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Dame Kiri Jeanette Claire Te Kanawa[1] ONZ, CH, DBE, AC (/ˈkɪri təˈkɑːnəwə/;[2] 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".[3] Te Kanawa had three top 40 albums in Australia in the mid-1980s.[4]

Dame

Kiri Te Kanawa

ONZ CH DBE AC
Te Kanawa in 2013
Born
Claire Mary Teresa Rawstron

(1944-03-06) 6 March 1944 (age 78)
Gisborne, New Zealand
OccupationOpera singer (soprano)
Years active1968–2017
Spouse
Desmond Park
​
​
(m. 1967; div. 1997)​
Children2

Te Kanawa has received accolades in many countries,[5][6] 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.[7]

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.[8] Her final performance was in Ballarat, Australia, in October 2016, but she did not reveal her retirement until September 2017.[9][10]


Personal life


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.[11] 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.[12][13] Mary Noeleen Rawstron's mother insisted the baby be given up for adoption.[14][15][11][16] 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.[17] 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.[18] They adopted two children, Antonia (born 1976) and Thomas (born 1979). The couple divorced in 1997.[19] 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,[20] she has since reaffirmed her decision to have nothing to do with her birth family.[21]


Career


In her teens and early 20s, Te Kanawa was a pop star and entertainer at clubs in New Zealand,[22][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.


Early years in London


In 1966, without an audition, she enrolled at the London Opera Centre to study under Vera 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.[14] She first appeared on stage as the Second Lady in Mozart's The Magic Flute, as well as in performances of Purcell's Dido and Aeneas in December 1968 at the Sadler's Wells Theatre. She also sang the title role in Donizetti's Anna Bolena. In 1969, she sang Elena in Rossini's La donna del lago at the Camden Festival, and was also offered the role of the Countess in The Marriage of Figaro 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."[23] 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.[24] Under director John Copley, Te Kanawa was carefully groomed for the role of the Countess for a December 1971 opening.


International career


External audio
Te Kanawa singing the role of Countess Almaviva in Mozart's opera Le nozze di Figaro with Reynald Giovaninetti conducting the San Francisco Opera in 1972

Meanwhile, word of her success had reached John Crosby at the Santa Fe Opera, a summer opera festival in New Mexico then about to begin its 15th season. He cast her as the Countess in The Marriage of Figaro, which opened on 30 July 1971. The performance also featured Frederica von Stade in her debut as Cherubino. "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 at Covent 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 the Opéra National de Lyon and San Francisco Opera in 1972. She first sang Desdemona in Otello in Glasgow in 1972, while her 1974 Metropolitan Opera début as Desdemona took place at short notice: she replaced an ill Teresa Stratas at the last minute. Te Kanawa sang at the Glyndebourne 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 as Tosca in Paris. In 1989, she added Elisabeth de Valois in Don Carlos to her repertory at Chicago, and, in 1990, the Countess in Capriccio, sung first at San Francisco and with equal success at Covent Garden, Glyndebourne and the Met in 1998.

In subsequent years, Te Kanawa 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 to her repertoire the Mozart roles of Donna Elvira, Pamina, and Fiordiligi to Italian roles such as Mimi in Puccini's La bohème. She played Donna Elvira in Joseph Losey's 1979 film adaptation of Don Giovanni. She was seen and heard around the world in 1981 by an estimated 600 million people when she sang Handel's "Let the bright Seraphim" at the wedding of Charles, Prince of Wales, and Lady Diana Spencer.[27]

External audio
Te Kanawa singing the role of Marguerite in Gounod's opera Faust with Sir Colin Davis conducting the Bavarian Radio Orchestra in 1986

In 1984, Leonard Bernstein decided to re-record the musical West 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, and Marilyn 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 a Grammy Award for Best Cast Show Album in 1985, and the recording process was filmed as a documentary, The Making of West Side Story.[29]

Kiri Te Kanawa with cast members of La fille du régiment at the Metropolitan Opera, 24 December 2011
Kiri Te Kanawa with cast members of La fille du régiment at the Metropolitan Opera, 24 December 2011

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 in 1981 she made a recording[30] of The Marriage of Figaro.

She participated in Prince Edward's 1987 charity television special The Grand Knockout Tournament.

