Dame Kiri Janette Te Kanawa, ONZ, AC, DBE, (IPA: /ˈkiːri ˈteɪ ˈkɑːnəwə/, bo… Read Full Bio ↴Dame Kiri Janette Te Kanawa, ONZ, AC, DBE, (IPA: /ˈkiːri ˈteɪ ˈkɑːnəwə/, born March 6, 1944) is one of the world's most celebrated sopranos. In 1981, she was seen and heard around the world by an estimated 600 million people when she sang Händel's "Let the Bright Seraphim" at the wedding of Charles, Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer.
Te Kanawa was born in Gisborne, on New Zealand's North Island. She has both Māori and European ancestry, but little is known about her birth parents as she was adopted as an infant. She is the adopted daughter of an Irish mother and Māori father. In her teens and early 20s, Te Kanawa was a pop star and popular entertainer at clubs in New Zealand.
She was educated at Saint Mary's College Auckland and formally trained in operatic singing by the celebrated Dame Sister Mary Leo, RSM, who was New Zealand's best-known opera coach. She began her singing career as a mezzo-soprano, but later developed into a soprano. Her recording of the "Nuns' Chorus" from the Strauss operetta Casanova was New Zealand's first gold record.
Kiri married Desmond Park, whom she met on a blind date in Auckland in August 1967 and married 6 months later. The couple adopted two children, Antonia (1976) and Thomas (1979, named after Kiri's adoptive father). The couple divorced in the late 1990s.
Career
In 1965 she won the prestigious Mobil Song Quest, entered by all types of singers, jazz, pop and classical, with her performance of Puccini's "Vissi d'arte" from Tosca. As the winner, she received a grant to study in London.
Early years in London
In 1966, without an audition, she enrolled at the London Opera Centre to study under James Robertson, who is said to have stated that Te Kanawa did not have any singing technique when she arrived at the school but did have a gift for captivating audiences.
She first appeared on stage as the "Second Lady" in Die Zauberflöte, as well as in performances of Dido and Aeneas in December 1968 at the Sadler's Wells Theatre. In 1969, she sang "Elena" in Gioacchino Rossini's La donna del lago at the Camden Festival. Praise for her "Idamante" in Mozart's Idomeneo led to an offer of a three-year contract as junior principal at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden where she made her debut as 'Xenia' in Boris Godunov and a 'Flower Maiden' in Parsifal in 1970, and was also heard as the "Voice from Heaven", an off-stage role, at the end of Verdi's Don Carlo. Also, during 1969, she was offered the role of the Countess in The Marriage of Figaro after an audition in 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." Under director John Copley, Te Kanawa was carefully groomed for the role for a December 1971 opening.
International career
Meanwhile, word of her success had reached John Crosby at the Santa Fe Opera, a summer opera festival in the U.S. state of New Mexico then about to begin its fifteenth season. He cast her in the role of the Countess in Figaro, which opened on 30 July 1971. "It was two of the newcomers who left the audience dazzled: Frederica von Stade as Cherubino and Kiri Te Kanawa as the Countess. Everyone knew at once that these were brilliant finds. History has confirmed that first impression." Von Stade and Te Kanawa have continued this association even up to the present day. In 2007, they sang together at Kiri's farewell concert in Carnegie Hall.
But on 1 December 1971 at Covent Garden, Kiri Te Kanawa repeated the Santa Fe triumph and created an international sensation in the same role: "with 'Porgi amor' Kiri knocked the place flat." It was followed by performances as the Countess at the San Francisco Opera in autumn 1972, while her Metropolitan Opera debut in 1974 as Desdemona in Otello took place on short notice, replacing an ill Teresa Stratas at the last minute.
In subsequent years, she performed at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Paris Opera, Sydney Opera House, the Vienna State Opera, La Scala, San Francisco Opera, Munich and Cologne, adding the Mozart roles of Donna Elvira, Pamina, and Fiordiligi, in addition to Italian roles such as Mimi in La bohème. She played Donna Elvira in Joseph Losey's 1979 film adaptation of Don Giovanni.
Te Kanawa has a particular affinity for the heroines of Richard Strauss. Her first appearance in the title role in Arabella was at the Houston Grand Opera in 1977, followed by the roles of the Marschallin in Der Rosenkavalier and the Countess in Capriccio. Many performances were given under the baton of Georg Solti and it was with him that she made her first recording of Figaro.
