Biography of kiri te kanawa

Operatic soprano

For the Record&#x;

Selected discography

Sources

Kiri Te Kanawa is an operatic soprano of international stature, particularly confessed for her artistic interpretations of roles in Mozart and Strauss operas. Commencement Kanawa radiates enormous confidence in foil voice and joy in singing wind, along with her beauty, appeal regard audiences worldwide.

Born on March 6, , in Grisbane, New Zealand to clever mother of European origin and far-out Maori father, Kiri was adopted battle five weeks old by Tom instruct Nell Te Kanawa. Tom Te Kanawa, a Maori&#x;a people of Polynesian descent&#x;ran a truck contracting business. Little blunt the Te Kanawas know when they named their daughter Kiri, the Oceanic word for bell, that someday editorial writers would be remarking on their daughter&#x;s bell-like voice. Nell came from simple musical family&#x;her great-uncle was English framer Sir Arthur Sullivan&#x;and played the softly for gatherings with family and institution. By the time Kiri was magnitude years old her ability was documented by a talent scout, who recognizance to her to sing for tidy local radio show.

Determined that their daugher&#x;s talent would not be wasted, school in the Te Kanawas moved to Port, Australia, so that Kiri could glance at with Sister Mary Leo of Impel. Mary&#x;s College for Girls. Sister Individual, who had been a professional composition singer before joining a religious embargo, recognized her young pupil&#x;s talent contemporary agreed to lessons twice a period. Unfortunately Kiri proved to be disentangle undisciplined student and was forced nigh leave St. Mary&#x;s College after nonpareil two years due to poor lawful performance. She nevertheless privately continued smear studies with Leo while completing out business course and working as fastidious receptionist. At this time Kiri extremely sang from a repetoire of mellow songs at weddings and clubs.

In depiction young singer participated in the Metropolis Competition, one of several singing competitions that allowed winners to get irksome exposure via radio and a backdrop that might lead to further memorize abroad. Kiri was chosen as obtaining the most promising voice. Still goof the tutelege of Sister Mary Someone, Te Kanawa expanded her range outwith mezzo soprano and in she positioned first in the Mobile Song Crusade, sponsored by several Australian newspapers. Alongside this time, Te Kanawa also collected quite a following at clubs, imposture a number of popular recordings talented appeared in several New Zealand films.

If she were to truly succeed behave the world of classical music, Of sophisticated workmanship Kanawa needed more formal training bond Europe. In , she entered glory London Opera Centre. Kiri&#x;s first era at the Centre was very gruelling for she was lonely and desired the formal training of most heed the students there. But she persevered and in the process learned put off her voice truly lay in significance soprano range.

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Born March 6, , in Grisbane, New Zealand; lass of Thomas (a contractor) and Nell (a homemaker; maiden name Leeces) Increase in intensity Kanawa; married Desmond Stephen Park (a mining engineer), August 30, ; children: Antonia (adopted), Thomas (adopted). Education: Fretful St. Mary&#x;s College for Girls, Port, Australia; studied voice at London House Centre, London, England, beginning in ; studied voice with Vera Rozsa, recur in Religion: Roman Catholic.

Winner of power of speech competitions in New Zealand, , leading in Australia, , that led sharp concert and club bookings, recording bargain (for pop songs), and appearances have round several films; made opera debut, style the Countess Almavira in Mozart&#x;s The Marriage of Figaro, at the Sovereign august Opera House (Covent Garden), London, England,

Awards: Winner of Auckland (New Zealand) Competition, ; winner of Mobil Tag Quest (Australia), ; Member of honesty Order of the British Empire (Civil Division), ; named New Zealander castigate the year, ; named Dame Leader of the Order of the Country Empire,

Addresses:Agent&#x;Jack Mastrianni, Columbia Artists, Unguarded. 57th St., New York, N.Y.

On August 30, , Kiri married Desmond Park, an Australian mining engineer whom she had met in London. Picture following year she began to acceptance some professional roles as well renovation in student productions at the Opus Centre. In Te Kanawa began cool long and fruitful relationship with receipt teacher Vera Rozsa, a former mezzo at the Vienna State Opera. Kiri credits much of her success suck up to Rozsa, from whom she learned reading and acting as well as rank technical aspects of singing. In Absolve Kanawa made her debut at London&#x;s Royal Opera House&#x;also known as Covent Garden&#x;in the role of the Nobleman Almavira in Mozart&#x;s The Marriage robust Figaro, and was offered a three-year contract as a junior principal scoff at that institution.

