Dame Kiri Jeanette Claire Te Kanawa[1] (/ˈkɪritəˈkɑːnəwə/;[2] bornClaire Mary Teresa Rawstron, 6 March 1944) is a New Zealand opera singer. She had a fulllyric soprano voice, which has been described as "mellow yet vibrant, warm, ample and unforced".[3] On 1 December 1971 she was recognised internationally when she appeared as the Countess in Mozart'sLe nozze di Figaro at theRoyal Opera House in London.
Te Kanawa received accolades in many countries,[4][5] performing works composed in the 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th centuries and singing in several languages. She was particularly associated with the music ofMozart,Verdi, andPuccini andRichard Strauss, and was often cast as an aristocrat.[6] Her extensive discography includes three albums which featured in the top forty in charts in Australia in the mid-1980s.[7]
Towards the end of her career, Te Kanawa appeared in opera only rarely, preferring to perform in concerts and recitals. She also devoted much of her time to giving masterclasses and supporting young opera singers through the period of their apprenticeship.[8]
Te Kanawa was born Claire Mary Teresa Rawstron inGisborne, New Zealand, toMāori butcher Tieki "Jack" Wawatai and to Mary Noeleen Rawstron, who was the daughter of Irish immigrants.[9] Wawatai was already married to Apo, the daughter of the Rev. Poihipi Kōhere.[10][11] Rawstron's mother insisted the baby be given up for adoption.[12][13][9][14] Te Kanawa was adopted as an infant by Thomas Te Kanawa, the owner of a successful trucking business, and his wife Nell. Kiri Te Kanawa's adoptive family isNgāti Maniapoto.[15]
She was educated atSt Mary's College, Auckland, and formally trained in operatic singing by SisterMary Leo Niccol. Te Kanawa began her singing career as amezzo-soprano but developed into asoprano.[16] Her recording of the "Nuns' Chorus" from the Benatzky's operettaCasanova was the first gold record produced in New Zealand.
Te Kanawa met Desmond Park on ablind date in London in August 1967, and they married six weeks later atSt Patrick's Cathedral, Auckland.[17] They adopted two children, Antonia (born 1976) and Thomas (born 1979). The couple divorced in 1997.[18] Te Kanawa never made an attempt to contact her biological parents, but her half-brother Jim Rawstron contacted her. Initially, she was unwilling to meet him, but agreed to do so in 1997. The episode ended bitterly, when a newspaper ran a story on their meeting; despite Rawstron denying contact with the newspaper,[19] Te Kanawa has since reaffirmed her decision to have nothing to do with her birth family.[20]
In her teens and early 20s, Te Kanawa was a pop star and entertainer at clubs in New Zealand,[21][failed verification] and regularly appeared in newspapers and magazines. In 1963, she was runner-up toMalvina Major in theMobil Song Quest with her performance of "Vissi d'arte" from Puccini'sTosca, and in 1965 she won the same competition. As winner, she received a grant to study in London.[22]
She appeared and sang in the 1966 musical comedy filmDon't Let It Get You. In 1966, she won theMelbourne Sun-Aria contest, which Major had won the previous year. Both singers had been taught by Sister Mary Leo.
In 1966, without an audition, she enrolled at theLondon Opera Centre to study underVera Rózsa and James Robertson, who reputedly said Te Kanawa lacked a singing technique when she arrived at the school but had a gift for captivating audiences.[12] She first appeared on stage as the Second Lady in Mozart'sThe Magic Flute. On a recommendation byRichard Bonynge, she changed to soprano training in 1967.[22] When she performed the title role of Purcell'sDido and Aeneas in a concert performance that year, music criticAlan Blyth predicted that she was to be the "opera star of the next decade".[22] in December 1968 she repeated the role at theSadler's Wells Theatre.
She also performed the title role in Donizetti'sAnna Bolena. In 1969, she appeared as Elena in Rossini'sLa donna del lago at theCamden Festival. Praise for her Idamante in Mozart'sIdomeneo led to an offer of a three-year contract as junior principal at theRoyal Opera House, where she made her debut as Xenia inBoris Godunov and a Flower Maiden in Wagner'sParsifal in 1970.[23] She was offered the role of the Countess in Mozart'sLe nozze di Figaro[22] after an audition of which the conductor,Colin Davis, said, "I couldn't believe my ears. I've taken thousands of auditions, but it was such a fantastically beautiful voice."[24] Under directorJohn Copley, Te Kanawa was carefully groomed for the role for a December 1971 opening.
