Tenor Michael Petruccelli to serenade mothers at St Patrick’s Cathedral

This Mother’s Day, St Patrick’s Cathedral’s fine acoustics will resound with a message of love, gratitude and beauty as acclaimed Melbourne tenor Michael Petruccelli is joined by pianist Coady Green at a special concert in honour of mothers everywhere.

The accomplished singer—who has appeared on stages throughout Australia and Europe—is looking forward to returning to the Cathedral to share his musical gift on such a special day and in such an iconic and sacred setting.

‘Performing at St Patrick’s Cathedral on Mother’s Day is such a treat,’ Michael says. ‘It’s a chance to celebrate the love, strength and sacrifice of mothers everywhere, especially my own mother, Lyn, and my wife, Alison, the amazing mother of our two children.

The opportunity to share a program of beautiful music in such an inspiring space ‘makes the tribute even more heartfelt and meaningful’, he says.

Michael is one of Australia’s most versatile operatic tenors. A graduate of the University of Melbourne, he began his career as a Developing Artist with Victorian Opera and the Melba Opera Trust and has since been engaged by most of the leading opera companies and festivals in Australia. His international career has included performances with Oper Frankfurt and Hessisches Staatstheater in Germany, for the Polish National Opera in Poland, and at the Holland Festival in the Netherlands. He has also participated in opera development workshops for new works, including Ned Kelly for Lost and Found Opera in the Perth Festival and Star Navigator by Tim Finn for New Zealand Opera. And he recently made his music theatre debut in Victorian Opera’s production of Sweeney Todd.

The Mother’s Day concert program has been curated for ‘mums young and old’ with warmth and wide appeal in mind, featuring selections that range across genres and time periods, including ‘Ave Maria’ by Schubert, ‘La Danza’ by Rossini, ‘La Vie en Rose’ by Louiguy, ‘On the Street Where You Live’ by Lerner and Lowe, and Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen.

‘There might also be one special song dedicated to one special person in my life!’ Michael says.

Being brought up in an Italian family meant that as a young boy I was exposed to opera and classical music through the voice of Pavarotti, whom my Italian grandparents adored.

As well as being a gift to all the mothers in the audience, he hopes his performance will be a way to honour some of the women who have played an important role in shaping his own life and career.

‘All of the women in my life have had an influence on my musical journey,’ he reflects, noting that his mother and maternal grandmother have been ‘endlessly supportive of my singing career’. His mum and dad, he says, come to ‘almost all of my performances—including many that have been overseas!’

His wife Alison—someone he describes as ‘truly a wonder’ and ‘an incredible mother and life partner’—remains a constant source of strength and encouragement. He marvels at the way she can work ‘four very full days in a stressful job’ while always remaining ‘present for our two young children’ and being ‘extremely supportive of the weird and wonderful adventures that I embark on in my operatic career’.

His Italian heritage has been another formative influence, he says, especially through his paternal grandmother.

‘My nonna … has Italian heritage,’ he explains. ‘So being brought up in an Italian family meant that as a young boy I was exposed to opera and classical music through the voice of Pavarotti, whom my Italian grandparents adored.’ These early musical experiences in his grandparents’ home ‘most definitely set me in my singing ways’, he says.

As a venue, Michael believes the Cathedral is well suited to the emotional depth and intimacy of the occasion.

‘For one, the Cathedral building itself really adds a sense of grandeur to this event,’ he says. ‘Adding to this, the acoustic is just sublime and extremely unique. Theatres don’t have half as much resonance, so the space really lends itself to luscious, slow-moving melodies, which are the ones I love most of all.’

I hope the audience leaves feeling uplifted, inspired and deeply connected—to the music, to their loved ones and especially to the mothers in their lives.

The concert is a solo performance, giving Michael the opportunity to blend music with storytelling and personal anecdotes, which he finds ‘helps create a greater connection with the audience throughout the performance’. That connection—between artist and audience, music and memory—is what Petruccelli hopes will resonate most.

‘I hope the audience leaves feeling uplifted, inspired and deeply connected—to the music, to their loved ones and especially to the mothers in their lives. Musically, I hope they experience and can appreciate the beauty, power and raw emotion that live performance can bring.’

As a singer, Michael says he is not immune to this ‘raw emotion’, and some pieces are especially meaningful to him.

‘One song that I have sung in many recitals, titled “Ideale” (“the ideal one”) by Francesco Paolo Tosti, tells the story of someone longing for the presence of a deceased loved one,’ he says. ‘This was one of the first songs I had ever learnt as a young classical singer and one that my nonna really loved. She wanted me to sing it for her funeral, which I did a few years ago. Every now and then when I am deeply in the moment, I do find myself becoming quite emotional whilst singing this particular song.’

As Mother’s Day approaches, Michael Petruccelli’s concert at St Patrick’s Cathedral promises to be not just a musically accomplished performance but a heartfelt tribute to the people who inspire us, shape us and love us unconditionally, and a moment of deep connection and joy.