Winner of the 2011 Blyth-Buesst Operatic Prize and the John Fussell Award for Young Welsh Musicians, Sam was a choral scholar at St. John’s College, Cambridge, before gaining a place at the Royal Academy of Music in London. He has now completed his post-graduate vocal studies and is on the Royal Academy Opera course.

Sam's operatic roles to date include Rinnucio Gianni Schicchi, Don Ottavio Don Giovanni, Lensky Eugene Onegin, the title role of Orfeo, Lysander A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Tamino The Magic Flute at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and Bénédict Béatrice et Bénédict with the Royal Academy Opera, conducted by Sir Colin Davis. This summer, Sam sang the title role of Albert Herring at Opera Holland Park to critical acclaim: “Britten's 1947 opera is an ideal vehicle for the light-voiced Sam Furness, who sang Herring and has all the makings of a star”. Guardian, July 2011.

Sam’s oratorio repertoire includes Mozart’s Requiem, Bach’s St. Matthew Passion and St. John Passion, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Handel’s Messiah and Samson, Britten’s St Nicholas, Verdi’s Requiem and Dyson’s Canterbury Pilgrims.

In July 2012 Sam will sing Lensky in a new production of Eugene Onegin, directed by his brother Jack, at the Ryedale Festival. Shortly afterwards he will go on to sing the role of Vašek The Bartered Bride for British Youth Opera. Looking further ahead, Sam will sing the title role of Albert Herring in a new production at the Théâtre du Capitole in Toulouse, Fredric The Pirates of Penzance with Scottish Opera, and the Novice Billy Budd at the Teatro Municipal in Santiago, all in 2013.

Sam is taught by his countryman, Ryland Davies, and coached by Ian Partridge. He is currently supported by the Sickle Trust Fund scholarship, the Countess of Munster Trust and the Josephine Baker Trust. He has previously benefitted from a Prince of Wales Award from the Arts Council of Wales, an Elizabeth Evans Trust Award, a Fishmonger’s Trust scholarship and a South Square Trust Fund scholarship. Sam is a member of the Royal Academy Song Circle.

Bénédict in Berlioz’s Béatrice et Bénédict / Royal Academy Opera
Cond. Sir Colin Davis / Dir. John Copley
“Samuel Furness made Bénédict the most three-dimensional character. As early as his Act One spat with Béatrice, there was a charge between the two of them, and his short aria (‘Ah! Je vais l‘aimer’) flew along with fine, chest-out ardour. His tenor is very sweet and lyrical throughout his range, and he was the only singer to produce that typically French, slightly nasal twang in his voice.”
Peter Reed, Classical Source, November 2011

“I hope this is one of the operas which the RAM has recorded and will release; the Bénédict of Samuel Furness made a strong impression.”
Michael Tanner, Arts & Culture, December 2011

Tamino in Mozart Die Zauberflöte / Rosslyn Chapel
The Shadwell Opera / dir. Jack Furness
“Secondly, the words are sung by Sam Furness, a superb student tenor who gives a magnificent impression of being on the run from a terrifying dragon. Looks, voice, dramatic charisma; his Prince Tamino has star power in spades, and in our case, from a distance of about two yards.”
Tim Cornwell, Edinburgh Festivals, August 2009

Odoardo in Handel Ariodante / Il Complesso Barocco
Barbican / cond. Alan Curtis
“Sam Furness sang the small, but important part of Odoardo; a role with no aria, but one which requires the singer to expedite some of the drama in the recitative. Furness was a credit to his training and displayed an attractive, unforced lyric voice.”
Robert Hugill, Planet Hugill, May 2011

“With first-rate support from Sam Furness, this was a feast of bel canto so delicious as to melt the prejudices of even the most hardened Handel opera sceptics.”
Rupert Christiansen, The Telegraph, May 2011

“Sam Furness was excellent.”
Barry Millington, The London Evening Standard, May 2011

Albert in Britten Albert Herring / Shadwell Opera
Opera Holland Park / cond. Christopher Stark
“Sam Furness's gawky, sad-eyed Albert sings sweetly and is convincing both as laughing-stock and thoughtful innocent.”
Kieron Quirke, The London Evening Standard, July 2011

“Britten's 1947 opera is an ideal vehicle for the light-voiced Sam Furness, who sang Herring and has all the makings of a star … Aptly endowed with a Fishmonger's Trust Fund scholarship for studies at the Royal Academy of Music, he is a natural comic actor, capable of inspiring pathos. With his brother as director and his sister, Pollyanna, singing the cameo role of Harry, this is quite some family.”
Fiona Maddocks, The Guardian, July 2011

“The best performance was Sam Furness's of the title role: his look of perplexed misery at his May King crowning ceremony, dressed in shining white suit, was delightful; and his drunken awakening monologue was well-delivered, managing to be both funny and poignant.”
Graham Rogers, Classical Source, July 2011

Stravinsky Les Noces / Arte Corale of Moscow / Bath International Music Fest
Bath Camerata / cond. Diego Masson
“(...) tenor Sam Furness flung himself into his various roles with amazing fervour.”
Ivan Hewett, The Telegraph, October 2011

Lensky In Tchaikovsky Eugene Onegin / CUOS Opera
West Road Concert Hall / Cond. Carlos del Cueto / Dir. Rosalind Parker
“In act 2, the highlight was Lenskys' (Sam Furness) solo and then duet with Gareth John before their duel, where first Sam Furness treated us to a superb tenor voice.”
Fran Smith, The Cambridge Student, February 2009

Opera Gala / BBC Hoddinott Hall / Cardiff Music Festival / Cardiff Sinfonietta
Cond. Jonathan Mann
“…young tenor Sam Furness and baritone Christopher Jacklin were a revelation as they sang songs they had learned in a matter of hours. Their rendition of the famous duet from Bizet’s The Pearl Fishers was a highlight.”
Karen Price, Walesonline.co.uk, September 2011