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Top 10 Amazing facts about Kiri Te Kanawa

Kiri Te Kanawa, in full Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, original name in full Claire Mary Teresa Rawstron, is a retired New Zealand opera singer. She is best known for her repertoire of works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Richard Strauss.

In addition to singing in a great number of opera recordings, Te Kanawa produced a number of popular recordings, including such works as Kiri Sings Gershwin (1987), Kiri Sings Porter (1994), Kiri Sings Berlin (1998), and Maori Songs (1999).

Te Kanawa had a full lyric soprano voice, which has been described as “mellow yet vibrant, warm, ample and unforced”.

In this article, we get to learn more about her in the top 10 amazing facts about Kiri Te Kanawa;

1. Te Kanawa was adopted

Maori warriors perform a Haka, 2012 – Wikipedia

Te Kanawa was born Claire Mary Teresa Rawstron in Gisborne, New Zealand, to M膩ori butcher Tieki “Jack” Wawatai and to Mary Noeleen Rawstron, who was the daughter of Irish emigrants.

Her father, Wawatai, was already married to Apo, the daughter of the Rev. Poihipi Kohere. Poihipi Kohere was the brother of both the community leader R膿weti K艒here and the soldier and farmer Henare Mokena Kohere. As a result, Mary Noeleen, Rawstron’s mother, insisted the baby be given up for adoption.

As a five-week-old infant, Te Kanawa, was adopted by Thomas Te Kanawa, the owner of a successful trucking business, and his wife Nell and given the name Kiri.

2. Te Kanawa not wanting anything to do with her biological family

Maori family, 1880s – Wikipedia

In 1996, in the throes of the bitter divorce negotiations with Des Park, Kiri began corresponding with Jimmy Rawstron, her blood-mother Noeleen’s son.

After three months of correspondence, they met in the Summer of 1996 in Sydney. It was an emotional meeting, and both cried.

Kiri asked Jimmy to keep their meetings secret to avoid a media circus, and he, anxious that he not be thought to exploiting his rich and famous sister, agreed. However, in November 1997 New Zealand’s most downmarket tabloid newspaper, The New Zealand Truth, ran a story headlined `Kiri Turns to Lost Brother‘, which contained a number of direct quotes attributed to Jimmy Rawstron.

Jimmy denies he spoke to the reporter concerned, but when he tried to reach Kiri on a number of occasions to explain, he was told by her aides, in no uncertain terms, that she never wanted to speak to him again.

3. A young Te Kanawa was stuck between a rock and a hard place

St Mary’s College, Gabriel Hall. Wellington, New Zealand – Wikipedia

Te Kanawa was educated at St Mary’s College, Auckland, and formally trained in operatic singing by the celebrated Dame Sister Mary Leo, RSM, who was New Zealand’s best-known opera coach.

In an interview, Te Kanawa describe facing the demanding Sister Mary Leo and the ambitions of her mother, who had recognised her remarkable talent, as like “being locked between two tigers”.

Dame Kiri also claimed that she was “beaten by nuns” during her schooling to an audience of hundreds at Wanganui Collegiate School. However, she never directly said Sister Mary Leo or anyone else at St Mary’s had beaten her.

According to Te Kanawa this experience made her tough and the key aspects leading to her success were the inspiration from her singing teacher Sister Mary Leo and all the hard work she put into her career.

4. The first gold record produced in New Zealand

This undated photograph of Kiri Te Kanawa is from a collection of photographs created by the Broadcasting Corporation of New Zealand – Wikimedia Commons

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.

To truly appreciate her capabilities, it is important to note that by the time she was 20 she had won the major vocal prizes available in the South Pacific, and 鈥� unusually early for a prima donna in any era.

Her recording of the “Nuns’ Chorus” from the Strauss operetta Casanova was the first gold record produced in New Zealand.

5. Te Kanawa was a teen pop star

During her teens and early 20s, Te Kanawa was a pop star and entertainer at clubs in New Zealand, 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 a winner, she received a grant to study in London.

Her transition to opera came in 1965 after she won the Mobil Song Quest and went to London to study.

6. No audition required

The London Opera Centre was located in the former Troxy Cinema on Commercial Road in London’s East End Borough of Stepney – Wikipedia

In 1966 after winning the Melbourne Sun-Aria against Malvina Major, Te Kanawa enrolled without audition at the London Opera Centre under Vera R贸zsa and James Robertson.

Her teachers reputedly said Te Kanawa lacked a singing technique when she arrived at the school, but had a gift for captivating audiences.

Te Kanawa first appeared on stage as the Second Lady in Mozart’s The Magic Flute.

7. The tough opera world

Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre, Interior – Wikimedia Commons

How do you become an opera star? Why do some people make it and others don’t? Te Kanawa best answers this question when she says, “You have to be tough in the opera world, or you are not going to make it. Just because you can sing an aria does not make you an opera singer.”

Despite her remarkable talent of singing, her road in the opera world was not smooth. During interviews, Te Kanawa has mentioned numerous times how hard she practiced and prepared herself for performances.

For instance, when she has to sing in a different language, she will get the coach to translate for her and check the dictionary, so that she understands the whole song, she mentioned 鈥淚 will literally hand write all my scores in translations, I will never accept only one of two words will be fine.鈥�

8. Te Kanawa performed for the Royal family

Wedding day of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer – Unsplash

Opera singer Dame Kiri Te Kanawa has performed for the Royal Family on many occasions, including the time she sang at the wedding of Prince Charles and the late Princess Diana in 1981.

For six minutes, New Zealand opera star Kiri Te Kanawa took centre stage at the wedding of Prince Charles to Lady Diana Spencer in St Paul鈥檚 Cathedral, London. In front of royalty, heads of state and distinguished guests, and a television audience of over 600 million, Te Kanawa sang 鈥楲et the bright Seraphim鈥� from Handel鈥檚 Samson while the bride and groom signed the register.

In 2006, Te Kanawa sang “Happy Birthday” to Queen Elizabeth, followed by “God Save The Queen” at the Commonwealth Games in Australia.

9. Te Kanawa cancelled a concert because of the likelihood that fans might throw their underwear on stage

John Farnham performing at the Queensland Performing Arts Complex on 4 October 2009 during the “Live By Demand tour” – Wikipedia

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.

During the case, Dame Kiri told the court that she was embarrassed by the underwear throwing and found it offensive that Farnham collected them as 鈥渟ome sort of trophy.鈥�

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

10. Te Kanawa quits public performance

Kiri Te Kanawa with cast members of La fille du r茅giment at the Metropolitan Opera, 24 December 2011 – Wikipedia

Dame Kiri Te Kanawa shot to fame in 1971 after being cast as the Countess in The Marriage of Figaro at Covent Garden. She became an international household name after singing Handel鈥檚 Let the Bright Seraphim at the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer in 1981.

Te Kanawa told the BBC it had taken her five years 鈥渢o say the goodbye in my own mind鈥� but wanted to decide 鈥渨hen it was going to be the last note鈥�.

Her final performance was a concert in the Australian city of Ballarat in October 2016: 鈥淏efore I鈥檇 gone on, I said, right, this it. And that was the end.鈥