Kiri Te Kanawa
Dame Kiri Jeanette Claire Te Kanawa ONZ, CH, DBE, AC (/ˈkɪri təˈkɑːnəwə/; born Claire Mary Teresa Rawstron, 6 March 1944) is a retired New Zealand opera singer. She had a full lyric soprano voice, which has been described as "mellow yet vibrant, warm, ample and unforced". Te Kanawa had three top 40 albums in Australia in the mid-1980s.
Te Kanawa has received accolades in many countries, singing a wide array of works in many languages dating from the 17th to the 20th centuries. She is particularly associated with the works of Mozart, Strauss, Verdi, Handel and Puccini, and found considerable success in portraying princesses, nobility, and other similar characters on stage.
Though she rarely sang opera later in her career, Te Kanawa frequently performed in concert and recital, gave masterclasses, and supported young opera singers in launching their careers. Her final performance was in Ballarat, Australia, in October 2016, but she did not reveal her retirement until September 2017.
Te Kanawa was born Claire Mary Teresa Rawstron in Gisborne, New Zealand, to Māori butcher Tieki "Jack" Wawatai and to Mary Noeleen Rawstron, who was the daughter of Irish emigrants. Wawatai was already married to Apo, the daughter of the Rev. Poihipi Kohere. Poihipi Kohere was the brother of both the community leader Rēweti Kōhere and the soldier and farmer Henare Mokena Kohere. Mary Noeleen Rawstron's mother insisted the baby be given up for adoption. Te Kanawa was adopted as an infant by Thomas Te Kanawa, the owner of a successful trucking business, and his wife Nell.
She was educated at St Mary's College, Auckland, and formally trained in operatic singing by Sister Mary Leo Niccol. Te Kanawa began her singing career as a mezzo-soprano but developed into a soprano. Her recording of the "Nuns' Chorus" from the Strauss operetta Casanova was the first gold record produced in New Zealand.
Te Kanawa met Desmond Park on a blind date in London in August 1967, and they married six weeks later at St Patrick's Cathedral, Auckland. They adopted two children, Antonia (born 1976) and Thomas (born 1979). The couple divorced in 1997. 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, she has since reaffirmed her decision to have nothing to do with her birth family.
In her teens and early 20s, Te Kanawa was a pop star and entertainer at clubs in New Zealand,[failed verification] and regularly appeared in newspapers and magazines. In 1963, she was runner-up to Malvina Major in the Mobil Song Quest with her performance of "Vissi d'arte" from Tosca, and in 1965 she won the same competition. As winner, she received a grant to study in London.
She appeared and sang in the 1966 musical comedy film Don't Let It Get You. In 1966, she won the Melbourne Sun-Aria contest, which Major had also won the previous year. Both singers had been taught by Sister Mary Leo. ...
Source: Article "Kiri Te Kanawa" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.
Known For | Acting |
---|---|
Most Rating | 3.133 |
Birthday | 1944-03-06 |
Place of Birth | Gisborne, New Zealand |
Also Known As | Кири Те Канава, |
1979
Don Giovanni
6.903/31
Screen adapatation of Mozart's greatest opera. Don Giovanni, the infamous womanizer, makes one conquest after another until the ghost of Donna Anna's...
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Don Giovanni
1984
Die Fledermaus
7.8/4
Most opera houses ring in the New Year with Johann Strauss Jr.'s most popular operetta--the festiveness of which is appropriate for the occasion--and...
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Die Fledermaus
1983
Manon Lescaut
7/1
"Manon", wrote Puccini to his publisher Giulio Ricordi in 1889, "is a heroine I believe in and therefore she cannot fail to win the heart of the publi...
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Manon Lescaut
1975
The Marriage of Figaro
6.5/4
Mozart's Marriage of Figaro is a comedy whose dark undertones explore the blurred boundaries between dying feudalism and emerging Enlightenment. Herm...
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The Marriage of Figaro
1992
Otello
0/0
The complete version of Verdi's Otello performed by Placido Domingo and Kiri Te Kanawa, at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Gala Performance in h...