Te Kanawa retired from the opera stage after her performances in Samuel Barber's Vanessa with the Washington National Opera and the Los Angeles Opera in November/December 2004, but she still performs in concert halls.
UK talk show host Michael Parkinson asked her to name the person she felt was the greatest singer that ever lived. She replied: "The young Elvis Presley, without any doubt."
Honours
Kiri Te Kanawa was conferred a Dame Commander of The Order of the British Empire (DBE) in 1982, invested as an Honorary Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) in 1990 and awarded the prestigious Order of New Zealand (ONZ) in the 1995 Queen's Birthday Honours List. She has also received honorary degrees from the following universities in the UK: Cambridge, Dundee, Durham, Nottingham, Oxford, Sunderland, Warwick as well as these universities worldwide: Chicago, Auckland and Waikato as well as being honorary fellow of Somerville College, Oxford and Wolfson College, Cambridge. She is also patron of Ringmer Community College, a school in the South-East of England.
Controversy
Te Kanawa has always been popular among New Zealanders, but in a 2003 interview with the Melbourne-based Herald Sun she was critical of the high rate of welfare dependence among the Māori people, angering some of her compatriots.
Te Kanawa has recently been taken to court by Leading Edge for cancelling a concert with Australian singer John Farnham after learning that his fans sometimes threw their underwear on stage, which he would then proudly display. She won this breach-of-contract lawsuit, in part because no binding contract was made, but over $100,000 in court costs were awarded against the Mittane holding company which employs and manages Te Kanawa.
Kiri Te Kanawa Foundation
Kiri founded the Kiri Te Kanawa Foundation with the vision "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."
The Foundation manages a trust fund to provide financial and career scholarships to young New Zealand singers and musicians.
Te Kanawa was born in Gisborne, on New Zealand's North Island. She has both Māori and European ancestry, but little is known about her birth parents as she was adopted as an infant. She is the adopted daughter of an Irish mother and Māori father. In her teens and early 20s, Te Kanawa was a pop star and popular entertainer at clubs in New Zealand.
She was educated at Saint Mary's College Auckland and formally trained in operatic singing by the celebrated Dame Sister Mary Leo, RSM, who was New Zealand's best-known opera coach. She began her singing career as a mezzo-soprano, but later developed into a soprano. Her recording of the "Nuns' Chorus" from the Strauss operetta Casanova was New Zealand's first gold record.
Kiri married Desmond Park, whom she met on a blind date in Auckland in August 1967 and married 6 months later. The couple adopted two children, Antonia (1976) and Thomas (1979, named after Kiri's adoptive father). The couple divorced in the late 1990s.
Career
In 1965 she won the prestigious Mobil Song Quest, entered by all types of singers, jazz, pop and classical, with her performance of Puccini's "Vissi d'arte" from Tosca. As the winner, she received a grant to study in London.
Early years in London
In 1966, without an audition, she enrolled at the London Opera Centre to study under James Robertson, who is said to have stated that Te Kanawa did not have any singing technique when she arrived at the school but did have a gift for captivating audiences.
She first appeared on stage as the "Second Lady" in Die Zauberflöte, as well as in performances of Dido and Aeneas in December 1968 at the Sadler's Wells Theatre. In 1969, she sang "Elena" in Gioacchino Rossini's La donna del lago at the Camden Festival. Praise for her "Idamante" in Mozart's Idomeneo led to an offer of a three-year contract as junior principal at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden where she made her debut as 'Xenia' in Boris Godunov and a 'Flower Maiden' in Parsifal in 1970, and was also heard as the "Voice from Heaven", an off-stage role, at the end of Verdi's Don Carlo. Also, during 1969, she was offered the role of the Countess in The Marriage of Figaro after an audition in 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." Under director John Copley, Te Kanawa was carefully groomed for the role for a December 1971 opening.
International career
Meanwhile, word of her success had reached John Crosby at the Santa Fe Opera, a summer opera festival in the U.S. state of New Mexico then about to begin its fifteenth season. He cast her in the role of the Countess in Figaro, which opened on 30 July 1971. "It was two of the newcomers who left the audience dazzled: Frederica von Stade as Cherubino and Kiri Te Kanawa as the Countess. Everyone knew at once that these were brilliant finds. History has confirmed that first impression." Von Stade and Te Kanawa have continued this association even up to the present day. In 2007, they sang together at Kiri's farewell concert in Carnegie Hall.
