Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — STARS Of The Pacific rocked the stage at the Gov. H. Rex Lee Auditorium Wednesday night at the first International Opera Gala in Utulei, American Samoa, a Black & White- red carpet charity event hosted by the Pacific Island Foundation, as part of its “youth empowerment mission”.

The event included renowned professional artists — tenor Pene Pati, the ‘sweet spot’ Moses Mackay, — these two are 2/3rds of the SOL3 MIO, a New Zealand operatic vocal pop music trio — and newcomer baritone Samson Setu, with the pioneering Samoan PhD pianist Ludwig Treviranu— all are Samoan and claim ties back to Samoa through parents and grandparents.

The night was a boisterous event that included not only the Samoa National Orchestra, but also contemporary Samoa dance featuring some old Samoan chants. The opera artists not only performed classical numbers but also Samoan songs, and contemporary love songs as well as Christmas carols.

Food & drink flowed, while the performances brought the audience to cheers, applause and at times raucous commentary.

One of the event’s guests, enjoying the food and drinks Wednesday night at the STARS Of The Pacific Opera Gala which included an excellent array of appetizers & drinks, dinner & dessert from the kitchens of Sadie’s and Sadie’s by the Sea. [photo: Christina F Maele]

Samoa News looks forward to next year’s STARS Of The Pacific Gala — with the hope that we as a community can all reach out and let it become an annual charity event! It can only enrich our souls and bring joy to our laughter.

These local ladies enjoyed the STARS Of The Pacific Opera Gala where so performing was the well-known SPACE group — Samoa Performing Arts Centre for Excellence — established by the late Seiuli Allan Alo whose dream was to build a SPACE where Samoan youth and adults alike could express themselves, using their Samoan roots/ ancestry/ experiences with a mix of different dance genres, including contemporary dance. [photo: Christina F Maele]

Thank you Pacific Island Foundation.