As a young person, Pene Pati never realised his voice was anything special. In his tight-knit Samoan community in Auckland, New Zealand, singing was just something everyone did. From singing at church every Sunday to performing with his siblings at the retirement home where his parents worked, it was simply part of everyday life. It was his high school music teacher who first spotted Pene’s gift, and encouraged him to nurture it. Studying music at university, Pene heard opera for the first time, and was blown away. He spent hours watching YouTube videos of Pavarotti to perfect his technique, and it wasn’t long before he was winning major competitions and accolades. Keen to share his success with his family, he formed the operatic trio Sol3 Mio with his brother and cousin. The group went on to enjoy runaway success in New Zealand, before Pene embarked on a solo career that would take him from the Samoan churches of Auckland to the most prestigious stages in the world. A documentary about Pene’s life and career has been made, called Tenor: My Name is Pati.

Illā Kamalagharan and Coda Nicolaeff are co-founders of the UK's first professional trans choir. Formed in 2022, they have performed all over the world and collaborated with artists from Imogen Heap to Alanis Morissette. They told Outlook's Gaia Caramazza about their mission to challenge perceptions of traditional gender roles in choirs, and their own journeys to finding their voices. This interview was first broadcast in 2022.

Presenter: Mobeen Azhar

Producers: Zoe Gelber and Gaia Caramazza

(Photo description: Pene Pati sings passionately in costume in a dress rehearsal for Gounod's opera Romeo and Juliet in 2019. His eyes are closed and he is holding both hands over his heart. He is wearing a turquoise tunic with an orange collar and is wearing a wig of shoulder-length, curly dark hair. Credit: Carlos Avila Gonzalez/The San Francisco Chronicle/Images)

See more episodes

Programme website