Nani Alapai was a Hawaiian soprano singer during the early 1900s.
16 Facts About Nani Alapai
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Nani Alapai became the leading prima donna of the early era of Hawaiian music through her traveling performances with the Royal Hawaiian Band in Hawaii and on the mainland United States.
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Nani Alapai's parents were Keokilele Halemanu Punana Ukeke, a Native Hawaiian from Wainiha, and John Malina Sr, an early Filipino settler in Hawaii.
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Nani Alapai's father worked as a paniolo at Kipu Ranch, owned by William Hyde Rice, and received his surname from the Hawaiian pronunciation of Manila.
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Nani Alapai had many siblings while growing up including five brothers and eight sisters.
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Nani Alapai received her education at a Roman Catholic boarding school for girls in Honolulu.
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Around 1895, she married William J Alapai and became known as Mrs or Madame Alapai.
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Nani Alapai received no formal musical training, but learned how to sing by entertaining audiences.
9.
Nani Alapai accompanied the band on many of their 1905 appearances in the continental United States.
10.
Nani Alapai sang for us without reserve, out of her very good repertory.
11.
In May 1906, Nani Alapai was scheduled to accompany the band on their second continental tour of the United States.
12.
The conflict between the two men resulted in Nani Alapai leaving the tour and being replaced as the lead female singer by Annie Leilehua Brown, one of her understudies.
13.
In 1912, Alapai was offered a spot on Henry N Clark's tour of Europe with his group, although it is not certain whether she went ahead with the trip.
14.
Nani Alapai recorded a number of Hawaiian songs for the Victor Talking Machine Company in 1904, including many solos and duets with William Sumner Ellis and the Ellis Brothers Glee Club.
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Nani Alapai recorded a number of songs with Joseph Kamakau and the Kamakau Glee Club.
16.
Nani Alapai retired in 1907 after 40 years with the Royal Hawaiian Band.