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Otello
1985
The Making Of West Side Story
7.9/5
A documentary which shows, in great detail, the making of the 1985 Bernstein-conducted recording of the entire score of "West Side Story", featuring o...
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The Making Of West Side Story
1982
Otello
0/0
Verdi's 'Otello', based on Shakespeare's famous tragedy, is performed at the famous Arena of Verona, with Kiri Te Kanawa and Vladimir Atlantov heading...
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Otello
1985
Der Rosenkavalier
7.5/2
Live performance, new production season 1984-5. BBC 2 Television relay on 30 March 1985 of performance of February 11.
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Der Rosenkavalier
1996
Metropolitan Opera Gala James Levine's 25th Anniversary
0/0
This tribute to James Levine, first shown on PBS, was only part of that glorious evening. Here we have the whole performance, up to three hours. I cou...
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Metropolitan Opera Gala James Levine's 25th Anniversary
1986
Die Fledermaus
0/0
Live performance from the Metropolitan Opera, 31 December 1986.
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Die Fledermaus
1994
Arabella
0/0
Arabella, Op. 79, is a lyric comedy or opera in three acts by Richard Strauss to a German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal, their sixth and last oper...
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Arabella
1998
Andrew Lloyd Webber: The Royal Albert Hall Celebration
6.7/2
British superstar composer Andrew Lloyd Webber is feted in this 50th birthday benefit gala produced by Lloyd Webber's own theatrical company at London...
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Andrew Lloyd Webber: The Royal Albert Hall Celebration
1982
Der Rosenkavalier
0/0
In this stunning performance from 1982, Strauss’s enchanting fairy tale for adults is blessed with a cast, conductor, and production that have made it...
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Der Rosenkavalier
1995
Giuseppe Verdi: Simon Boccanegra
0/0
This evocative production by Giancarlo Del Monaco sumptuously captures the look and feel of 14th century Genoa and is a perfect compliment to Verdi’s...
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Giuseppe Verdi: Simon Boccanegra
2007
Simon Boccanegra: Royal Opera House
0/0
Kiri Te Kanawa, Alexandru Agache, Michael Sylvesyer, and Roberto Scandiuzzi star in this Covent Garden production of the Verdi opera conducted by Sir...
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Simon Boccanegra: Royal Opera House
1983
The Metropolitan Opera Centennial Gala
0/0
In celebration of its 100th anniversary in 1983, the Metropolitan Opera hosts a four-hour performance uniting some of the world's most spellbinding op...
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The Metropolitan Opera Centennial Gala
2002
Prom at the Palace
0/0
All-time classical favourites from the first ever public concert held in the grounds of Buckingham Palace, hosted by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. B...
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Prom at the Palace
1974
The Marriage of Figaro
2.5/1
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The Marriage of Figaro
1964
Runaway
0/0
A nightmare chase across the scenic splendor of a wild continent. David Manning, a young accountant, is unable to live within his income. He spends h...
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Runaway
1966
Don't Let It Get You
0/0
“The big ALL FUN show for the whole family to enjoy!” was the tagline for this musical comedy classic. Sir Howard Morrison (as himself) and Rotorua ar...
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Don't Let It Get You
2006
Christmas with Kiri Te Kanawa: Carols from Coventry Cathedral
0/0
Kiri Te Kanawa, Michael George, and a choir sing Christmas music, and in between selections, David Frost narrates a history of the Christmas carol.
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Christmas with Kiri Te Kanawa: Carols from Coventry Cathedral
2021
Marjorie Lawrence: The World at Her Feet
0/0
Marjorie grew up in Winchelsea in country Victoria, Australia, dreaming of becoming an opera star like Dame Nellie Melba. In 1928 she went to Paris to...
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Marjorie Lawrence: The World at Her Feet
2017
Kiri Te Kanawa at the BBC
4/1
New Zealand soprano Dame Kiri Te Kanawa looks back at her life in song through 40 years of performances from the archives, including rugby anthem Worl...
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Kiri Te Kanawa at the BBC
1975
Kiri Te Kanawa
0/0
Opera singer Kiri Te Kanawa talks to Bernard Levin and sings scenes from Don Giovanni, The Marriage of Figaro, Otello and La Boheme. With Ryland Davie...
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