But on 1 December 1971 at Covent Garden, Kiri Te Kanawa repeated the Santa Fe triumph and created an international sensation in the same role: "with 'Porgi amor' Kiri knocked the place flat." It was followed by performances as the Countess at the San Francisco Opera in autumn 1972, while her Metropolitan Opera debut in 1974 as Desdemona in Otello took place on short notice, replacing an ill Teresa Stratas at the last minute.
In subsequent years, she performed at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Paris Opera, Sydney Opera House, the Vienna State Opera, La Scala, San Francisco Opera, Munich and Cologne, adding the Mozart roles of Donna Elvira, Pamina, and Fiordiligi, in addition to Italian roles such as Mimi in La bohème. She played Donna Elvira in Joseph Losey's 1979 film adaptation of Don Giovanni.
Te Kanawa has a particular affinity for the heroines of Richard Strauss. Her first appearance in the title role in Arabella was at the Houston Grand Opera in 1977, followed by the roles of the Marschallin in Der Rosenkavalier and the Countess in Capriccio. Many performances were given under the baton of Georg Solti and it was with him that she made her first recording of Figaro.
Te Kanawa retired from the opera stage after her performances in Samuel Barber's Vanessa with the Washington National Opera and the Los Angeles Opera in November/December 2004, but she still performs in concert halls.
UK talk show host Michael Parkinson asked her to name the person she felt was the greatest singer that ever lived. She replied: "The young Elvis Presley, without any doubt."
Honours
Kiri Te Kanawa was conferred a Dame Commander of The Order of the British Empire (DBE) in 1982, invested as an Honorary Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) in 1990 and awarded the prestigious Order of New Zealand (ONZ) in the 1995 Queen's Birthday Honours List. She has also received honorary degrees from the following universities in the UK: Cambridge, Dundee, Durham, Nottingham, Oxford, Sunderland, Warwick as well as these universities worldwide: Chicago, Auckland and Waikato as well as being honorary fellow of Somerville College, Oxford and Wolfson College, Cambridge. She is also patron of Ringmer Community College, a school in the South-East of England.
Controversy
Te Kanawa has always been popular among New Zealanders, but in a 2003 interview with the Melbourne-based Herald Sun she was critical of the high rate of welfare dependence among the Māori people, angering some of her compatriots.
Te Kanawa has recently been taken to court by Leading Edge for cancelling a concert with Australian singer John Farnham after learning that his fans sometimes threw their underwear on stage, which he would then proudly display. She won this breach-of-contract lawsuit, in part because no binding contract was made, but over $100,000 in court costs were awarded against the Mittane holding company which employs and manages Te Kanawa.
Kiri Te Kanawa Foundation
Kiri founded the Kiri Te Kanawa Foundation with the vision "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."
The Foundation manages a trust fund to provide financial and career scholarships to young New Zealand singers and musicians.
