His love for music and performance was kindled while watching Henare O'Keefe singing and speak to enthralled audiences.

[2] He was a "singing barman" in Hastings when tenor Patrick Powers became a tutor at EIT;[6] with his encouragement, Rhodes re-enrolled and graduated in 2004 with a Diploma in Arts and Voice.

[2] In July 2014 and October 2016 he returned to Hawke's Bay to raise money for his foster parents' charities, the U-Turn Trust and Te Aranga Marae; in 2016 he performed with Patrick Powers for the first time in ten years.

[2][8] Supported by the Kiri Te Kanawa Foundation, Rhodes studied at the Auckland Opera Studio.

[9] He studied in Wales at the Cardiff International Academy of Voice before joining the Royal Opera House to sing Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor.

[9] Rhodes made his house debut at Nederlandse Reisopera in 2018, singing the villain Scarpia in a modern staging of Puccini's Tosca; he was praised for his dark voice and "wickedly raised eyebrow".

[19] That month he sang Don Pizarro in a concert staging of Beethoven's Fidelio with the Auckland Philharmonia.