Book Kiri Te Kanawa

Dame Kiri Te Kanawa is a New Zealand soprano and a beloved opera star of her era, admired for a full lyric voice that is famously mellow, warm and unforced. Before opera, she was a pop singer and entertainer in New Zealand clubs, and after finishing second in the Mobil Song Quest in 1963, she won it in 1965 with "Vissi d'arte" from Tosca, earning a grant to study in London at the London Opera Centre. Her international breakthrough came on 1 December 1971, when she sang the Countess in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro at the Royal Opera House. She became closely identified with Mozart, Verdi, Puccini and Richard Strauss, and her vast discography includes recordings of Carmen (1976), Don Giovanni (1979), Le nozze di Figaro (1982) and La rondine (1983). Her honors include being named Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1982, the Order of New Zealand in 1995 and Companion of Honour in 2018, plus a Brit Award for Classical Recording. Later in her career she favored concerts and recitals and devoted herself to mentoring young singers. She retired from public performance in 2017.