Pene Pati

Tenor Pene Pati has been hailed as a major vocal discovery. Graduating from a pair of prestigious training programs in San Francisco, he began appearing at major opera houses internationally in the mid-2010s. Pati was born in the Samoan capital of Apia. His birth name was Darren Pati, but he was called Pene Pati Jr. after his father, an enthusiastic backyard singer and guitarist. Pati's family moved to New Zealand when Pati was two. Opera was unknown among South Pacific islanders, but singing was very much a part of his culture; tales of Samoan life were sometimes passed down...