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Combining rare acting
ability with one of the most beautiful soprano voices of her
generation, Dame
Kiri Te Kanawa reigns among
opera's most celebrated contemporary figures. Te Kanawa was born in
Gisborne, on New Zealand's North Island. She is the adopted daughter
of an Irish mother and Māori father. In 1971 she made her
debut at the Royal Opera House Covent
Garden as Xenia in Boris Godunov. In 1981 Te Kanawa was
invited to sing at the lavish royal wedding of Britain's Prince
Charles and Lady Diana,
where she sang Handel's Let the
Bright Seraphim. 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 2004, but she still
performs in concert halls. When asked to name the person she felt was
the greatest singer that ever lived, she replied: "The young Elvis
Presley, without any doubt." |