In 1991, she premiered the theme song "World in Union" at the 1991 Rugby World Cup, which reached No.4 on the UK Singles Chart.[31] In 1992, she performed at the Last Night of the Proms, where she sang "Rule, Britannia!".[32]

In 1995, Te Kanawa performed the role of Maria Boccanegra in the Metropolitan Opera's production of Verdi's Simon Boccanegra, along with Plácido Domingo, conducted by James Levine.[33]

In later parts of her career, her appearances onstage became infrequent, although she remained busy as a concert singer. She appeared in performances in Samuel Barber's Vanessa in Monte Carlo (televised in 2001), with the Washington National Opera (2002), and the Los Angeles Opera in November to December 2004. Te Kanawa has appeared as a Pennington Great Performers series artist with the Baton 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 in Der Rosenkavalier in two performances at the Cologne Opera. That same year, she played the spoken part of The Duchess of Krakenthorp in La 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 at Haruhisa Handa's inaugural Tokyo Global Concert at Nakano-Zero Hall in Nakano, Tokyo, Japan, on 10 September 2013.[36][37] In October 2013 she appeared in the role of Nellie Melba in the television series Downton Abbey.[38]


Retirement years


On 13 September 2017, Te Kanawa announced her retirement from performing.[39] After retirement, she committed herself to nurture young artists, sitting as a judge in several singing competitions.

In 2021, she moved back to New Zealand permanently after living in the United Kingdom for 55 years.[40] She was part of the official New Zealand delegation to the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.[41][42]


Honours


Te Kanawa was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire, for services to music, in the 1973 Queen's Birthday Honours,[43] and was elevated to Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire, for services to opera, in the 1982 Queen's Birthday Honours.[44] She was awarded the New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal,[45] and was appointed to the Order of New Zealand in the 1995 Queen's Birthday Honours.[46] In the 1990 Australia Day Honours, she was appointed an Honorary Companion of the Order of Australia, for services to the arts, particularly opera, and to the community.[47]

She was portrayed as Saint Cecilia on the stained glass window in St Paul's Cathedral, Dunedin, which was unveiled in October 2012.[48][49]

Te Kanawa was appointed a Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour (CH) in the 2018 Birthday Honours for services to music.[50] Her investiture was performed by the Prince of Wales in a ceremony at Buckingham Palace on 20 December.[51]

In November 2019, the ASB theatre in the Aotea 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.[52] Te Kanawa unveiled a plaque with the change before a gala held in her honour.[53]


Awards


Te Kanawa was selected as Artist of the Year by Gramophone magazine in 1982.[54] On 10 June 2008 she received the Edison Classical Music Award during the Edison Classical Music Gala (formerly the Grand Gala du Disque) in the Ridderzaal in The Hague. In 2012, Te Kanawa was awarded a World Class New Zealand award in the Iconic New Zealander category.[55]

In 2006, Te Kanawa was awarded the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement presented by Awards Council member Dame Julie Andrews during the 2006 International Achievement Summit in Los Angeles.[56][57]

In 2010, she received the Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music.[58]


Kiri Te Kanawa Foundation


Te Kanawa 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."[59]

The foundation manages a trust fund to provide financial and career scholarships to young New Zealand singers and musicians.


The Kiri Prize


In January 2010, Te Kanawa and BBC Radio 2 launched an initiative to find a gifted opera singer of the future. The initiative was the BBC Radio 2 Kiri Prize competition.[60]

Following regional auditions of over 600 aspiring opera singers, 40 were invited to attend masterclasses in London with Te Kanawa, mezzo-soprano Anne 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's Friday Night Is Music Night. The semi-finalists were accompanied by the BBC Concert Orchestra, conducted by Martin Yates, Richard Balcombe and Roderick Dunk and their performances were judged by Te Kanawa, Howells, Stapleton and director John Cox.

Five singers reached the final, which was broadcast on Radio 2 on 3 September 2010. The winner, soprano Shuna Scott Sendall, performed with Te Kanawa and José Carreras at the BBC Proms in the Park in Hyde 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.


