Tongan counter-tenor, 19, makes history winning NZ opera quest

Tongan counter-tenor Samuel Mataele has made history by winning the Kiri Te Kanawa Song Quest, securing the $50,000 first prize in New Zealand's most prestigious opera competition. At just 19 years old, Mataele is the youngest male winner and the first counter-tenor to achieve this feat in the competition's 70-year history.

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It was intense. It was a week of no rest ... when you weren't singing, your brain was working over time. So it took a lot of my concentration, and it was unlike anything I'd ever experienced really before. But yeah, you'd expect that from a competition as big as the Kiri Te Kanawa song quest.

Mataele described the week of preparation as intense, requiring immense concentration. Despite his historic win, he prefers to be recognized for his artistry rather than his age. The counter-tenor voice, the highest male voice in classical music, has a range equivalent to a female contralto or mezzo-soprano.

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Music in general has always been a part of my life. It's been something that I've loved since I was born. But my sister, she was a big role model for me.

Music has always been central to Mataele's life, with his sister serving as a significant role model. His passion for opera was ignited by discovering composers like Bach on YouTube, finding a profound connection with classical music that differed from contemporary pop.

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I went to YouTube, and I found Bach. He was the first composer that I really latched onto, and and I loved him. I there was just something about how classical music made me feel that I didn't feel that sort of connection with pop music that was being streamed on radio and stuff. So that's what really drew me to this.

The victory is also a moment of pride for Tonga. Mataele hopes his success will highlight the abundant talent within the small island nation and its diaspora. He believes Pacific singers possess a natural affinity for opera, stemming from their cultures' rich oral traditions and storytelling through song and dance.

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I think winning this competition has put Tonga on a pedestal in in the sense that Tonga is a very small island, and yet there's so much talent to be found within it, not just within the island itself, but within the diaspora. But there's just a pride that I've got, and I hope that other Tongans have because I don't win it just for me, but for all of us.