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. “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?”
