass — Giuseppe Sabbatini

Roma, August 2026
PRIVATE LESSION & MASTERCLASS - Olga Toporkova (IVAAP)

Payerbach, Austria
PRIVATE LESSIONS

Private lessons:

- Nicola Martinucci
-Piero Visconti
- Gianluca Terranova,
- Giancarlo Mari,
- Michael Trimble,
- Lavinia Chereches,
- Bruce Ford,
-Deborah Humble,
- Jennifer Barnes
- Earlier study with Dr Lada Georgieva (Iran)

20 years of flamenco & classical guitar
Medical studies

-Diploma of Medicine from MUMS (Mashhad University of medical science)

-FRACGP ( Fellowship degree from Royal Australian College of General Practitioners)

Voice type

Lyric Tenor

Languages

English · Italian · German · French · Persian

Based in

Sydney, Australia

Selected Awards

• Olive Margaret Stewart Bequest Opera Scholarship
• Bud Brown Memorial Scholarship
• Henderson Travellers Scholarship
• Nicolas Tarling Aria Competition — 2nd Place & Tarling Cup (2025)
• Casa Museo Enrico Caruso, Concorso Internazionale — Semi-finalist (2024)
• Francesco Paolo Neglia International Competition — Semi-finalist (2024)
• Premiere Opera Foundation — Semi-finalist (2025)
• Sydney Eisteddfod Operetta — 1st Prize (2022)
• Taree Opera Scholarship Championship — 1st Prize (2020)
• Sydney Eisteddfod — Crowd Favourites Jury Award (2020)

— Medical Practice

A physician with the same discipline he brings to the stage.

Alongside his artistic career, Sam Elmi is a medical doctor and general practitioner. His clinical work is grounded in careful listening, clear communication, and long-term patient care, with a particular interest in skin cancer medicine and procedural treatment.

Doctor Portfolio

General Practice

Whole-person primary care with attention to continuity, prevention, and practical treatment plans.

Skin Cancer Medicine

Focused interest in skin checks, early detection, and treatment pathways for skin cancer.

Patient Communication

Consultations shaped by clarity, empathy, and a calm explanation of options.

Professional Balance

A dual career that brings discipline, presence, and care from medicine into music and back again.

Medical studies

-Diploma of Medicine from MUMS (Mashhad University of medical science)
-FRACGP ( Fellowship degree from Royal Australian College of General Practitioners)