Kiri Te Kanawa

Dame Kiri Jeanette Claire Te Kanawa ONZ CH DBE AC ˈkɪri təˈkɑːnəwə 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 Te Kanawa had three top 40 albums in Australia in the mid1980s Te Kanawa has received accolades in many countries 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 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 Her final performance was in Ballarat Australia in October 2016 but she did not reveal her retirement until September 2017 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 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 Mary Noeleen Rawstrons mother insisted the baby be given up for adoption 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 Marys College Auckland and formally trained in operatic singing by Sister Mary Leo Niccol Te Kanawa began her singing career as a mezzosoprano but developed into a soprano 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 Patricks Cathedral Auckland They adopted two children Antonia born 1976 and Thomas born 1979 The couple divorced in 1997 Te Kanawa never made an attempt to contact her biological parents but her halfbrother 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 she has since reaffirmed her decision to have nothing to do with her birth family In her teens and early 20s Te Kanawa was a pop star and entertainer at clubs in New Zealandfailed verification and regularly appeared in newspapers and magazines In 1963 she was runnerup to Malvina Major in the Mobil Song Quest with her performance of Vissi darte 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 Dont Let It Get You In 1966 she won the Melbourne SunAria contest which Major had also won the previous year Both singers had been taught by Sister Mary Leo Source Article Kiri Te Kanawa from Wikipedia in English licensed under CCBYSA 30