Pene Pati of the hit singing group Sol3 Mio proposed to his girlfriend, soprano Amina Edris, live on stage at a Sol3 Mio concert in Auckland, New Zealand, Dec. 21.
Audiences got a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity at Sol3 Mio’s Christmas in the Vines show. After serenading Edris with the beautiful German aria Dein ist mein ganzes Herz, he brought members of their families on stage to present her with red roses before bending to one knee and asking her to marry him.
"The proposal was a big surprise for Amina and when the moment came to do it, I took a big gulp and knew there was no going back," Pati said. "I had no Plan B if she said no in front of thousands of people, but I was quietly confident it would all go well.”
Lucky for him, Edris, who had charmed the audience with her own performances earlier in the evening, said yes as the crowd cheered and waved glow sticks to congratulate the couple.
The couple met in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 2011 on a week-long singing course backed by Kiwi opera legend Dame Malvina Major. Pati was then an unknown tenor and Edris was also trying to get her foot in the door as a singer.
"I was smitten with her straight away, but I didn't think she was quite so keen on me," Pati said. "Fortunately, I was wrong about that." The couple started dating within a week but often found themselves on different sides of the world. Pati took off to Wales to train as a tenor while he was putting Sol3 Mio together with his brother Amitai Pati and cousin Moses Mackay.
Pati has a packed 2015 ahead after Sol3 Mio's debut became the highest-selling album in the country last year. Edris said the couple plans to marry sometime next year and wants to have children.
