Decca Classics announces 'Lumina', the new album from male soprano Samuel Mariño

Decca Classics announces Lumina, the new album from Venezuelan male soprano Samuel Mariño, to be released on 25 July 2025.

One of only a handful of male sopranos in the world today, Mariño is known for his natural high voice and gender-defying performances. As a teenager, he was bullied for his high speaking voice and briefly considered medical intervention before being encouraged to pursue singing instead. That same voice has since taken him around the world, with a sparkling opera career underway and his second album on a major label.

The album features works by Handel, Caccini, Dvořák, Liszt, Strauss, Rachmaninov, and Piaf, as well as Mariño’s own arrangements of “The Last Rose of Summer” and “Baïlèro” from Joseph Canteloube’s Chants d’Auvergne. Many of the arias were originally written for female voices and are heard here for the first time performed by a male soprano.

The album reflects a new chapter in Mariño’s journey as a singer, one that moves toward a more lyrical and intimate sound. “I have been growing as a singer. When I was younger it was more fun to sing the virtuosic repertoire, but today I’m 31 and I want to lead my instrument into something more lyrical, more ethereal,” says Samuel.

Recorded with conductor Ben Palmer,the Covent Garden Sinfonia and pianist Jonathan Ware, the album explores both sweeping orchestral textures and quiet piano-led moments

“I have learned so much about my voice during this recording,” Mariño reflects about the process. “When I was singing this repertoire, I was feeling more like a lyrical soprano, and this is how I want to continue with my voice.”

Nature runs throughout the album, both in theme and in the way Mariño shapes the music: Water, through “Rusalka”; earth, in “Ombra mai fu”; fire and passion in the love arias like “Amarilli”; and air, represented by folk songs such as “The Last Rose of Summer”. “I am a singer because of nature. I just don’t belong to the city. Nature is where I find myself and where I can feel grounded,” says Samuel.

Mariño’s versions of Gounod’s Ave Maria and Rachmaninov’s Vocalise are included as part of what he describes as a peace offering. “There is a different colour and a different vibration in my version of these works. I don’t think it’s about my sex, my gender, or my body. When people listen to these famous arias, it will be the first time that they listen in this way, and I like that.”

The selection of arias was also carefully curated to reflect his commitment to sharing joy and emotion with the audience: “Over the years, I’ve built a relationship with my listeners that feels almost like a marriage—there’s loyalty, affection, and trust. That’s why I wanted to include beloved classics like the two Ave Marias—pieces that bring comfort and serenity, especially in such chaotic times.”

Another highlight is Dvořák’s “Song to the Moon” from Rusalka. “If you told me five years ago that I’d be recording Rusalka I wouldn’t have believed you,” says Mariño. “But I want to open the doors for the next generation of male sopranos and say ‘listen, I did it, and so can you.’”

Romantic repertoire also plays an important part in the album, with Liszt’s “Oh, quand je dors” and Strauss’s “Morgen” recorded with piano. “When I first started singing Baroque repertoire as a young singer, to be honest I sometimes felt like I had to restrain my voice. When I’m singing romantic music, my voice is free.”

The album closes with Edith Piaf’s “Hymne à l’amour”, a track that first caught Mariño’s ear when he heard Céline Dion perform it at the Paris Olympics. “I first heard Celine Dion sing it at the Paris Olympics. I was so inspired by it that I said, ‘I want to sing that!’ I try to use my speaking voice as much as I can when I am singing this song, because I like the effect of the air of my voice.”

About the album, Samuel says: “This album is, in many ways, a love letter to my audience. It’s a gesture of gratitude for their support—for accepting me, respecting me, and walking with me through both the highs and lows. I’m truly thankful.”

Born in Caracas in 1993, Mariño trained in piano, ballet and voice before studying at the Conservatoire de Paris. He was nominated Best Revelation Artist by OpernWelt after his debut at the Halle Handel Festival and is mentored by soprano Barbara Bonney.