Tenor Oliver Sewell has been praised by Philadelphia magazine for “his lovely, burnished tone color, natural sense of line, and unstinting generosity”.

Most recently he competed in the finals of the 2022 Loren L. Zachary Singing Competition in Los Angeles and was awarded second place, performed Alfredo in La Traviata with Wellington Opera and in Carmina Burana with the three national choirs of Choirs Aotearoa.

Recent highlights include Giannetto in La gazza ladra with Will Crutchfield's Teatro Nuovo in Lincoln Center’s Rose Theatre, Handel's Messiah with the Columbus Symphony, Carmina Burana with New York Master Chorale in Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, Mozart’s Mass in C Major in Carnegie Hall. He has also played Don Octavio in Wellington Opera’s Don Giovanni, Jaquino in Fidelio with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, Fernand in La Favorite, Ferrando in Così fan tutte and Alfredo in La Traviata at the Academy of Vocal Arts. Previous seasons have included Brighella and Tanzmeister in Ariadne aux Naxos (Academy of Vocal Arts), Ernesto in Don Pasquale (Crested Butte Music Festival) and Gastone in La Traviata (New Jersey Festival Orchestra and New Zealand Opera).

Oliver began his vocal studies in New Zealand at University of Canterbury and the New Zealand School of Music. He was an Emerging Artist at New Zealand Opera before he moved to New York to complete a Masters at Manhattan School of Music. From 2016-2019 he was a resident artist at the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia. Throughout his studies and career Oliver has been generously supported by the Kiri Te Kanawa Foundation.