We invited music lovers and performers to share their memories and good wishes on the occasion of Dame Kiri Te Kanawa's 80th birthday. Here are some of them:
Soprano Anna Leese: “Happy birthday Dame Kiri, wherever you are in the world! What a wonderful milestone. It’s a great opportunity too for us to think about all of the support you’ve given us. I hope you manage to get some fishing or hunting in on the day, or whatever it is you fill your day with, that it’s a happy one.”
Dame Kiri Te Kanawa performing with NZSO in the 2006 Kiri Te Kanawa Foundation Gala Photo: Kiri Te Kanawa Foundation
James Judd, Music Director Emeritus with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra: “Happy Birthday Kiri. Memories of fantastic music making together all over the place. One special one. The millennium concert, where you were so lovely with our then very, very young daughter Carissa. She’s never forgotten it, we’ve never forgotten it either. Happy Birthday!”
Lyric soprano, Madeleine Pierard: "It wasn’t until I moved to the UK in 2006 that I really understood just how massive an artist she was to the whole opera world, and beyond. So it was an extra special thing to be invited to her house, which she often used to do for us kiwi singers. She’d engage a wonderful pianist for us to sing with, and she really took the time to listen, and say what she heard, and help us understand how challenging this career is.
"I got to hear her sing 'Ach, ich fühl's' [from The Magic Flute] in very close proximity in her living room. I was completely floored. I was a sobbing mess on the floor watching her because the emotion was so embedded in her sound. There’s that vulnerability and generosity that great singers have when they convey an emotion or a character, and that’s what really struck me in that moment. She sent me home with some croissants and a jar of beetroot she’d pickled herself, and I had a wonderful introduction to the way she is with artists that she really wants to support.
"What her mission has been, especially with the Dame Kiri Foundation in England, is to really make sure that these overseas artists are helped and looked after."
Dame Kiri after being appointed a member of the Order of the Companions of Honour, 2018 Photo: Supplied
Roger Wilson (baritone / bass): "The only time I ever performed with Dame Kiri was in La Bohème, Auckland 1991. We were all on best behaviour because she had a reputation of not always being the easiest of colleagues, but in my experience she could not have been more gracious and friendly.
"The sponsors announced a formal dinner to which only the six most prominent cast members were invited (I was batting at 6 so just made it). But Dame Kiri wouldn’t hear of it, really putting her foot down and stating that it was everyone, including backstage staff, or no one. The sponsors relented and we had a large informal party instead.
"And it hardly needs saying that she sang superbly."
Elizabeth T: I was there when she sang 'Morgen' as the sun rose on the morning of the new millennium in Gisborne, my hometown. Spine-tingling!! What an unforgettable privilege.
Dr Peter T: I was a GP in the 1990s in Jersey and heard Kiri on a popular record Heart to Heart with Malcolm McNeil (1991), as I was visiting a patient and the Kiwi carer – Wendy - was playing it. Wendy went to listen to Kiri when she visited Jersey. Later she gave me the CD and we were married in Siena, Italy in 2001. We returned to Fortrose, Southland, and then Wellsford where I became a relief GP. Sadly, Wendy died in 2004. I have remained in Chch and am now a proud Kiwi."
Anon: I remember as a child being entranced by Kiri te Kanawa's performance as Carmen at His Majesty's Theatre in Auckland upon her return to NZ from London (1968?). I've been entranced ever since with opera!
Reany, Dunedin: Happy Birthday to NZ icon Kiri te Kanawa. I love to hear her sing 'Laudate Dominum' by Mozart. It puts my 8 yr old granddaughter Evie to sleep. She is quickly becoming a fan of Kiri as she asks if she can listen to her at bedtime."
Yvonne F: "Driving home late at night from Hamilton to Cambridge. Kiri was singing 'Four Last Songs' (R. Strauss). I had to pull over, stop the car and listen until the end. Sublime!
Barry DL: I remember seeing Dame Kiri singing ‘World in Union’ in front of the world during the Rugby World Cup. And it became a huge hit song as well. It reminded me of seeing her at the royal wedding singing ‘Let the Bright Seraphim’. I also love her Māori song 'Tarakihi'.
Juliet D: 'Mi Tradi' from Don Giovanni is just transporting! What an astonishing voice and singer to sing both sublimely.
Rae N: When I was in the Auckland Junior Symphony Orchestra (now Auckland Youth Orchestra) Kiri sang Mozart’s 'Exultate Jubilate' with us. As there was no flute part, I had the privilege of listening to all rehearsals and the performance.
Anon: A very happy birthday Dame Kiri. First heard you at the Hastings Municiple Theatre many years ago. Mesmerized then and still in awe of your amazing voice.
Maddy: I seem to remember when working at the NZBC in Wellington 1965 that now Dame, Kiri Te Kanawa was in Porgy and Bess. Fell in love with her voice way back then. My roommate at the Baptist hostel was in the chorus. Tena koe Dame Kiri.
Norma and Marcel: Whilst in Paris in 2019 we met a gentleman in a cafe. When we said we could were from NZ. His face lit up and he very excitedly told us that he had been a chauffeur for Dame Kiri and that she was a truly great diva and how much he liked her.
Dragan A: Her early countess performances are not only sublime, but an absolute masterclass on Mozart, and I can never tire of them, or of any other performance by Dame Kiri.
Richard FD: I sang in the chorus of the then NZ Opera Company's production of Carmen in 1969. Kiri was in the title role, with Elizabeth Hellawell as Micaela, Grant Dickson as Zuninga and directed by James Robertson.
Katherine R: I can’t imagine there will ever be another soprano voice I love so much. Happy Birthday Kiri! x x x x