Meanwhile, word of her success had reachedJohn Crosby at theSanta Fe Opera, a summer opera festival inNew Mexico then about to begin its 15th season. He cast her as the Countess inFigaro, which opened on 30 July 1971. The production also featuredFrederica von Stade's first appearance in what was to become her signature role, Cherubino. According to a historian of the Santa Fe company, "It was two of the newcomers who left the audience dazzled: Frederica von Stade as Cherubino and Te Kanawa as the Countess. Everyone knew at once that these were brilliant finds. History has confirmed that first impression."[25]
On 1 December 1971 atCovent Garden, Te Kanawa repeated her Santa Fe performance and created an international sensation as the Countess: "with'Porgi amor' Kiri knocked the place flat."[26] This was followed by performances as the Countess at theOpéra National de Lyon andSan Francisco Opera in 1972. She first sang Desdemona inOtello in Glasgow in 1972, while her 1974Metropolitan Opera (Met) début as Desdemona took place at short notice: she replaced an illTeresa Stratas at the last minute, and performed alongside Jon Vickers in the title role.[22] Te Kanawa sang at theGlyndebourne Festival in 1973, with further débuts in Paris and (1975), Sydney (1976), Milan (1978), Salzburg (1979), and Vienna (1980). In 1982, she gave her only stage performances asTosca in Paris. In 1989, she added Elisabeth de Valois in Verdi'sDon Carlos to her repertory at Chicago, and, in 1990, the Countess inCapriccio by Richard Strauss, sung first at San Francisco and with equal success at Covent Garden, Glyndebourne and the Met in 1998.
In 1984,Leonard Bernstein decided to re-record the musicalWest Side Story, conducting his own music for the first time. Generally known as the "operatic version", it starred Te Kanawa as Maria,José Carreras as Tony,Tatiana Troyanos as Anita,Kurt Ollmann as Riff, andMarilyn Horne as the offstage voice who sings "Somewhere". Te Kanawa was the first of the singers to join the project, saying, "I couldn't believe it...This was music I'd grown up with, music I'd always wanted to sing."[28] The album won aGrammy Award for Best Cast Show Album in 1985, and the recording process was filmed as a documentary,The Making of West Side Story.[29]
Te Kanawa with the cast ofLa fille du régiment at the Metropolitan Opera, 24 December 2011
Te Kanawa has a particular affinity for the heroines ofRichard Strauss. Her first appearance in the title role inArabella was at theHouston Grand Opera in 1977, followed by the roles of the Marschallin inDer Rosenkavalier and the Countess inCapriccio. Many performances were given under the baton ofGeorg Solti and it was with him that in 1981 she made a recording[30] ofLe nozze di Figaro.
Later in her career, her appearances on stage became infrequent, but she remained busy as a concert singer. She appeared in performances in the title role of Barber'sVanessa in Monte Carlo (televised in 2001), with theWashington National Opera (2002), and theLos Angeles Opera in November to December 2004. Te Kanawa appeared as aPennington Great Performers series artist with theBaton Rouge Symphony Orchestra in 2004.[34]
In 2006, Te Kanawa sang "Happy Birthday" to Queen Elizabeth followed by "God Save The Queen" at the Commonwealth Games in Australia.[35]
In April 2010, Te Kanawa sang the Marschallin inDer Rosenkavalier in two performances at theCologne Opera. That same year, she played the spoken role of The Duchess of Krakenthorp in Donizetti'sLa fille du régiment at the Metropolitan Opera, and sang a tango. She repeated this role at the Met in a revival during the 2011–12 season, repeating it again in Vienna in 2013 and at Covent Garden in March 2014, a run that encompassed her 70th birthday. In the meantime, she performed atHaruhisa Handa's inauguralTokyo Global Concert at Nakano-Zero Hall inNakano, Tokyo, Japan, on 10 September 2013.[36][37] In October 2013she appeared in the role ofNellie Melba in the television seriesDownton Abbey.[38]
On 13 September 2017, Te Kanawa announced her retirement from performing.[39] She then committed herself to nurture young artists, and serving as a judge in several singing competitions. Her final performance was inBallarat, Australia, in October 2016, but she did not announce her retirement until September 2017.[40][41]
In 2021, she moved back to New Zealand permanently after having lived in the United Kingdom for 55 years.[42] She was part of the official New Zealand delegation to thestate funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.[43][44]
Te Kanawa established theKiri Te Kanawa Foundation in order that "talented young New Zealand singers and musicians with complete dedication to their art may receive judicious and thoughtful mentoring and support to assist them in realising their dreams."[45] The foundation manages a trust fund that awards scholarships to young New Zealand singers and musicians.