Controversies


In a 2003 interview with the Melbourne-based Herald Sun, Te Kanawa criticised the high rate of welfare dependence among the Māori people, angering some of her compatriots.[61]

In 2007, the event-management company Leading Edge sued Te Kanawa for breach of contract after she cancelled a concert with Australian singer John Farnham. She cancelled after learning that his fans sometimes threw their underwear on stage, which he would then proudly display.[62] 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 Edge A$130,000 for expenditures already incurred.[63][64]


Discography



Complete works



Solo recitals, compilations, etc.



References


  1. "Te Kanawa, Dame Kiri (Jeanette Claire), (born 6 March 1944), opera singer". Ukwhoswho.com. 2007. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U37222. ISBN 978-0-19-954088-4.
  2. "ABC Pronounce". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 12 February 1990. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
  3. John von Rhein (30 July 2001). "Kiri Te Kanawa sails at Ravinia". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  4. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 306. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  5. "Profile: Tonight she sings for Britain: Kiri Te Kanawa, most beloved". Independent.co.uk. 12 September 1992.
  6. Rhein, John von. "Nostalgia flows freely as beloved diva charms fans at Ravinia. But don't call it a farewell". chicagotribune.com.
  7. Steane, J.B. (2001). "Kiri Te Kanawa". In Sadie, Stanley; Tyrrell, John (eds.). The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (2nd ed.). London: Macmillan. ISBN 978-1-56159-239-5. ‎
  8. Matt Thomas, "Dame Kiri Te Kanawa on coaching young singers", Walesonline.co.uk, 8 December 2008, Retrieved 7 December 2009
  9. "Dame Kiri takes final bow in brilliant career", Weekend Herald, 16 September 2017. Retrieved 14 November 2017
  10. [permanent dead link]
  11. "Kiri: the unsung story". Independent.ie.
  12. Taonga, New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu. "Kohere, Henare Mokena". Teara.govt.nz.
  13. Taonga, New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu. "Kohere, Reweti Tuhorouta". teara.govt.nz.
  14. Jenkins & d'Antal 1998.
  15. We Were Born on the Same Day, Au Yong Chee Tuck, Partridge Publishing, 2018, Appendix II
  16. Langley, William (18 August 2013). "Kiri Te Kanawa: How the diva from Down Under wound up at Downton". Telegraph.co.uk. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022.
  17. Fingleton 1982, p. 21.
  18. 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.
  19. Billen, Andrew (16 May 2006). "A most undramatic exit for a prima donna". The Times. Retrieved 5 January 2009.
  20. "Brave new world". The Independent. 13 December 1999.
  21. Elizabeth Grice, "The dame doesn't give a damn", The Sydney Morning Herald, Spectrum Arts, 18 July 1998, p. 15s
  22. Encyclopædia Britannica.
  23. Frances Donaldson (2011). The Royal Opera House in the Twentieth Century. A&C Black. ISBN 9781448205523.
  24. Gilbert & Shir 2003.
  25. Scott 1976.
  26. Lebrecht 2000.
  27. "Famed soprano Dame Kiri Te Kanawa is coming to Manila". BusinessWorld. 27 September 2000. p. 1.
  28. Rockwell, John (7 September 1984). "New Recording of West Side Story". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
  29. "The Making of West Side Story". Classicstoday.com. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
  30. Te Kanawa had previously made videos in 1973 and 1975 under Pritchard and Böhm.
  31. Singh, Amar (21 September 2015). "World in Union: Who sang it better?". Evening Standard.
  32. Heathcote, Graham (13 September 1992). "Triumphant and Silly, Britons Bellow 'Britannia' at Proms Finale". Associated Press. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
  33. Met: on-demand
  34. "Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra Program 1 Season 2015–16". Issuu. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  35. "Dame Kiri Te Kanawa". Classic fm. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  36. "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.
  37. "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). Tokyo, Japan: Sankei Shimbun. 206 (7): 96–97. 2014.
