With his physique as a rugby player, a sport he practiced in his youth, Pene Pati leaves his mark on the various opera stages around the world. But beyond his charisma, it is above all his vocal prowess that impresses music lovers.
At 38 years old, the Samoan tenor strives to share the gift with which nature has endowed him: a powerful and moving voice which marks his audience forever. Pene Pati is that artist who extracts pure emotion from a text with undeniable generosity.
After a first album of Italian and French tunes, released in 2022, he returns with a second disc, Nobody sleeps (Warner Classics), of great diversity. How did he select his pieces? “It’s always a delicate matter to put together a program that tells your story as a performer, reflects your musical development and vocal trajectory and, at the same time, highlights your current strengths,” confides the tenor. He therefore endeavored to restore his “love of the art of storytelling and the emotions it is capable of arousing”.
The story of Pene Pati is like a fairy tale, complete with hard work and determination. Born in 1987 in the Republic of Samoa, he emigrated with his family two years later to Māngere, a suburb of Auckland (New Zealand), where he began singing in a local choir. It was then thanks to YouTube that he discovered opera and his vocation. The young Pene is captivated by the Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti. He decides to learn to sing like his model by studying it on the social network, by dissecting all the videos.
Very quickly spotted in particular by the soprano of Maori origin Kiri Te Kanawa, the future belcantist has since continued to gain stature. He began by enchanting New Zealand, with his brother Amitai, also a tenor, and Moses Mackay, their baritone cousin, in 2015 with an album of traditional songs and opera arias. Before conquering the world.
The French public discovered it in 2021. Immediate success. This year, he played the title role of Faust at the Opéra Bastille. In his new album, he includes an unpublished recording of Faust de Charles Gounod, And you, unhappy Faust… It is hell that has sent you. Eighteen tracks punctuate this album, like so many invitations to penetrate the artist’s universe. “Many of these arias are taken from roles that are part of my current repertoire, a few refer to future roles, but all tell a story that I wanted to share with you. specifies Pene Pati in his note of intent.
Nobody sleeps, taken from Puccini’s Turandot, explores the French and Italian repertoires with rare finesse. Bright.
“Nessun Dorma”, Pene Pati, Warner Classics, 16.99 euros