In January 2010, Te Kanawa andBBC Radio 2 launched an initiative to find a gifted opera singer of the future. The initiative was the BBC Radio 2 Kiri Prize competition.[46]
Following regional auditions of over 600 aspiring opera singers, 40 were invited to attend masterclasses in London with Te Kanawa, mezzo-sopranoAnne Howells and conductor Robin Stapleton. From these classes 15 singers were selected for the semi-finals, which were broadcast on 5 consecutive weeks on BBC Radio 2'sFriday Night Is Music Night. The semi-finalists were accompanied by theBBC Concert Orchestra, conducted byMartin Yates, Richard Balcombe and Roderick Dunk and their performances were judged by Te Kanawa, Howells, Stapleton and directorJohn Cox.
Five singers reached the final, which was broadcast on Radio 2 on 3 September 2010. The winner, sopranoShuna Scott Sendall, performed with Te Kanawa andJosé Carreras at theBBC Proms in the Park inHyde Park, London on 11 September 2010, and was given the opportunity to attend a three-week residential course at the Solti Te Kanawa Accademia in Italy.
Have you heard Hayley? She's not in my world. She has never been in it at all. She's one of those singers singing today, very successfully [but] they are all fake singers. They sing with a microphone. They are the new fakes for the new generation coming through. But they can only perform with a microphone and they've, basically, never had any formal training. I've had a 40-year career, but these people . . . two or three years and they're gone.
Her comment was met with backlash from music critics and industry personnels, including producerGray Bartlett, who discovered Westenra, andKatherine Jenkins via her spokesperson.[51][52]
On July 2, 2024,The Times published aletter to the editor, co-signed by Te Kanawa and numerous other Catholic and non-Catholic public figures, calling upon theHoly See to preserve what they describe as the "magnificent" cultural artifact of the Catholic Church'sTraditional Latin Mass.[53]
In 2007, theevent management company Leading Edge sued Te Kanawa forbreach of contract after she cancelled a concert with Australian singerJohn Farnham. She cancelled after learning that his fans sometimes threw their underwear on stage, which he would then proudly display.[54] The court found that no contract had been made by the two parties, so Te Kanawa was not liable for damages, but Mittane, the company that employs and manages her, was ordered to reimburse Leading EdgeA$130,000 for expenditures already incurred.[55][56]
In November 2019, the ASB Theatre in theAotea Centre was renamed the Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre in acknowledgement of the work she has done on the world stage and to mark her 75th birthday.[67] Te Kanawa unveiled a plaque with the change before a gala held in her honour.[68]
Te Kanawa was selected as Artist of the Year byGramophone magazine in 1982.[69] On 10 June 2008 she received theEdison Classical Music Award during the Edison Classical Music Gala (formerly theGrand Gala du Disque) in theRidderzaal in The Hague. In 2012, Te Kanawa was awarded a World Class New Zealand award in the Iconic New Zealander category.[70]
1978 – Mozart –Die Zauberflöte – as Pamina in a studio recording under Alain Lombard
1979 – Brahms –A German Requiem – Variations on a Theme By Haydn – Chicago Symphony Orchestra & Chorus, Kiri Te Kanawa, Sir Georg Solti, Bernd Weikl, Margaret Hillis [London Records]
1984 –Puccini –Tosca – as Floria Tosca in a studio recording under Georg Solti
1985 –Handel –Messiah – with Anne Gjevang, Keith Lewis, Gwynne Howell, Chicago Symphony Orchestra & Chorus, Sir Georg Solti [3xLP, Album + Box, London Records]
