Sol3 Mio, whose debut album was New Zealand’s 2013 top seller in all genres, wowed their Honolulu audience in a one-night stopover concert Saturday evening, hosted by Hawaii Opera Theatre.
Billing themselves as “classical singers bridging the gap with contemporary” music, Sol3 Mio consists of three Samoan-born New Zealanders — two brothers and a cousin, two tenors and a baritone — who are living a rags-to-riches life.
They grew up singing with their family, in choirs and at rest homes and describe themselves as “the three most unlikely lads to listen to opera.” What made the difference was their voices — and what voices!
The older brother, Darren Pene Pati (he goes by Pene), has a truly spectacular tenor, exceptionally large and classic Italian lyric in style. His voice has a naturally high tessitura, with a bright, forward placement that lends it a champagne quality — light, clear, effervescent.
Of the three singers, Pene is the most comfortable on stage, and it is no surprise he won the audience’s award in the prestigious Placido Domingo Operalia contest. These days, he’s a fellow at the Merola Opera Programme in San Francisco, honing his craft.
His younger brother, Amitai Pati (he goes by Tai), is also a tenor, but of a different type. While also Italian lyric and large, his voice is more like a cabernet — imbued with a mix of colors and warmth. And their cousin, Moses Mackay has a large, “chocolate” baritone — dark, rich, lusciously smooth.
Despite their differences, the three are surprisingly similar in style, technique, and placement, forming e a beautifully matched trio.
Sol3 Mio began the evening with operatic arias but quickly moved to popular works from musical theater and their musical background, many of which appear on their two albums: “Shenandoah,” “Maria” from West Side Story, “Hallelujah,” “You Will Never Walk Alone,” to list just a few.
Throughout, the three kept up a lively banter, clowning around on stage, kidding one another, joking and engaging the audience in sing-alongs for songs such as “That’s Amore” and “Volare” (Dean Martin hits) and “Delilah,” a 1960s murder balled acted out in slo-mo on stage, which had the audience in stitches.
Near the end, the trio turned more serious, talking about their struggles to “make it” in a competitive and sometimes cold world. They shared songs from Samoa and New Zealand and the music that has helped them stay strong, “Fix You” by Coldplay, “I See Fire” from The Hobbit, and their adopted anthem, “O sole mio” (“My sunshine”).
Sol3 Mio became a group on an off-hand suggestion by an audience member, and “O Sole Mio” was the first song the trio sang together. More importantly, “sole” in Samoan means “mate, friend,” so to these three, “O sole mio” means “my mates.”
For the early operatic numbers, Sol3 Mio was accompanied by pianist Noah Lindquist, one of Pene’s mates from San Francisco, and then by recorded accompaniments. But in the latter half, the singers accompanied themselves and each other, displaying impressive versatility. Each singer also played several instruments: Pene was especially adept at the conga drum, and Moses seemed to excel on everything.
The orchestral recordings delivered impact, but the singers performed noticeably more freely with live accompaniments.
Throughout, Sol3 Mio alternated miked and natural singing. Miking is necessarily a question of balance, but for quality of voice, natural singing clearly won out.
Concert production was by Hawaii Opera Theatre’s team, with projections by Adam Larsen and lighting by Peter Dean Beck, both of whom produced this week’s opera, as well.
Sol3 Mio is still a new group, and the three singers, all in their late 20s, are just beginning their careers, which in opera can last half a century or more. Judging by how thoroughly they charmed Saturday’s audience, these three have an exciting path ahead. They certainly deserved Saturday’s enthusiastic standing ovation — let’s hope they have to stop in Hawaii frequently as they travel around the world.
By Ruth Bingham for The Honolulu Star-Advertiser