Chants D'Auvergne: Bailero
Kiri Te Kanawa Lyrics
We have lyrics for 'Chants D'Auvergne: Bailero' by these artists:
Joseph Canteloube Soun, Soun, Soun, Beni, Beni, Beni Soun, Soun, Beni, Beni…
We have lyrics for these tracks by Kiri Te Kanawa:
All Through the Day I sit alone in the golden daylight, But all I see…
Always Everything went wrong, And the whole day long I'd feel so bl…
Ave Maria Ave Maria Gratia plena Maria, gratia plena Maria, gratia ple…
Blue Skies I was blue, just as blue as I could be Ev'ry…
By Strauss Away with the music of Broadway Be off with your Irving…
Can The man who only lives for making money Lives a life…
Climb ev'ry mountain Climb every mountain, Search high and low Follow every byway…
Danny Boy Oh, Danny boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling From glen…
Early one Morning [Verse:] Taking stock of what I have and what I haven't What…
Ev Climb every mountain, Search high and low Follow every byway…
Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas Have yourself a merry little Christmas Let your heart be li…
Here's That Rainy Day Maybe I should have saved those left over dreams Funny, but…
How Deep is the Ocean? How much do I love you? I'll tell you no lie How…
How High The Moon Somewhere there's music How faint the tune Somewhere there…
I I feel pretty, Oh, so pretty, I feel pretty and…
I Concentrate on You Come bring me your softness. Comfort me through all this mad…
I Could Have Danced All Night Bed, bed I couldn't go to bed My head's too light…
I Got the Sun in the Morning [Verse:] Taking stock of what I have and what I haven't What…
I Love Paris The snow is snowing and the wind is blowing But I…
I've Got You under My Skin I've got you under my skin. I've got you deep in…
It I'm as restless as a willow in a windstorm I'm as…
It might as well be spring I'm as restless as a willow in a windstorm I'm as…
It Only Happens When I Dance with You It only happens when I dance with you That trip to…
It's a Lovely Day Today It's a lovely day today So whatever you've got to do You've…
Let The Bright Seraphim lets the bright serapim in burning, row their loud, uplifted…
Let's face the music & dance There may be trouble ahead But while there's music and moonl…
Long Ago and Far Away Long ago and far away I dreamed a dream one day And…
Love Walked In Love walked right in and drove the shadows away Love walked…
O Little Town of Bethlehem Oh little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee…
Oh Kay!: Someone To Watch Over Me There's a saying old says that love is blind Still were…
Say It Isn't So Say it isn't so, Say it isn't so, Everyone is saying You don…
So in Love Lately, I find myself out gazing at stars, Hearing guitars…
Someone to Watch over Me There's a saying old says that love is blind Still were…
Speak Low Speak low when you speak, love, Our summer day withers away …
Tarakihi E, pakia kia rite E, ko te rite kia rite E, takahia…
The Heart Is Slow To Learn The heart is slow to learn The heart is slow to…
The Little Drummer Boy Come, they told me pa-rum pum pum pum Our newborn King…
The Song is Ended My thoughts go back to a heavenly dance A moment of…
The Song Is You I hear music when I look at you, A beautiful theme…
The Way You Look Tonight Some day, when I'm awfully low, When the world is…
Tosca: Vissi D'arte 笑容 會讓你期待 淚水 誘惑你關懷 掌握時機撒賴 準備表情登台 你就捨不得 離開 這個我明白 我知 你壞 我愛 你壞 …
True love I give to you and you give to me True love…
Vissi d'arte 笑容 會讓你期待 淚水 誘惑你關懷 掌握時機撒賴 準備表情登台 你就捨不得 離開 這個我明白 我知 你壞 我愛 你壞 …
When I grow too old to dream (From "The Night is Young" We have been gay, going our way Life has been beautiful,…
White Christmas I'm dreaming of a white Christmas Just like the ones I…
With You I Come bring me your softness. Comfort me through all this mad…
Yesterdays Yesterdays, yesterdays Days I knew as happy Sweet sequeste…
You Come bring me your softness. Comfort me through all this mad…
The lyrics are frequently found in the comments by searching or by filtering for lyric videos
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John Feehan
I think Kiri’s is my favorite performance of this ethereal piece. ❤
Pierre Lasperge
Une merveilleuse artiste pour chanter mes montagnes.
Madelyn Miller
Just discovered this gorgeous composition sung so beautifully by Kiri te Kanawa! ♥️
callasladivina
This is a 2008 Belgrade (Serbia) concert... her performance that night was magnificent! I always loved Ms Kanawa's recordings, but hearing her live... that just made my love and appreciation of her, timeless!
theblueangel28
this is perhaps my favorite piece she has ever recorded it is Divine
katesmate1
Few people mention the composer who produced this really beautiful music. It is magnificent. Add to it the singing of a beautiful female voice and you have my all time favourite Katesmate
MR DUNNS
If I had any hairs left on the back of my neck, they'd be standing. The finest opera singer, bar none, ever put on this planet for us to appreciate.
At the end of a long, hot and stressful day, is there any better way to unwind? Haven't found one yet.
Patrick Jordan
Thank you for posting my favorite song of all time. I'm not into opra but from the age of 12 this song has haunted me and will forever be the song that says to me..."Everything is all righ in the world".
DEVON MOON
Pretty Paul Roma 💜🌎💚🌈xxx
Terry Jordan
Turns my dark to light every time, without fail or effort.