1985 –Leonard Bernstein –West Side Story – a recording of Bernstein's music for the Broadway productionWest Side Story, withJosé Carreras singing the part of Tony and Leonard Bernstein conducting the orchestra and chorus [Polygram 415253]
1987 – Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick 'Fritz' Loewe –My Fair Lady – a studio cast recording with Te Kanawa singing the role of Eliza Doolittle andJeremy Irons singing the role of Henry Higgins [Polygram 421200]
1987 – Beethoven – Symphonie No.9 – Te Kanawa, Hamari, Burrows, Holl, London Symphony Chorus, London Symphony Orchestra, Eugen Jochum [EMI]
1988 – Bach –St Matthew Passion – Te Kanawa, von Otter, Rolfe Johnson, Krause, Blochwitz, Bär, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Sir Georg Solti [Box, Album + 3xCD, Decca]
1988 – Fauré – Requiem · Pelléas Et Mélisande · Pavane – Te Kanawa, Milnes, Choeur De L'Orchestre Symphonique De Montreal, Orchestre Symphonique De Montréal, Charles Dutoit [Decca]
1989 –Verdi –Simon Boccanegra – in the role of Amelia Grimaldi in a studio recording withLa Scala, Milan, Georg Solti
1992 – Mahler – Symphony No. 4 – Kiri Te Kanawa, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Georg Solti [Decca]
1993 –Wagner –Tannhäuser – sang the role of Elisabeth in a studio recording with the London Philharmonia Orchestra and the Ambrosian Singers,Marek Janowski
1974 –Herrmann – Salammbo's Aria fromCitizen Kane –The Classic Film Scores of Bernard Herrmann – Kiri Te Kanawa, National Philharmonic Orchestra, Charles Gerhardt [RCA Victor, BMG Classics]
1979 – Richard Strauss –Four Last Songs – London Symphony Orchestra, Andrew Davis [CBS Masterworks]
1981 –Mozart Concert Arias – Kiri Te Kanawa, Wiener Kammerorchester, Gyorgy Fischer [London/Decca Jubilee 417756]
1984 –Come to the Fair – Folk Songs & Ballads – with the Medici String Quartet and members of the National Philharmonic Orchestra, Douglas Gamley [EMI EMC 222]
1984 –Ave Maria – a collection of religious favorites with the English Chamber Orchestra and the Choir of St. Paul's Cathedral, London [Philips 412629]
1984 –A Portrait of Kiri Te Kanawa [CBS SBR 236068]
1995 –Christmas with Kiri Te Kanawa: Carols from Coventry Cathedral – Kiri Te Kanawa, Michael George, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Robin Stapleton [Teldec]
1996 – Franz Schubert – Lieder – Judith Raskin, Kiri Te Kanawa, Elly Ameling, Peter Pears, Judith Blegen [Sony Classical]
^Rubin, Stephen E. (3 March 1974). "Kiri Did It All with a Bit of Maori Pride; About Kiri Te Kanawa".The New York Times. p. AL 15.We met on a blind date in London and wed about six weeks later.
^"10日は中野で国際交流オペラ" [International Exchange Opera on the 10th in Nakano].Sports Nippon (in Japanese). Tokyo, Japan. 7 September 2013.
^"東京国際コンサート 歌姫ルネ・フレミングをゲストに開催" [Tokyo Global Concert Held – with Renée Fleming as the special guest].Mostly Classic (in Japanese).206 (7). Tokyo, Japan:Sankei Shimbun:96–97. 2014.
^"Citation of Dame Kiri Te Kanawa".It's an Honour. The Commonwealth Government of Australia. 26 January 1990.Archived from the original on 29 January 2019. Retrieved17 March 2013.
Fingleton, David (1982).Kiri Te Kanawa: A Biography. Collins.ISBN0-00-216365-9.
Gilbert, Susie; Shir, Jay (2003).A Tale of Four Houses: Opera at Covent Garden, La Scala, Vienna and the Met since 1945. London: HarperCollins.ISBN0-00-255820-3.
Lebrecht, Norman (2000).Covent Garden: The Untold Story: Dispatches from the English Culture War, 1945–2000. London: Simon & Schuster.ISBN0-684-85143-1.
Scott, Eleanor (1976).The First Twenty Years of the Santa Fe Opera. Santa Fe, New Mexico: Sunstone Press.
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Kiri Te Kanawa &Georg Solti performing with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in "Rejoice Greatly" fromGeorge Frideric Handel's "Messiah" in 1984Here
