Opera trio have to train more than their voices

Kiwi opera trio, Sol3 Mio.

Despite the old adage, the life of a touring musician is more than just sex, drugs and rock and roll; a fact Kiwi opera trio Sol3 Mio have only recently discovered.

"We are at the gym four or five times a week. We've been given a training and diet plan for the entire month," tenor Amitai Pene says, slightly out of breath after a workout.

"I thought we wouldn't make it to the second week, but we have and we are absolutely feeling better for it. Well, not at the moment - I'm pretty sore right now."

Sol3 Mio, the opera group Pene formed with his brother Pati and their cousin Moses Mackay, need to be match-ready.

The trio, who have each graduated from the prestigious Wales International Academy Of Voice, came from nowhere to claim the best-selling local album of 2013, and are currently halfway through the biggest tour by a local act New Zealand has seen since the Flight of the Conchords sold 65,000 tickets to their homecoming shows in 2012.

Sol3 Mio have already sold out 13 of their 20 New Zealand concerts, which means they will perform for more than 30,000 people around the country. Three stadium shows were added to the original schedule due to demand.

The group will reach the halfway mark of the tour this weekend with two shows at Auckland's ASB Theatre before returning to their hometown for a performance at Vector Arena on March 29.

"We've been told how many tickets we've sold and we don't know how to react to that.

" I think, because it's the first time we've done this; we can't really compare it to anything," Pati said. "We are just really overwhelmed, we feel really grateful for all the support everyone has given us so far. I can't even process it right now."

The tour's co-promoter, Campbell Smith, says the group is obviously connecting with New Zealanders.

"The boys often talk of breaking down the perception that opera is 'snobby', and having sold nearly 100,000 albums in only a few months and selling out so many concerts so fast is proof they're succeeding."

Pati agrees it is the way the group bridges the world of classical music with more familiar styles that has attracted audience members aged from 7 to 85.

"It's a relaxed environment. Because a lot of people aren't used to the type of music that we sing, we try to incorporate some old classics they can sing along to as well.

"It's not just a sit down and listen concert anymore - it's fully interactive."

And this might be the last chance Kiwi audiences have to see the group on home turf for a while. Once the tour wraps up on March 30, they will travel to Britain and then on to Australia to release the album.

All three singers have their own professional engagements as well. In the next year, Moses will sing in Paris, Amitai in Salzburg and Pene has a two-year contract with the San Francisco Opera company. But that won't mean the end for the group.

"I think we all want to keep our solo work going, and pursue the operatic career - that's what we each started singing for. The fact we all have our own careers is something really big for the group, and something we are all passionate about. But we will definitely be back," Pati promises.

- TimeOut