  38. Christiansen, Rupert (7 October 2013). "How Downton Abbey got Nellie Melba all wrong". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
  39. "Dame Kiri Te Kanawa: I won't sing in public again". BBC News. 13 September 2017. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
  40. Smith, Julia Llewellyn (7 September 2021). "Kiri Te Kanawa: I've moved back to New Zealand with my (secret) second husband". The Times. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
  41. "NZ representation to Queen Elizabeth II funeral confirmed" (Press release). Beehive.govt.nz. 13 September 2022.
  42. "Who attended the late Queen's funeral? World leaders and countries on the guest list". The Telegraph. 19 September 2022.
  43. "No. 45985". The London Gazette (2nd supplement). 2 June 1973. p. 6508.
  44. "No. 49010". The London Gazette (3rd supplement). 12 June 1982. p. 39.
  45. Taylor, Alister, ed. (2001). "New Zealand Who's Who Aotearoa 2001". New Zealand Who's Who, Aotearoa. Auckland: Alister Taylor Publishers: 861. ISSN 1172-9813.
  46. "Queen's Birthday honours list 1995". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 19 October 2012. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
  47. "Citation of Dame Kiri Te Kanawa". It's an Honour. The Commonwealth Government of Australia. 26 January 1990. Archived from the original on 19 June 2017. Retrieved 17 March 2013.
  48. Manins, Rosie (16 October 2012). "Beauty, culture and reverence illuminated". Otago Daily Times.
  49. Lewis, John (28 March 2013). "Dame Kiri delighted with cathedral depiction". Otago Daily Times.
  50. "No. 62310". The London Gazette (Supplement). 8 June 2018. p. B24.
  51. "Dame Kiri Te Kanawa receives top honour award at Buckingham Palace". The New Zealand Herald. 21 December 2018.
  52. "Aotea Centre theatre to be named after Dame Kiri Te Kanawa". Radio New Zealand. 21 August 2019. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
  53. "ASB Aotea Centre is being renamed after Dame Kiri Te Kanawa". The New Zealand Herald. 19 November 2019.
  54. "Kiri te Kanawa: Artist of the Year 1992", classicfm.com.
  55. "World Class New Zealand 2012 Winners". Archived from the original on 27 February 2013.
  56. "Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement". Achievement.org. American Academy of Achievement.
  57. "2006 Summit Highlights Photo". Awards Council member Dame Julie Andrews inducts Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, internationally acclaimed soprano.
  58. "Dame Kiri's Classical Brits honour". Irish Independent. PA Media. 9 February 2010.
  59. "Statement of Mission and Vision". Kiri Te Kanawa Foundation. 13 March 2007.
  60. "The BBC Radio 2 Kiri Prize". BBC Radio 2. 3 September 2010.
  61. "Dame Kiri remarks strike sour note". BBC News. 1 March 2003.
  62. "Singer in court for refusing to perform". Yahoo! News. 28 January 2007.
  63. "Kiri Te Kanawa Wins Lawsuit Filed Following Withdrawal from Concerts with Pop Star". Opera News Online. 21 March 2007.
  64. "Kiri Te Kanawa Wins 'Panty-Throwing' Lawsuit". Playbill Arts News: Opera. 21 March 2007.
  65. Kiri Sings Porter Archived 15 September 2017 at the Wayback Machine, Spinitron via WERU. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
  66. "Gold and platinum New Zealand albums to 2013". Te Ara. Encyclopedia of NZ. Retrieved 19 July 2015.

Sources



Further reading




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На других языках

[de] Kiri Te Kanawa

Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, CH, DBE, ONZ (* 6. März 1944 als Claire Mary Teresa Rawstron in Gisborne, Neuseeland), ist eine neuseeländische Opernsängerin (Sopran).
- [en] Kiri Te Kanawa

[es] Kiri Te Kanawa

Kiri Te Kanawa (Gisborne, Isla Norte, Nueva Zelanda, 6 de marzo de 1944), de nacimiento Claire Mary Teresa Rawstron, es una soprano operática neozelandesa-irlandesa-maorí retirada.[1]

[ru] Те Канава, Кири

Дама Кири Джанетт Клэр Те Кáнава (маори Kiri Jeanette Claire Te Kanawa, имя при рождении — Клэр Мэри Тереза Рострон, англ. Claire Mary Teresa Rawstron, род. 6 марта 1944, Гисборн, Новая Зеландия) — оперная певица (лирическое сопрано). Член ордена Новой Зеландии, дама-командор ордена Британской империи, Компаньон ордена Австралии.


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