Elias Wilson

Elias Wilson

First Nations tenor Elias Wilson grew up in Western Sydney with parents who were children’s entertainers. Between learning his mother’s choreography at community musical theatre rehearsals and school holidays spent helping his father stage manage the live shows of Play School or Bananas in Pajamas, theatre was part of his every day. Despite this influence , Elias wasn’t bitten by the showbiz bug until he was 22 when, having never seen an opera, George Torbay cast him in the chorus of La Traviata at Opera New England. The music had him hooked, and he knew right away he had to quit his call-centre job to enroll at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.

Elias studied with Dr Rowena Cowley, and sang everything from Monteverdi to Musical Theatre. He finds the joy of music and opera in its diversity, and has since played classic romantic roles like Lysander and Nemorino, channeled gravitas and turmoil as an Elder in The Visitors or in excerpts of Peter Grimes, and relished the fun of rule-breaking character roles, adapting Cendrillon’s stepmother for Tenor as a monstrous bearded drag queen. In every role Elias finds something personal – a part of himself to take with him, on-stage and off.

Elias’ maternal family are Biripi guri and galbaan (Gathang: men and women), with ties from Taree to Walcha NSW. Being white-passing, it wasn’t until pivotal First Nations opportunities with The Song Company, Victorian Opera, Melba Opera Trust and Short Black Opera that he discovered a place on stage for Aboriginal performers to reconcile their own stories with opera’s grand tradition.

When he’s not singing, you’ll find Elias walking his dog Buddy along the Parramatta River, or travelling across NSW, retracing his ancestors’ steps across country.


Experience

Moore – The Dragon of Wantley (2024) – St Paul’s College
Gary – The Visitors (2023) – Victorian Opera
Nemorino – L’elisir d’amore (2022) – Pacific Opera
Lysander – A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2021) – Sydney Con & NIDA
Madame de la Haltiére – Cendrillon (2020) – Sydney Con & NIDA

Elias Wilson