Photography: Katie Hurlow, Fable&Grain.
It is not uncommon for the Fonoti-Fuimaono name to fill the placings at an opera competition across New Zealand. Of the six siblings, not one, not two, but four of the brothers – Alfred, Emmanuel, Faamanu and Jordan – have devoted their lives to the art.
Music has always been an integral part of their household. Their earliest introduction to it was the church. Their mum Alofa Tulasi-Fonoti, 61, raised them on classics like The Sound of Music and Grease.
A family affair
But the trajectory of their lives changed when the older two singing brothers, Alfred, 29, and Emmanuel, 28, auditioned for the inaugural programme with Project Prima Volta, a Hawke’s Bay scheme founded by celebrated mezzo soprano Anna Pierard and her conductor husband Jose Aparicio to introduce kids to the wonderful world of opera.
Alfred, then in his second-to-last year of high school, was so taken by the experience that he abandoned his plans to become a lawyer.
“It was the fascination with the science of it,” Alfred explains. “You see one guy singing on a stage, and you can hear him at the back of the opera house, even though 50 other instruments are playing at the same time.
I started wondering, ‘How is he able to do that with no microphone?’”
When he decided to take a chance on opera, Alfred had never had a formal lesson. But he couldn’t ignore the call. Luckily, Anna connected him with Dame Malvina Major, who could see the budding star within.
“I auditioned in Dame Malvina Major’s lounge, doing some scales, and she said, ‘We can make it work,’” he recalls.
“I started the next day.”
Shared successes
One by one, each brother entered the programme and discovered their own passion for the classical vocal arts.
Now Emmanuel is in London studying at the prestigious Royal Opera Jette Parker Artist Programme, and Alfred, Faamanu, 26, and Jordan, 25, have made history as the first set of three siblings to be named semifinalists in the Kiri Te Kanawa Song Quest.
When the three brothers speak to the Woman’s Weekly, it is a few weeks before they take to the stage. And though they are highly competitive about most other things in life, when it comes to singing, their biggest concern is supporting each other as they keep pursuing their dreams.
“We compete in everything, like when we play video games,” Faamanu tells. “But we understand how hard it is to be an opera singer, and we’ve seen other colleagues and friends stop singing. So I’m just glad that we’re still in it.”
Alfred adds, “What should be super-scary feels more exciting. The coolest part is that the more of us that get in, the happier mum is.”
Different journeys, one passion
Though they all share a love for opera, their reasons couldn’t be more different. Faamanu was initially drawn in by the promise of free pizza at the auditions, but it was the emotion that kept him coming back.
“This music made me feel some kind of way I didn’t understand yet and I just kept chasing that,” he explains.
For Jordan, it was performing on stage that grabbed him.
“After the shows were done, I was hit like a truck with post-show blues. I missed being in that environment and I wanted to chase that feeling more and more.”
Now the trio has their eyes on the rest of the world. Later this year, Faamanu will join Emmanuel in London to study at the Royal College of Music on a full‑tuition scholarship. Alfred and Jordan are still on the hunt for where they will land, but given their impressive resumés, it won’t be long before they leave our shores as well.
A win for all
From the start, the brothers knew that following this path would eventually scatter them across the world. The person they are most worried about leaving behind is their beloved mum, who devoted her life to raising her six children after immigrating from Samoa. But they also know she sends them with her full blessing.
“She’s always pushed us towards this because she knew that we really wanted to do it,” tells Alfred. “She never told us to look for a real job or pursue something else. She’s so supportive.”
As they prepare to take to the stage for the Song Quest semifinals this week, the stakes are higher than ever. While the $50,000 prize for the winner is life-changing, the siblings say there is nothing that can compromise the pride they have for one another.
Faamanu insists, “If any of us were to win or place, it would be a win for all of us.”
The Kiri Te Kanawa Song Quest Grand Final (with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra) is on Saturday, July 11 at the Michael Fowler Centre in Wellington. Click here to purchase your tickets.
