Pene Pati rises from doubted singer to opera's new star

Pene Pati was cautioned as a 20-year-old not to pursue a singing career, an unusual occupation for a Samoan who grew up in New Zealand Lots of people want to become a singer because they want the lifestyle, the tenor recalled.

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Whereas for me, I did it out of spite, to be honest. It was somebody who said 'Don’t be angry if you don't cut it as an opera singer because as a Polynesian, there are not many opera singers.' And that part of me thought How do I prove him wrong, now 38 and booked by top houses into 2030, Pati laughed as he recalled vocal coach Robert Wiremu’s wariness.

He didn't say I wasn’t a good singer, Pati explained. He just said 'Don't be afraid if you don't make it.' Pati is among the emerging tenors in a group with Xabier Anduaga, SeokJong Baek, Freddie De Tommaso, Ismael Jordi and Jonathan Tetelman. He impressed last month in his first staged performances of Massenet's Werther at Paris’ Opéra Comique, a 1,200-capacity jewel box that turned down the composer's 1887 offer to stage the premiere.