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.
White Christmas
Kiri Te Kanawa Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Just like the ones I used to know
Where the treetops glisten and children listen
To hear sleigh bells in the snow
I'm dreaming of a white Christmas
Just like the ones I used to know
Where the treetops glisten and children listen
I'm dreaming of a white Christmas
With every Christmas card I write
May your days be merry and bright
And may all your Christmases be white
I'm dreaming of a white Christmas,
Just like the ones I used to know
May your days be merry and bright
And may all your Christmases be white
I'm dreaming of a white Christmas,
With every Christmas card I write
May your days be merry and bright
And may all your Christmases be white
May your days be merry and bright
And may all your Christmases be white
And may all your Christmases be white (all your Christmases be white)
And may all your Christmases be white (all your Christmases be white)
And may all your Christmases be
(All your Christmases be white)
(All your Christmases be white)
The song "White Christmas" is a popular Christmas song that expresses a yearning for a nostalgic and traditional Christmas experience. The singer, Kiri Te Kanawa, is dreaming of a White Christmas like the ones she used to know, referring back to memories of her childhood. She describes the treetops glistening with snow, and children listening for sleigh bells in the snow, making it a magical and enchanting experience.
The second verse mentions how the singer includes the phrase "May your days be merry and bright" in every Christmas card she writes, indicating her wish for everyone to have a cheerful and joyous holiday season. She ends with a final repetition of the chorus, reinforcing the desire for all Christmases to be white and filled with happiness.
The song is a classic and has been covered numerous times by different artists. Its popularity can be attributed to the nostalgia it evokes for a simpler, traditional Christmas experience. The desire for a White Christmas has become a part of Christmas culture and the song is often played or sung during the holiday season.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm dreaming of a white Christmas
I long for a winter holiday with fluffy snow and crisp icicles
Just like the ones I used to know
Just like the winter holidays of my youth
Where the treetops glisten and children listen
A place where the snow-covered branches of the trees catch the light and kids eagerly anticipate hearing the sound of sleigh bells jingling in the snow
To hear sleigh bells in the snow
To be immersed in the seasonal joy and wonder of hearing the sound of a sleigh bell in the midst of snowfall
With every Christmas card I write
Every time I sit down to send out greetings to friends and family
May your days be merry and bright
I wish for you to have a cheery and joyful holiday season
And may all your Christmases be white
And may every one of your winter holidays be white with sparkling snow
And may all your Christmases be white
And may every one of your winter holidays be white with sparkling snow
(All your Christmases be white)
I repeat the sentiment that I hope all of your winter holidays are filled with snow
(All your Christmases be white)
I repeat the sentiment that I hope all of your winter holidays are filled with snow
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC
Written by: Irving Berlin
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Aya Makino
I really love her performance. she is a one of the best soprano of all.
Gonzalo Aguilar
I love her performance of this song, so beautiful and full of tenderness and love! That's the spirit of Christmas that I have in my heart! Wonderful and talented composer too! Andgreat orchestra!
301250
Ah, it's ok. It's just another interpretation of a classic and done here so beautifully by a great soprano who never fails to leave her listeners spellbound with her glorious singing and magic voice. I am sure Irving Berlin would have loved it also. sd goh (malaysia)
bert uknowwho
It's so beautiful interpretation of such classic. Just beautiful ❤️
Benson Fong
Love Kiri, but this is too little song for her magnificent voice.
Lachlan Demarchelier
Learn to appreciate music if u can do better than her then say negative comments - it's amazing - this song was blessed to have been sang by her !
Harold LeBoeuf
The idiots who criticize should not voice their opinions. Kiri is always magnificent!!!!
drgk634
Kiri is magnificent, as usual, but this performance is too operetic and heavy for this lovely song: All the christmas spirit is gone - and instead we got a classical aria.