Amina Edris, Soprano
Pene Pati, Tenor
Robert Mollicone, Piano
Sunday, April 21, 2024 | 3 pm
Memorial Hall, OTR
Pene Pati won both hearts and accolades from his Matinée Musicale Cincinnati recitals in 2019 and 2021. Both he and his wife Amina Edris have risen quickly in prominence in the international opera world. Now MMC is delighted to present them in a long-awaited performance together. For those who were hoping to purchase Pati's CD when he was here in 2019 and 2021, here's you chance! His first solo CD was released in 2022! Click here to listen and/or purchase!
Samoan tenor Pene Pati was hailed as “the most exceptional tenor discovery of the last decade” (Opéra-Online) after his early debuts in Rigoletto (ll Duca di Mantova) at San Francisco Opera under Nicola Luisotti, in Anna Bolena (Percy) at Opéra National de Bordeaux under Paul Daniel and is now one of the most sought-after and admired tenors of his generation.
An exclusive recording artist for Warner Classics, Pene Pati’s self-titled debut album of Italian and French arias, recorded with Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine and Emmanuel Villaume, was released in 2022 to a glittering array of five-star reviews and earned him the Opus Klassik Newcomer of the Year Award and the Opera Magazine Readers’ Award at the International Opera Awards.
Recent seasons have seen Pati make numerous acclaimed debuts including in L’elisir d’amore (Nemorino) at Opéra National de Paris; Roméo et Juliette (Roméo) at San Francisco Opera, Opéra Comique and Opéra National de Bordeaux; La traviata (Alfredo) at Staatsoper Berlin, Dutch National Opera and Bolshoi Theatre; Manon (des Grieux) at Gran Teatre del Liceu; Lucia di Lammermoor (Edgardo) at Teatro San Carlo di Napoli; Anna Bolena (Percy) at Wiener Staatsoper; Rigoletto (Duca) at Opéra de Rouen Normandie and Teatro San Carlo di Napoli and Moïse et Pharaon (Amenophis) at Festival d’Aix-en-Provence.
Last season Pati further broadened his repertoire with triumphant first performances as Rodolfo in Puccini’s La bohème at Théâtre des Champs-Elysées under Lorenzo Passerini, as Fernand in Donizetti’s La Favorite at Opéra National de Bordeaux under Paolo Olmi, as Mozart’s Mitridate, re di Ponto at Staatsoper Berlin under Marc Minkowski and in Berlioz’s La Damnation de Faust at Opéra Monte-Carlo under Kazuki Yamada.
VIDEOS
Cherry Duet from L'amico Fritz by Pietro Mascagni sung by Amina Edris and Pene Pati
As part of his 2023/24 season, Pati makes anticipated returns to Opéra national de Paris in Beatrice di Tenda under Mark Wigglesworth and to Staatsoper Berlin in Rigoletto under Giedrė Šlekytė. He makes debuts at Staatsoper Hamburg in Manon and at Deutsche Opera Berlin in La Traviata, and on the other side of the Atlantic he stars in productions of La Bohème at Canadian Opera Company and L’elisir d’amore at San Francisco Opera.
Equally at home on the concert platform, Pati joined Franz Welser-Möst and The Cleveland Orchestra in Verdi’s Otello (Cassio), Hans Graf and Tonkünstler Orchester for Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde, Mikko Franck and Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France for Beethoven’s Symphony No.9 and, as part of Les Grands Voix series, Pierre Bleuse and l’Orchestre National de France in Massenet’s Thaïs. He opened San Francisco Opera’s Centennial Season as guest soloist in a celebratory concert under Music Director Eun Sun Kim, and his recent sell-out Gala concert at Prague’s Rudolfinum with Prague Philharmonia and Łukasz Borowicz was recorded and broadcast via medici.tv. In the current season Pati collaborates again with Kazuki Yamada in Das Lied von der Erde with Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte Carlo and, as part of a residency with CBSO, in both La Damnation de Faust and Madama Butterfly.
Pene Pati’s warm and winning personality has helped endear him to audiences around the world and contributed to great competition success in his formative years taking top prizes and audience choice awards at several competitions including Operalia and Neue Stimmen.
Soprano Amina Edris has been hailed as a “revelation” (Forum Opera) and praised for her “lustrous” tone (Opera News). Born in Egypt and raised in New Zealand, she has blended her cultural background to create her own unique artistic identity, performing a variety of roles ranging from baroque music to world premieres with a focus on French repertoire. Recent career highlights include Manon and Juliette at the Opéra National de Paris, Cleopatra in the world premiere of John Adams’ Antony and Cleopatra at San Francisco Opera, and Alice in the acclaimed recording of Meyerbeer’s Robert le Diable.
Amina’s 2023/24 season includes four role debuts and several house debuts. She begins her season with a return to the Canadian Opera Company where she debuts the role of Mimi in La bohème. She continues with her second role debut of the season, as Liu in Puccini’s Turandot at Teatro di San Carlo in Naples. Amina then adds another role to her French repertoire: the title-role in Massenet’s Thaïs at Opéra de Toulon in concert under the baton of Victorien Vanoosten. At Opéra National de Paris, she performs the role of Beatriz in the French premiere of Thomas Adès’ The Exterminating Angel, conducted by the composer himself, and in the Spring, she embarks on a recital tour of North America alongside tenor Pene Pati and pianist Robert Mollicone. On the concert stage, she performs Beethoven’s 9th Symphony for the first time with the Philharmonie Luxembourg, conducted by Laurence Equilbey.
