Yes, Warren Mok's a celebrity in China, where a billion people might tune in to watch him judge a singing competition (think of him as a hybrid Randy/Paula, since he'd never pull a Simon by insulting someone on camera) but he really has his bearings here in Hawai'i.

When he talks about his days at the University of Hawai'i in the music program, where he wore slippers to his voice lessons with UH's own John Mount, Mok points in the direction of Manoa. When he talks about the plate-lunch place on Beretania where he loved his teri beef, he nods his head in that direction.

It's here where the celebrated tenor found the love of opera that carried him around the globe.

It's right here where he saw his first show, a Hawaii Opera Theatre production (he can't remember if it was "La Boheme" or "Don Giovanni") that directed his path.

WELL, NOT AT FIRST. ...

"In the beginning, I was taking accounting courses (at Kapi'olani Community College)," recalled Mok. "I found I had no talent whatsoever in accounting.

"My Chinese parents always wanted me to study something practical. ... After second semester, I just hated it. The professor said, 'If you don't really like it, you shouldn't continue.' "

A picture of jet-setter cool in his artistically fringed shirt and complexion that belies his 40-something years, Mok laughs now, thinking of the tact that professor showed.

He's returning to friendly terrain in the lead role of HOT's "Don Carlo," this season's first show, a co-production with his Opera Hong Kong company.

The secret is safe with us. No one believes him anyway when he says he began his opera studies here.

"People say, 'What? Hawai'i has opera?'" said Mok, who's played at Carnegie Hall and other famous stages all over the globe. "They think it's only hula dancing and Hawaiian music."

The "Don Carlo" production is vast — and expensive. It's costing about $800,000 to mount.

"(You need) great vocal performers, who need to be well paid," said Henry Akina, HOT artistic director who's also directing the show. "Thankfully, we were able to fill chorus locally."

This will be Verdi's version, which Akina calls "a wonderful dark story" as well as "a big opera" that clocks in at 3:15.

"With shows of this size, we needed quick scene changes," Akina said, adding that they came up with a system of revolving towers.

And a typical HOT opera has about 150 on stage, including orchestra and stage hands. This has nearly 200.

"We'll see if it's the breakpoint of Blaisdell seams," Akina said.

Mok's sung on bigger stages, including Warsaw's National Theater. Oh, and London Royal Albert Hall, Berlin Philharmonie, Vienna Musik Verein, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Paris Opera, Leipzig Opera, Lyon Opera, Nice Opera, Sydney Opera House, The Netherlands Opera ... the list goes on and on.

From his amazing vantage points, he's seen history being made. He was in Berlin during the opening of Checkpoint Charlie, watching as the first East Berliner crossed into the West, and saw the crumbling of the Berlin Wall. And in Hong Kong, he was the featured soloist for the 1997 repatriation ceremonies, which were televised and seen worldwide.

But his beginnings were portentous of the life he would lead: After getting his master's in music from Hawai'i, he went on to gain a master's from the Manhattan School of Music in New York.

Still, Mok comes home to Hawai'i for the big events: He married his wife, who is from Taiwan, right here on the Blaisdell stage. His son, now 12 (a budding cellist and pianist), was born at Kapi'olani. Both are here for a spell, joining him on his travels.

And he's looking forward to his old friend, Don Carlo, a role that he's sung before, though not a happy-go-lucky guy. This version picks up when Don Carlo has already found himself a bit mad; his father had stolen his love. Don Carlo's not a complicated guy, Mok admits — his motivations are pretty obvious.

"The music attracts me more than the character," said Mok.