This month, Samoan tenor Pene Pati makes an important Met debut in one of his signature roles, the libertine Duke of Mantua in Verdi’s Rigoletto (playing January 6–24). As he prepared to join forces with a pair of company veterans—baritone Luca Salsi in the title role and soprano Erin Morley as Gilda—Pati spoke to the Met’s Christopher Browner about exploring the many aspects of the Duke’s character and representing his homeland on opera’s greatest stage.

What makes the Duke a good role to introduce you to Met audiences?
Pene Pati: At first, I actually wished it were something like La Bohème, something that would make the audience love me a little bit more. But in the end, I’m glad because the Duke offers so much in terms of character and vocal exploration. You can be nasty, you can be sentimental, you can be loving, you can be charming. It’s a good way to show all the colors of my voice.

The Duke behaves pretty badly—do you see him as a villain?
I don’t intentionally try to play him as a bad person. He’s enjoyed this high status his entire life and doesn’t understand why everyone around him doesn’t act the same way he does. So it makes sense in the second act, in the aria “Parmi veder le lagrime,” that he’s suddenly surprised by the experience of new, more tender emotions. It’s a glimpse into his actual soul, rather than his status, and it’s a beautiful moment for the audience to see that, beneath the privilege, he’s just a person.

Is that the highlight of the score for you?
It’s not an easy aria, and for a long time, I thought of it as a hurdle: “As long as I get through this, the rest will be fine.” Now, I actually look forward to singing it because it’s the only moment where I can really be myself. And I sing it completely differently than the other two Duke arias. I try to sing it very bel canto, with a lot of colors, a lot of textures, instead of just going out there and singing it full on.

Having grown up on the other side of the world, what does this Met debut mean to you?
Growing up as a Samoan, historically everything was passed on to the next generation through song. Everyone sings, and music has always been part of me. But even after I decided to pursue a career in singing, I didn’t see many Pacific Islanders in opera. I took it as a challenge and decided that maybe I could be the one to pave a path. And now that I’m going to be singing at the Met, I’m just trying not to freak myself out. I keep telling myself, “Don’t overthink it. Don’t try to prove yourself. Just go out there, smile, and do your thing!”

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Photos: The Met Opera's Rigoletto

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