His numerous accolades include first prize at the 61st Tenor Viñas Competition at the Gran Teatre del Liceu, the New Zealand Performer of the Year Award, and first prize in both the IFAC Handa Singing Competition and the Lexus Song Quest, two of Australia’s most prestigious singing competitions.

Manu is rapidly establishing himself on the world’s leading operatic stages, having already made debuts at the Opéra National de Paris, Wiener Staatsoper, Gran Teatre del Liceu, and Staatsoper Hamburg.

Future seasons include returns to Wiener Staatsoper, the Royal Opera House, and Gran Teatre del Liceu, further cementing his presence on the international stage.

Equally at home on the concert platform, Manu has appeared as the tenor soloist in Stravinsky’s Pulcinella at the Edinburgh International Festival Opening Concert, conducted by Dalia Stasevska, and as the Officer in Ariadne auf Naxos, conducted by Lothar Koenigs. He has performed Handel’s Messiah with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, at the Royal Albert Hall, and in recital at Wigmore Hall.

Other concert highlights include performances at the Royal Opera House Stars Gala, where he sang alongside Lisette Oropesa and Gerald Finley, conducted by Sir Antonio Pappano, a Christmas Gala Concert conducted by Mark Wigglesworth, and an intimate recital of songs and arias with Sir Antonio Pappano.

His formative training was gained at the University of Waikato, where he completed a Bachelor of Music and Postgraduate Diploma, and through the Dame Malvina Major Young Artist Programme with New Zealand Opera. He is a former member of the New Zealand Opera School, the Guildhall School of Music and Drama Opera School, and both the inaugural opera programmes for the Dame Kiri Te Kanawa Foundation and the Dame Malvina Major Foundation.