In previous seasons, Amina performed the role of Cleopatra in the world premiere of John Adams’ Antony and Cleopatra at the opening of San Francisco Opera’s centennial season. She also debuted the role of Manon (Manon) to great critical acclaim at the Opéra National de Bordeaux, and later performed the role at Opéra National de Paris, and at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona. She debuted the role of Adalgisa (Norma) in concert at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, performed the role of La Folie (Platée) under the baton of Marc Minkowski at Opéra National de Paris, and made her debut at the Grand-Théâtre de Genève as Fatime (Les Indes galantes) in a new production by Lydia Steier.
She has also performed Musetta (La bohème) at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, the title-role in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette at the San Francisco Opera and Opéra de Paris, Marguerite in Gounod’s Faust at Detroit Opera, Glycère in Gounod’s Sapho with Washington Concert Opera, Micaëla in Bizet’s Carmen at the Opéra du Rhin and Violetta in Verdi’s La Traviata both at Opéra de Limoges and the Canadian Opera Company.
Equally dazzling on the concert stage, Amina’s appearances include Fauré’s Requiem, Mozart’s Requiem with the Orchestre de chambre de Paris, Mahler’s Symphony no. 4, gala concerts at the Opéra National de Bordeaux, the Rudolfinum in Prague and with Real Filharmonia de Galicia, Ravel’s Sheherazade with the Stuttgarter Philharmoniker and the Schwabacher Recital series with San Francisco Opera.
She is featured as Alice (Robert le diable) on the critically acclaimed recording of Robert le diable, which was released on the Palazzetto Bru Zane in 2022, and the title-role in Massenet’s Ariane with the Bayerischen Rundfunks (recorded by Palazzetto Bru Zane for release in September 2023).
Amina holds a Bachelor of Music from the University of Canterbury New Zealand, a Masters from the Wales International Academy of Voice and a post-graduate diploma from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. After completing her studies, Amina participated in the Merola Opera Program, subsequently becoming an Adler Fellow at the San Francisco Opera. She can be found on instagram @amina_edris.
Robert Mollicone, Piano
Sought after for his ‘finely-calibrated leadership’ and ‘ebullient performance[s]’, conductor, recitalist and coach Robert Mollicone has become a familiar face in opera houses across the US and Europe. As a member of San Francisco Opera’s music staff, he has acted in capacities including assistant to former Music Director Nicola Luisotti, assistant conductor, prompter and coach/pianist, and has worked on 40+ productions spanning the breadth of the repertoire, including Rusalka, Der Ring des Nibelungen, Les Troyens, and Don Carlo. Equally committed to the development of the American operatic canon, he has helped bring several new operas by composers such as Jake Heggie, Tobias Picker, and John Adams to life.
In the San Francisco Bay Area, he has conducted performances with Opera San Jose (Where Angels Fear to Tread, Silent Night), San Francisco Opera (Opera in the Park 2014/2019, Christmas with Sol3 Mio), and West Edge Opera (Elizabeth Cree, L’arbore di Diana), where he “presided [...] with a fine feeling for pacing and detail”. He made his house debut at Festival Opera conducting Carmen in August 2023.
Other recent debuts include Austin Opera (Ariadne auf Naxos) and Florentine Opera (L’enfant et les sortilèges), where he will return to conduct Songbird/La Périchole in 2024. Additionally he served as cover conductor for the European premiere of John Adams’ Girls of the Golden West at De Nationale Opera in Amsterdam and for La Damnation de Faust at St. Louis Symphony under Stéphane Denève.
Mollicone also regularly shares the recital stage with artists including Denyce Graves, Joyce El-Khoury, Brian Jagde, Ailyn Pérez, Nicholas Phan, and Jamie Barton, with whom he was lauded for ‘miracles of sensitive expression’. He made his Carnegie Hall debut alongside soprano Melody Moore in May 2016. He is also engaged to train emerging artists as faculty member of the Adler Fellowship and Boston Wagner Institute, and is a regular guest coach at San Francisco Conservatory of Music.
He is a graduate of San Francisco Opera's Adler Fellowship, as well as of the Cafritz Young Artist Program at Washington National Opera. He holds a M. Mus. from Boston University, where he studied with Shiela Kibbe.
PROGRAM
Pokarekare ana ..................................................MAORI TRADITIONAL
Hine e hine
Te iwi e
Pene Pati
Earth's Call ..............................................................JOHN IRELAND ( 1879 – 1962)
Amina Edris
O Waly Waly ...........................................................BENJAMIN BRITTEN (1913 – 1976)
The Last Rose of Summer
Seascape (from On This Island)
The Choirmaster's Burial (from Winter Words)
Pene Pati
From Cabaret Songs: ....................................WILLIAM BOLCOM (1938)
Toothbrush Time
Waitin'
Over the Piano
Amina Edris
That I did always love, from Newer Every Day ........JAKE HEGGIE (1961)
Pene Pati
From Clairières dans le ciel: ..............................LILI BOULANGER (1893 – 1918)
Elle etait descendue au bas de la prairie
Elle est gravement gaie
Parfois, je suis triste
Pene Pati
La vie anterieure ............................................................HENRI DUPARC (1848 – 1933)
L'invitation au voyage
Phidylé
Amina Edris
Two Samoan Spirituals ..............................................TRADITIONAL
Two Egyptian Songs
Pene Pati
Act 1 Duet from Manon ...........................................JULES MASSENET (1842 – 1912)
Amina Edris and Pene Pati
ENCORE
Duet after the Wedding Night from Romeo et Juliette.............................CHARLES GOUNOD (1818 – 1893)
PHOTOS
Photography by Gayna Bassin