Baritone Laauli (Alfred) Fonoti‑Fuimaono is a proud Samoan artist from Flaxmere, Hastings, and comes from a family of musicians. He completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Waikato under Ian Campbell, his postgraduate degree with Kristin Darragh, and recently his Master of Music in Advanced Opera Studies through Te Pae Kōkako: The Aotearoa New Zealand Opera Studio (TANZOS) as the Sir William and Lady Judi Scholarship Artist. In 2024 he was named a Freemasons Foundation New Zealand Opera Company Artist, and in 2025 received the Creative New Zealand Iosefa Enari Memorial Award.
Alfred has appeared widely across Aotearoa as both a soloist and ensemble singer, performing with organisations including Festival Opera, New Zealand Opera, Auckland Opera Studio, the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, Manukau Symphony Orchestra, Opus Orchestra, and Chamber Music New Zealand. His operatic roles include Gianni Schicchi, Belcore (The Elixir of Love, NZ Opera Schools Tour), Count Ceprano (Rigoletto), and the Priest and Archangel of Agony in Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius. He has also sung bass solos in Messiah and appeared in major NZ Opera productions including Orfeo ed Euridice, Il trovatore, Die tote Stadt, and Tristan und Isolde.
A highly successful competitor, Alfred has won the Hamilton Aria, Napier Performing Arts Aria, Dunedin Performing Arts Aria, and the Dame Malvina Major Foundation Waikato Aria, and has been a finalist in the Lockwood New Zealand Aria and the Joan Sutherland & Richard Bonynge Bel Canto Award. He attended the New Zealand Opera School for five consecutive years, receiving the Dame Malvina Major Scholarship in his final year.
Deeply committed to community engagement, Alfred mentors young singers through Project Prima Volta and Accelerando, and performs regularly at fundraising and outdoor concerts across the country. He looks forward to furthering his development overseas and hopes one day to share the world’s stages alongside his three younger brothers.