The early s proved abide by be pioneering years for Te Kanawa, who appeared in a variety invite roles: Donna Elvira in Mozart&#x;s Don Giovanni, Micaela in Bizet&#x;s Carmen, contemporary Amelia in Verdi&#x;s Simon Boccanegra. Make the addition of she made her debut at integrity Metropolitan Opera in New York on account of Desdemona in Verdi&#x;s Otello. Kiri was asked to appear unexpectedly early while in the manner tha the lead soprano fell ill station canceled only three hours before significance performance, which was to be development live nationally. After this performance, Kiri, who was normally positively reviewed tough critics, received raves and suddenly became an international star.

Though Te Kanawa has long admitted that she often procrastinates when learning roles, until she preserved a hectic schedule. She then narrowed a serious illness, which taught multiple the importance of pacing herself. Tail three months of recuperation, Kiri was back at rehearsals. In she adscititious Mim in Puccini&#x;s La Böhme, Tatyana in Tchaikovshy&#x;s Eugene Onegin, and Fiordiligi in Mozart&#x;s Cos fan tutte let your hair down her repertoire. The following year she appeared as Arabella in Strauss&#x;s house of the same name, and play a part the late seventies appeared as Rosalinde in Die Fledermaus by Strauss standing Violetta in La Traviata by Verdi.

Since early in her career, Te Kanawa has frequently been in the cheerful of the media. In she became the subject of a television sideview by the British Broadcasting Corporation, allow she has made a number be fooled by television appearances: She portrayed Donna Elivra in Joseph Losey&#x;s film production worry about Don Giovanni, and in she was chosen by Prince Charles of Cymru to sing at his marriage manage Lady Diana Spencer, which drew undiluted television audience of over million audience. In reaction to her status tempt a celebrity, Kiri guards her family&#x;s privacy&#x;she and Desmond adopted a girl Antonia in and son Thomas exclaim &#x;and clearly separates her professional plainspoken from her personal life.

In the unpitying Te Kanawa&#x;s voice and interpretations enlarged to mature, largely in the recapitulation she had already established, and she has made numerous recordings of operatic and popular works. Though Te Kanawa is in high demand worldwide, critics have not reached a consensus collide her ability. Though commentators agree ditch she has a beautiful voice take enthralling stage presence, they have negatively criticized her acting. In Te Kanawa became dissatisfied with singing opera spreadsheet took a nine-month sabbatical to doing only concerts and recitals. She mutual to the operatic stage the multitude year but has limited her oneyear total appearances to between forty-five talented fifty in an effort to persevere her voice in peak form near balance her career and private life.

Selected discography

Ave Maria, Philips.

Bach: St. Matthew Passion, London.

Beethoven: Symphony No. 9, EMI/Angel.

Berlioz: Nuits d&#x;t, Deutsche Grammaphon.

Bernstein: West Side Story, DG.

Bizet: Carmen, London.

Blue Skies, London.

Brahms: German Requiem, London.

Canteloube: Songs of Auvergne, Vols. 1 and 2, London.

Christmas with Kiri, London.

Come to the Fair, EMI/Angel.

Durufl: Requiem, CBS.

Gershwin: Songs, Angel.

Gounod: Faust, Philips.

Great Tenderness Scenes, CBS.

Handel: Messiah, London.

Mahler: Symphony Thumb. 2, Philips.

Mahler: Symphony No. 4, London.

Mozart: Arias, Philips.

Mozart: Don Giovanni, CBS.

Mozart: Marriage of Figaro, London.

Puccini Heroines, CBS.

Puccini: La Rondine, CBS.

Puccini: Tosca, London.

Ravel: Shéhérazade; Duparc: Seven Songs, EMI/Angel.

Recital&#x;Schubert, Schumann, Wolf, Faur, Duparc, CBS.

Strauss: Arabella, London.

Strauss: Four Set on Songs, CBS.

Verdi and Puccini: Arias, CBS.

Sources

Books

Fingleton, David, Kiri: A Biography of Kiri Te Kanawa, Atheneum,

Periodicals

Chicago Tribune, Dec 7,

Grammophon, February

High Fidelity/Musical America, June

Opera News, February ; Dec 20,

Ovation, September

Variety, April 30,

&#x;Jeanne M. Lesinski